Change of Heart
by Jodi Picoult
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Read in March, 2008
OK, I generally like Jodi Picoult. I think she's usually a thinking person's beach read. But this was CRAP. First, she owes Stephen King part of her royalties from this book, because the first quarter or so is a shameless ripoff of THE GREEN MILE (what, she couldn't have picked a more obscure text? Because, I mean, hardly ANYONE has read THE GREEN MILE, right?). Second, she also owes at least a small debt to John Grisham's THE CHAMBER, in that they are both incredibly heavy-handed indictmen...more
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Read in March, 2008
<i>"I believe a good person can do bad things, Father Michael had said. Like make the wrong decision for the right reasons. Sign your daughter's life away, because she can't have a murderer's heart."<i>
Jodi Picoult's most recent novel, like many of her books, explores a profound ethical dilemma. After her husband and daughter are murdered by a man hired to do work in their home, June is left alone to care for her second child, Claire. Claire is in desperate need of a h...more
Jodi Picoult's most recent novel, like many of her books, explores a profound ethical dilemma. After her husband and daughter are murdered by a man hired to do work in their home, June is left alone to care for her second child, Claire. Claire is in desperate need of a h...more
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Read in February, 2008
This is the fourth Jodi Picoult novel I've read and they all follow pretty much the same formula : A vunerable child/teenager. Loving parents/parent. Concerned professionals i.e. cops, doctors, lawyer,and or teachers. And a kind stranger.
And while Jodi uses a basic formula, her novels are anything but simple or predictable. The other novels I've read have covered stem cell research, teenage date rape, and school shootings.
What makes me such a fan of Jodi's novels is that rather than ...more
And while Jodi uses a basic formula, her novels are anything but simple or predictable. The other novels I've read have covered stem cell research, teenage date rape, and school shootings.
What makes me such a fan of Jodi's novels is that rather than ...more
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Jodi Picoult has once again tackled a moral dilemma. Up for debate this time is whether the mother of a girl in need of a heart transplant should accept the heart of the man who will be executed for the murder of her husband and older daughter. And if Picoult had stuck to one dilemma, this might have been a better book. Instead, the book is complicated by Green Mile-like questions of whether the condemned man had the power to perform miracles and a Dead Man Walking-like last-hour relationship...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Liv. by:
reviews. <3recommends it for: people who like a good novel.
-from flap-
Would you give up your vengeance against someone you hate if it meant saving someone you love? Would you want your dreams to come true if it meant granting your enemy's dying wish?
One moment June Nelson was happily looking forward to years full of laughter and adventure with her family, and the next, she was staring into a future that was as empty as her heart. Now her life is a waiting game. Waiting for time to heal her wounds, waiting for justice. In short, waiting for a mir...more
Would you give up your vengeance against someone you hate if it meant saving someone you love? Would you want your dreams to come true if it meant granting your enemy's dying wish?
One moment June Nelson was happily looking forward to years full of laughter and adventure with her family, and the next, she was staring into a future that was as empty as her heart. Now her life is a waiting game. Waiting for time to heal her wounds, waiting for justice. In short, waiting for a mir...more
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Read in March, 2008
Thought provoking to say the least. What if God is incarnate in each of us? What if there is no God? What if there is only a hope that there is a God? What if there is no heaven or hell? What if this life on Earth is both heaven and hell? Why does religion serve to divide us rather than unite us? Why does life have to be such a conundrum? Or is it really simple? Do we make it more difficult than it is because we are blessed with freedom of choice? Is it a blessing or a curse? After I fin...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone. Especially Jodi Picoult fans!
This book was incredible. I knew before reading it that it dealt with religion (one of the many subject matters that Picoult handles with grace) but I had no idea how and to what surprising extent. It amazes me (as always) that Picoult can handle a myriad of topics and characters, that require such care and research, so deftly. You read it and believe it without it ever seeming forced. It made me question my beliefs about life itself. This book encompasses the following topics- the death penalty...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Sezin by:
Martyrecommends it for: Everyone
This was, quite simply, one of the best books I have ever read and the first time I have seen someone take a Stephen King idea and make it so much better than the original. I honestly haven't cried so much over a book since reading Alice Hoffman's "Blue Diary" years and years ago. I was completely overcome.
The story is beautifully crafted, and Jodi Picault has an amazing way of weaving different lives together to describe the moments in which they intersect. It also got me thinking...more
The story is beautifully crafted, and Jodi Picault has an amazing way of weaving different lives together to describe the moments in which they intersect. It also got me thinking...more
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Read in April, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in April, 2008
I can't help but think that Picoult is back on her "A game" with this novel. This one was full of questions. Ones I found myself wanting to know the answers to. And, by far, my favorite books are when she alternates the point view from one character to anther because, after all, not everyone views a situation the same.
I felt that a part of this ending was predictable from the beginning but Picoult still managed to surprise me at the end.
As with all of her books, I tagged a lot ...more
I felt that a part of this ending was predictable from the beginning but Picoult still managed to surprise me at the end.
As with all of her books, I tagged a lot ...more
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Read in April, 2008
"...I knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. You didn't get past something like that, you got through it..."
"In the space between yes and no, there's a lifetime. It's the difference between the path you walk and one you leave behind; it's the gap between who you thought you could be and who you really are;"
"When you're different, sometimes you don't see the millions of people who accept you for what you are. All you notice is the one person who doesn't....more
"In the space between yes and no, there's a lifetime. It's the difference between the path you walk and one you leave behind; it's the gap between who you thought you could be and who you really are;"
"When you're different, sometimes you don't see the millions of people who accept you for what you are. All you notice is the one person who doesn't....more
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to Mike by:
HCRJ Bk Grp
I read--and like to read--a bunch. But I don't read a lot of novels like this. What does "like this" mean? I'm not entirely sure. But I have read The Da Vinci Code & another (or two?) by Dan Brown. I understand that he loves to cover heavy duty, philosophical and/or religious stuff via thoroughly engaging, entertaining narratives.
I also suspect that Alice Hoffman writes a lot like Jodi Picoult. That's cool. I know that many readers absolutely adore t...more
I also suspect that Alice Hoffman writes a lot like Jodi Picoult. That's cool. I know that many readers absolutely adore t...more
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Read in June, 2008
Change of Heart is a book about redemption, religion, and questioning your own beliefs about "right" and "wrong."
For June Nealon, life was tragic. Coming home one day to find her second husband Kurt (a police officer), and her 7-year-old daughter Elizabeth dead. Shay Bourne, a young man with a terrible stutter and the fix-it man of their house, the culprit. The only person June had left in the world was her unborn child, Claire.
It's been over 60 years since the state of...more
For June Nealon, life was tragic. Coming home one day to find her second husband Kurt (a police officer), and her 7-year-old daughter Elizabeth dead. Shay Bourne, a young man with a terrible stutter and the fix-it man of their house, the culprit. The only person June had left in the world was her unborn child, Claire.
It's been over 60 years since the state of...more
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In her usual style, Jodi Picoult tells a compelling story about a convicted murderer, Shay Bourne, from four very different points of view - that of June Nealon, suffering mother and wife of Shay's victims; Father Michael Wright, Shay's spiritually conflicted spiritual advisor; Lucius DuFresne, Shay's fellow inmate on I-tier; and Maggie Bloom, Shay's athiest lawyer, whose father is a rabbi. This story centers around religion in an impressively unbiased manner, being neither pro-religion nor anti...more
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Read in April, 2008
This was an interesting book. As always, Picoult drew a heart-wrenching picture of life & made me question all kinds of things that I had never even thought about enough to question before. I had a problem with it, in that it seemed a little bit too similar to the Green Mile for me. If you remember, The Green Mile is Stephen King's story about a man working miracles on Death Row. That's pretty much what this one was, but Picoult made it her own by adding a depth that King, as great an au...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone
A man on death row (Shay Bourne) wants to give his heart to the daughter of the man he is accused of killing along with the man's step-daughter. The young girl (Claire) is days away from death and Shay's heart is a perfect match. He can only give his heart if he is hanged rather than killed by lethal injection. In the meantime, Shay has been performing miracles from his prison cell and has developed quite a following while his spiritual advisor who was also on the jury that convicted him and ...more
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Read in March, 2008
I read this in 5 1/2 hours. Ms. Picoult is going to be in Denver this week and a friend and I are going to hear her read and get books signed, so I wanted to get this latest novel of Picoult's read. And I haven't stayed up "all night" to read in a long time.
Picoult is one of my favorite writers and she has this amazing ability to write real characters. In that, I was not disappointed. However, I felt this book was the smallest bit of a let-down after 19 Minutes. Part of that...more
Picoult is one of my favorite writers and she has this amazing ability to write real characters. In that, I was not disappointed. However, I felt this book was the smallest bit of a let-down after 19 Minutes. Part of that...more
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Read in March, 2008
This book was a little on the disappointing side for me. I eagerly awaited it's released but I was very let down. I had a really hard time getting into this book which is very unusual for me when I read any book written by Jodi Picoult. I had a hard time connecting with it because I thought that it was just a little too far fethced. There was a lot of talk of Shane Bourne being the messiah and all sorts of stuff and I thouhgt it was a little too closely related to Keeping Faith (which she did ha...more
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Read in March, 2008
I am a big fan of Picoult's, but I didn't like this book that much. It reminded me of the other book of hers that I didn't care for "Keeping Faith", and in fact, one of the characters from that novel appears in "Change of Heart". Picoult doesn't do well with the topic of religion. It almost feels like she's trying to please too many people and in the end it just comes out as confusing. Reading about her main character, I. M. Bourne, I kept thinking about Stephen King's &q...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
fans of tough subjects
I read an article/interview in Advance Magazine about how Picoult was juggling the issue of being 'preachy'--when you handle two subject like the death penalty and religion you're riding a fine line. Unfortunately, I think she crossed that preachy line by more than a smidge in a couple places. Most of the time I did not mind because my views tended to fall into place with the ones represented in the book. However, I know that can't be said for all readers.
***Possible spoiler stuff follows**...more
***Possible spoiler stuff follows**...more
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