Handle with Care in Jodi Picoult Books Reading Group.

Mar 14, 2009 Ramona rated it it was amazing

Another great book by Picoult. She never ceases to surprise me with her endings. It is very evident that she spends a lot of time researching to make her books come to life. HWC gave me a greater understanding of the effect that not only osteogenesis imperfecta but any disability has on one's entire family & those around them. I enjoyed the analogies between Charlotte's baking & their lives. HWC left me wondering what I would have done in Charlotte's shoes. So many topics relevant to today's soc ...more

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May 18, 2009 Ashley Hart rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2011

I find Jodi Picoult books to be hit or miss; for every book of hers I love there is one I equally dislike. Handle with Care started out so promising that I thought it would be the former. I was wrong. So so wrong. First of all, Jodi really needs to break from her formula, or at the very least find a new one. Controversial topic, courtroom drama, semi-related side plots... at this point it's become boring and predictable. Handle with Care has the added "bonus" of retreading the sick/disabled kid, I find Jodi Picoult books to be hit or miss; for every book of hers I love there is one I equally dislike. Handle with Care started out so promising that I thought it would be the former. I was wrong. So so wrong. First of all, Jodi really needs to break from her formula, or at the very least find a new one. Controversial topic, courtroom drama, semi-related side plots... at this point it's become boring and predictable. Handle with Care has the added "bonus" of retreading the sick/disabled kid, neglected siblings plots of My Sister's Keeper and House Rules. Unfortunately, these are not the only problems this book suffers from. The writing left something to be desired as well. I often found the writing to be repetitive and over-dramatic. I know, I know, it's Jodi Picoult, her writing is always dramatic, but there were just too many over the top descriptions and comparisons in this one. Also, how many times in one story does a character need to say some sort of variation of "What I didn't know was..." or "What they didn't tell me was..." ? The worst part of the book though was the characters. The mother infuriated me to no end! She made terrible decision after terrible decision, without thinking about the consequences for herself or her family and friends. The treatment of the Amelia, the older daughter was heartbreaking. The mother CLEARLY favored Willow, constantly saying how she was the best part of her life, the best thing that ever happened to her, and only considering Willow when making decisions. The father only seemed to think about his anger towards the mother's actions, and also pretty much ignored Amelia. The characters also seemed to do things that didn't really make sense based on prior knowledge of them. We have no knowledge of them having money problems, heck, they were on a vacation at the beginning of the novel. Suddenly when they have the opportunity to sue, they are totally broke and really need the money? Sean is against the lawsuit, and doesn't understand how Charlotte could betray her friend, yet he is very angry at said friend when they meet with the lawyers. Why? Just two examples of things that didn't make sense. There were plenty of other things about this novel that bugged me, but I'm over writing about it. The only reason I gave it two stars was because I had such a strong emotional reaction to it, even if that reaction happened to be anger. ...more

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Dec 04, 2009 Sherri rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book, like all of Jodi Picoult's books that I have read, but this was the first one in which I was disappointed in the ending. I will not give it away, but I didn't like it.

One thing about Ms. Picoult's books, she always makes the reader think about controversial subjects in new ways. When I think that I know something, when I believe that my mind is made up, after reading one of her novels I usually have a new perspective...this was no different. I especially liked the way ...more

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