The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

I'm now reading another Jodi Picoult book. This one is about a family trying to deal with the crisis of their daughter being raped. In conjuction with that, the wife has recently ended an affair and so they are trying to sort through it. (Sounds quite uplifiting, huh?) It's all about the powerlessness that we all feel as shit arises in our lives. The book has many references to Dante's "Inferno", specifically, the levels of hell (the wife/mother teaches it at the local college and the father is writing/illustrating a comic loosely based on it). It's good so far. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Update:  So, I've finished The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult and although it was good, it was not her best and it was very predictable. I also felt that it didn't reflect well on women who are victims of date rape and sort of followed the "same-old same-old" crap where the woman is often blamed for such a situation.

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

Now, I was going to read the next installment of Meyer's but I think I'll let Twilight absorb into my skin and get a feeling of anticipation for the next book. That being said, I am now going to read Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. (I was at Kroger and found this they have about 5 different books of hers that I haven't found anywhere else). This novel gives the reader a glimpse of Amish life - something not normally witnessed by outsiders. When a young Amish teen hides a pregnancy, gives birth in secret, and then flatly denies it all when the baby's body is found, defense attorney Ellie Hathaway decides to defend her. However, she finds herself caught in a clash of cultures with a group of people whose sense of justice are markedly different from her own. Sounds good, doesn't it? I'll let you know.

Update:  So I finished Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult and it was really good. Somewhat predictable. I knew what the twist was going to be about 100 pages in...that's okay though, it was still enjoyable. Of course, how can neonaticide be "enjoyable" but it was. Anyway, it was really interesting to get a glimpse of the Amish life - and not just the fact that they dress different or turn away from electricity. Their philosophy on life and living is interesting: Striving for Plainness in every way - not as easy as it sounds. A good read and a recommendation.

Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

I'm now on to my next novel: Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult (pronounced, by the way, "peeko" - I recently found that out - just thought I'd pass on the knowledge for those as stupid as I - probably no one out there). Anyway, as is par for her books, Picoult has written of a woman dealing with a major dilemma in her life. Delia, is a 32 year-old who, with her search and rescue bloodhound makes a living finding missing persons. Raised by her widowed father, she has memories of an idyllic childhood. Suddenly, however, she has a memory that fits nowhere in her past. She tells her good friend (a reporter) which, long story short, ends up revealing a secret that leaves her life in turmoil. The book then delves into Delia's own search for her past and identity. As I'm sure all her novels seem to do, there will be some twist to shock the reader at the end and I look forward to finding out what it is. I'll let you know if it's worth the read.

Update:  Well, I finished Jodi Picoult's Vanishing Acts. It was really good. There really wasn't any "shocker" at the end - it was pretty predictable but definitely good.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is a book that both my sister, Maggie and my mother read and recommended. Interestingly, it is about a kid who goes to school one day and kills nine kids and one teacher within the span of 19 minutes. The book then delves into the trial that follows, the recovery of the small town in which this happened and the role that the people in this town actually played in "allowing" such a thing to happen. Jodi Picoult hasn't failed me yet so I have high expectations for this book. However, I'm sure it's going to freak me out about being a teacher and what I'm actually, probably, inadvertently doing to my own students. Ugh!

Update:  19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Good, good, good. Remember, it's about a school shooting and the aftermath as well as what led up to the incident. It delves into the effects of bullying and has made me listen a little harder about what I hear in the halls at school. Scary. Picoult usually has some "twist" in her books at the end. This one didn't disappoint but it wasn't anything that you didn't think could have happened and it wasn't a huge "shocker". I think the things I expected to happen, happened which is okay because that just means that all the loose ends were tied up at the end. A definite recommendation.

K - I'm going to go run a bath and start my book. Later.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

I'm on to my next novel: Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. It's about a young girl - 13 - who decides to sue her parents for medical emancipation. See, she was conceived so that she could save the life of her older sister who has leukemia. Unfortunately, as the two get older, the older sister continues to need more and more extensive "donations" until finally, she needs an organ donation. The parents - the mother - don't even really ask the girl if she is okay with it all, they just take, take, take. I'm halfway through the book and it's excellent so far. The author usually throws a twist in there and I'm wondering what it'll be. My guess is that someone other than the leukemia stricken person is going to die making the lawsuit and other sister's needed donation moot. Anyway, I'll let you know how it is.

Update:  So I finished My Sister's Keeper - it was excellent but I cried my eyes out the whole last chapter and I sort of knew what would happen after about chapter 1 1/2. It doesn't matter though that it was predictable - the subject matter (a young girl suing her parents for the rights to her own body after she's already succumbed to dozens of procedures and donations to her dying leukemia-stricken older sister) and writing was superb and it makes me want to go out and buy another of Jodi Picoult's books. And I will but not today.