Helpful Score: 17
Jodi Picoult has become one of my favorite authors, but in my opinion, this is not one of her best books. I have read all of her latest books, and am now working my way back to her earlier writings which I believe this is one of them. The entire plot is unrealistic which makes it hard for me to really empathize with either main character. As with her other books, she presents two different views of a situation and allows the reader to toggle back and forth between the both. The storyline picked up at the end, but the beginning was a yawner. If this is the first book you read by Jodi Picoult, don't let it be your last. She truly is an amazing writer that fully envelopes her readers in most of her novels; just not this time.
Helpful Score: 9
A very moving and heartbreaking book at times. It tells the story of a husband and wife in both their voices. Each Chapter is either in the husband or wife's voice. I could not put it down, at times you want to scream at these two people to get their heads out of their behinds and others you can just see how close they are to connectining and you just hold your breath, hoping, waiting...
This is a wonderful book about not happy ever after, but life and how it is and how you can be in love and just miss it or take it for granit and can lose or gain it back in a heart beat.
This is a wonderful book about not happy ever after, but life and how it is and how you can be in love and just miss it or take it for granit and can lose or gain it back in a heart beat.
Helpful Score: 7
This book did not really keep my interest at first, but it grew on me as I progressed. Maybe it was because it didn't have any real action in it... there was no big event/mystery that needed to be solved (e.g. The Pact, Plain Truth, Nineteen Minutes). It basically tells the story of two people, Paige and Nicholas, which each character taking turns narrating. It's worth a read.
Helpful Score: 7
Picoult is a master storyteller. Her writing is superb and she carefully crafts many a surprise within the first 50 pages. Her attempts to ensnare the reader work well and her plots contain a certain "richness" that many writers never achieve.
However, even with the amazing one-two punch of grandiose prose and intriguing subject matter, Picoult sometimes fails to shine. While one desires to connect with her characters, the plot often becomes a bit too absurd and the characters remain a bit out of reach.
I've been reading Picoult since the late 90s, before her popularity increased. While she indeed has more literary genius than Danielle Steel or Nicholas Sparks, her plots are somewhat formulaic. They usually involve a controversial topic and a host of characters dealing with marital upheaval in the midst of raising children. If you have not read any novels by her, I encourage you to pick up one or two. I recommend this one, along with "Keeping Faith"--which is a genuinely spectacular novel.
Give her a chance if you have not read her works before, but if you are looking for a new twist on her old plots, you won't find it in this book.
However, even with the amazing one-two punch of grandiose prose and intriguing subject matter, Picoult sometimes fails to shine. While one desires to connect with her characters, the plot often becomes a bit too absurd and the characters remain a bit out of reach.
I've been reading Picoult since the late 90s, before her popularity increased. While she indeed has more literary genius than Danielle Steel or Nicholas Sparks, her plots are somewhat formulaic. They usually involve a controversial topic and a host of characters dealing with marital upheaval in the midst of raising children. If you have not read any novels by her, I encourage you to pick up one or two. I recommend this one, along with "Keeping Faith"--which is a genuinely spectacular novel.
Give her a chance if you have not read her works before, but if you are looking for a new twist on her old plots, you won't find it in this book.
Helpful Score: 5
A wonderfully written story - as is the norm for Picoult - centers around Paige, a young girl on her own who marries the brilliant and wealthy Nicholas. When post-partum depression tears her apart, she runs to find what she thinks she needs - her own mother.
Helpful Score: 5
Excellent book! By far the best Jodi Picoult book that I've read. This book will grab you at page one and keep you interested all the way to the end.
Helpful Score: 3
Beautiful, compelling novel. Highly recommend this.
Helpful Score: 3
Plods along in the beginning, but picks up quickly and leaves you crying.
Helpful Score: 3
I didnt think it was one of her best books, I liked it, but I found myself skimming some of it.
Helpful Score: 3
Jodi Picoult writes of moral dilemmas from both sides of the issues. In this novel, she explores the fragile ground of ambivalent motherhood. If you haven't read Jodi Picoult yet, you are in for a treat.
Helpful Score: 1
This is definitely one of Jodi Picoult's better books. While I enjoy most of her books I feel like I am often reading the same book over and over. Harvesting the Heart is definitely a step away from her usual books that include lawyers and trials. It was really a great book & I would definitely reccommend it. The main character is so vulnerable yet so strong and can easily be related to, especially when it comes to having children and the uncertainty all new mothers face taking care of their newborns.
Helpful Score: 1
Great Read
Helpful Score: 1
A story about a girl growing up and discovering who she is. A great read. I could not put this book down. fantastic author.
Helpful Score: 1
Kept me awake all night.
Helpful Score: 1
I just didn't like it. I hated how the girl left her baby and it just seemed extremely unrealistic. I usually like Jodi Picoult but I was not a fan of this one.
Helpful Score: 1
This was not my favorite Jodi Picoult book but it was still very good. It pulled me in from the beginning and I didn't want to put it down but I was disappointed in the ending. Still a great read though.
Helpful Score: 1
I love Jodi Picoult's books and this was another good one about motherhood found. As usual the story was told with sensitivity and human interest. A young woman who had been abandoned by her own mother as a small child sets out to find that mother after she becomes an adult and has a child of her own. After finding her mother she realizes that where she had been was where she was meant to be but now she has to win back her husband and child. A great read.
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed this book, not only for the good writing, but because it wasn't predictable. She has definately added me as a fan.
Helpful Score: 1
I think out of all of Jodi Picoult's books I have read (7 or 8), this has to be the one I favored the least. I read it in when I was a sophomore in High School and I had to force myself through it, which was surprising because I normally I can read hers pretty fast. I don't know what I cared for least in this book. The father that was never home that was a doctor and never home, or Paige, the mother, who runs away from her family.
Helpful Score: 1
I am a Jodi Picoult fan. I think I've loved all but one of her books. This is the second book of hers that I didnt like. But this was painful to read. Torturous.
I had to force myself to read the entire thing and that was only because i thought it would get better. it didnt. none of the characters were relatable. it wasnt possible to empathize with any of them. they were boring, one dimensional. there werent any twists and turns in the plot like the rest of her books.
save yourself the pain and skip this!
I had to force myself to read the entire thing and that was only because i thought it would get better. it didnt. none of the characters were relatable. it wasnt possible to empathize with any of them. they were boring, one dimensional. there werent any twists and turns in the plot like the rest of her books.
save yourself the pain and skip this!
Helpful Score: 1
I agree with one of the previous reviewers, I liked the book but found myself skimming through some of it.
Helpful Score: 1
This was Jodi P's 2nd book and it is a lot different then her more recent books both in writing style and how she tells the story. It is still one of her best! I loved it
Helpful Score: 1
A wonderful story of a woman trying to come to terms with the mother that abandoned her, while at the same time finding herself afraid to try and be a mother to her own child. Like nearly all of Picoult's books, a great read.
Helpful Score: 1
This is the only book of hers I have ever quit reading. She is one of my favorit authors but this book falls short. I just couldn't make it after 2/3 read.
Helpful Score: 1
In this startling novel. Jodi Picoult reveals the fragile threads that hold
people together, or let them break apart...
Her narrative, especially her sense of family. is reminiscent of a young
Ann Tyler. Hers is a remarkable new voice, and it tells us a story that goes straight to the heart...
people together, or let them break apart...
Her narrative, especially her sense of family. is reminiscent of a young
Ann Tyler. Hers is a remarkable new voice, and it tells us a story that goes straight to the heart...
Helpful Score: 1
I've read most of Jodi Picoult's books and I would rate this one of her best. It is the story of a mother lost, becoming a mother, finding a mother and finding ones self.
Helpful Score: 1
Paige and Nicholas must find a balance between them in order to make a marriage work. Paige, who has grown up motherless, for 20 years and raised by her dad is running away and following in the footsteps of her mother.
Helpful Score: 1
A book which shows how our past and our mothering or lack of can affect our entire lives.It shows that mistakes made to us or by us can come back to haunt us.
Helpful Score: 1
enjoyable quick Jodi read. not my favorite of this author but well done all the same.
Helpful Score: 1
"Harvesting the Heart" is one of Jodi Picoult's earlier works and doesn't have the punch at the end like many of her later novels do. That said, I found that I couldn't put down this book with characters that move into your heart and head and stay awhile. A great read.
Helpful Score: 1
Story about a young girl, her Mother left when she was 5, now she's 18 and ready to be out on her own. She is hurting and seems lost, falls in love, gets married and then becomes a Mother herself...that is when she falls apart. As she learns to pick up the pieces and put them back together, she grows and heals.
I really like Jodi Picoult, although I didn't enjoy this book as much as the other books I've read by her. It was good, not great...
I really like Jodi Picoult, although I didn't enjoy this book as much as the other books I've read by her. It was good, not great...
I disliked all of the characters of this book... the plot was incredibly unbelievable. I had no sympathy or empathy for the protagonist. I grew up much the same way that Paige did and I thought that reading this book might give me some insight into what other women feel who become mothers after growing up without one. I just found her to be awful, whiny and unappreciative throughout the entire thing. I finished it within a couple days because I just wanted to get through it and get onto a different book. Every day I choose to appreciate what I have, rather than focus on what I don't. And the ending was a huge disappointment. After 400+ pages, I really needed a resolution, but did not receive one. No more Picoult for me.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book so much. One of her best!
Good solid read by Picoult. An earlier book of hers.
Helpful Score: 1
Abandoned by her mother at five, Paige dreams of art school and marries a doctor. This is a terrific book. You can never go wrong with a Jodi Picoult book. J Robbins Indianapolis, IN
Helpful Score: 1
This was such an amazing book. Jodi Picoult has a style all her own, poignant and all-consuming. Readers can easily relate to the characters and plot twists. Every page kept me guessing. Ms. Picoult is truly one of the great writers of our generation.
Helpful Score: 1
Typical Jodi Picoult - engaging characters who often make you angry, all sides of the story considered, and an ending that is realistic, sometimes unfinished so you imagination gets to fill in the blanks. Hard reading for a woman who is pregnant (like I am) but worth the risk.
Helpful Score: 1
Jodi Piccoult is one of my favorite authors. She has a great way of getting you inside the characters' lives.
This is another one of her compelling stories.
This is another one of her compelling stories.
Helpful Score: 1
i didn't enjoy it as much as her others. a little longer and more drawn out.
Very good. Kept my interest & was disappointed when it ended.
As always, Jodi Picoult gives a surprise twist and an ending that leaves you thinking. In this book, Picoult mixes in a little bit of the super natural, more so than in any of her other books.
My least favorite of her books. It was on okay ready but not as gripping as her later books. I was rather bored and frustrated with Paige and wanted the book to be over.
This book was an awesome read. I really enjoyed reading this book and it was hard to put down!
Being a big Picoult fan I enjoy all her books, but some more than others. This was excellent and a very good plot and character development, as usual. You won't be disappointed.
This was the first book I have read By Jodi Picult. I must say, since I haven't been able to pick up a book lately, this was an easy and effortless read. I liked that the story line was a little thinner, and a little unrealistic, but still allowed me to place my own feelings and emotions into the situations.
A good quick read, making me look forward to reading other titles by her.
A good quick read, making me look forward to reading other titles by her.
Heart wrenching....Couldn't put it down....
Another nice read by Jodi Picoult. This follows the path of Pagie, who lost her mother at 5, and ends up running from her family of her own. There are many descriptive paragraphs that allow you to really get to know the characters. It wasn't as rough on the heart strings as some of her other novels, but still a good read.
This story was not as well developed as Picoult's other books.
After I received this book, I realized I had read it before. I like Jodi Picoult so much, but sometimes I get confused about which one is which. As a matter of fact, this one left me quite unsatisfied. Not as good as many of her others and the ending was a letdown.
Paige's mother left her when she was only 5 years old. When she becomes a mother herself, Paige is frightened that she will be a terrible mother and that she will no longer have a life of her own.
Throughout this story, we see the troubles facing Paige and her husband, Nicholas. Nicholas is on a fast track to becoming a surgical genius and spends more and more of his time away from home. When the baby arrives, Paige is on her own to deal with the day to day trials of raising a newborn.
What bothered me most about this book is that, while Paige is flawed and makes her share of mis-steps, all of the blame seems to reside squarely on her shoulders. Nicholas, to me, seems to be a pompous ass who never even bothers trying to understand what life has been like for Paige. I also didn't like the way Paige's future is painted as either having to stay with her husband and child, or "run away" and be with her past.
Throughout this story, we see the troubles facing Paige and her husband, Nicholas. Nicholas is on a fast track to becoming a surgical genius and spends more and more of his time away from home. When the baby arrives, Paige is on her own to deal with the day to day trials of raising a newborn.
What bothered me most about this book is that, while Paige is flawed and makes her share of mis-steps, all of the blame seems to reside squarely on her shoulders. Nicholas, to me, seems to be a pompous ass who never even bothers trying to understand what life has been like for Paige. I also didn't like the way Paige's future is painted as either having to stay with her husband and child, or "run away" and be with her past.
I really enjoyed this book from the very beginning. The author takes unexpected twists and turns and your never really sure what is about to happen. I have fell in love with Jodi Picoult's books.
Weepy tale of a naïve girl from a blue-collar background who marries a rising young surgeon and then finds she can't cope with his world. The characters are unlikeable and the situation trite. Phooey.
I have not read many of Jodi Picoult's books but did enjoy this one.
Good book. Love all of hers!
Great writing and great character development.
I used to think the author could only write "chick" literature. The more works of hers I read, the more I realize that she is an excellent writer.
I used to think the author could only write "chick" literature. The more works of hers I read, the more I realize that she is an excellent writer.
Of course I love every Jodi Picoult book - excellent as always. :)
This was the first Jodi Picoult book that I bought, the second the at I read and probably is my favorite. I loved the added magic to it - the second-sight of Paige's drawings. I love the setting of Chicago for part of it. I like that it's open enough at the end for there to be some doubt as to how it all turns out. I like the romance, the storyline... and of the three of her books that I have read so far in 2008, this is definitely my favorite!
In typical Jodi Picoult fashion, this book is a quick and easy read that is fun but not very deep. Unlike some of her newer books there isn't really a supernatural bent to this one. I enjoyed the ending, it wasn't quite what I had expected.
This is my absolute favorite Picoult book!
This is an older Jodi Picoult book that I just recently read (after reading every book of hers over the last few years as soon as they came out) and I really enjoyed it.
An earlier book of Jody's about the beginning of a marriage and birth of a child. The emotional adjustments, compromises and soul searching, how the past needs to be delt with before you can move on with your life. For anyone who is married with children you can relate on some level.
Once again, another excellent book from Jodi Picoult.
Jodi is the master. Loved it!
Beautiful, well written story by Jodi Picoult.
Not as good as her later books, but still a great story
It was different than I thought it would be. Not one of her best, or my favorites, but worth a read anyway. Thought the husband was a rather cold fish, unforgiving and a bit "heartless". Ironic considering his profession.
Not one of Picoult's better reads. Starts out very slow and gets just a bit better.
Not my favorite Jodi Picoult book but still a good book.
I had a hard time sticking with this book during the first part of the book but stick with it I did and am glad I did. Turned out to be a very good story and well told. I liked the way it told the story from both the husband's and wife's point of view. Well done.
I loved this book. Read it in two days. Couldn't put it down. Awesome!
Another beautifully-written masterpiece by Ms. Picoult!
I loved this book. It was such a touching story. I was so captivated by the characters that I just let myself get lost in the story. It only took me a few hours to read it.
The character development was great. I loved Paige and Nicholas. Even the secondary characters were great. I had great images of them all, and I could even hear the accents in their voices as I read. I think Nicholas comes off as being a bit superficial and at times a real jerk but I almost understood where he was coming from and felt that he was justified in his actions (sometimes).
The story was very good. Picoult did a great job with the narration changes, which I think can sometimes make a story seem choppy. The changes didn't affect the flow of the story at all.
The story spans quite a bit of time, and I found myself forgetting that so many years had passed but that didn't really take away from the story.
I really liked this one. It wasn't an excellent book, but it was pretty good. It was a quick read and it was easy to attach to the characters. If you like chick lit this is a good one to pick up. This was the first of Picoult's books that I've actually read, but I've added her to my list of favorite authors.
The character development was great. I loved Paige and Nicholas. Even the secondary characters were great. I had great images of them all, and I could even hear the accents in their voices as I read. I think Nicholas comes off as being a bit superficial and at times a real jerk but I almost understood where he was coming from and felt that he was justified in his actions (sometimes).
The story was very good. Picoult did a great job with the narration changes, which I think can sometimes make a story seem choppy. The changes didn't affect the flow of the story at all.
The story spans quite a bit of time, and I found myself forgetting that so many years had passed but that didn't really take away from the story.
I really liked this one. It wasn't an excellent book, but it was pretty good. It was a quick read and it was easy to attach to the characters. If you like chick lit this is a good one to pick up. This was the first of Picoult's books that I've actually read, but I've added her to my list of favorite authors.
Jodi delivers yet another page turner!
Although I am usually a big fan of Picoult's writing, I did not care much for this one. The characters were unlikeable.
good read
I found the story very engrossing, and couldn't put it down once I started. But I did find that the ending seemed a bit rushed and I was left feeling like it could have used another chapter to finish it off. Up till that point, I enjoyed it immensely.
Another heartwarming tale by Picoult.
A young lady seemed to have missed a link in her life ....a space left open by the fact her mother had left with no explanation when she was five. Life could not be as it should be until Paige had connected the dots ---there she answered the questions, am I like my Mother, will I abandon my family as well?
Once she found and lived with her Mother the cloud seemed to clear regarding herself and the love of home became very important. Most importantly she became important and necessary in her home with her own family. A story of rekindled love between husband and wife as Paige found her niche in life and her self-worth.
Once she found and lived with her Mother the cloud seemed to clear regarding herself and the love of home became very important. Most importantly she became important and necessary in her home with her own family. A story of rekindled love between husband and wife as Paige found her niche in life and her self-worth.
As with most Picoult books, this one was difficult to put down. However, at least for me it really hit home, and touched on some very personal "sore spots". As always, a wonderful read, that touches your own heart.
Great book!!!! Another great one by jodi picoult!!!
I couldn't get into this one.
I loved this book. My favorite Picoult book besides My Sister's Keeper.
I am a fan of Picoult's writing but this book was just OK. It really starts of just OK, it is a little dry and long winded. I felt for the first 250 pages I was forcing myself to read it. Towards the end it was an easier read but I am not sure if that was because I wanted to find out how it would end. I have read many of her later books and they are excellent. Now that I have gone back and I am starting at the begining, I can see how her writing is coming along. It has improved since her first book.
If you want to read her books in order:
Songs of the Humpback Whale
Harvesting the Heart
Picture Perfect
Mercy
The Pact
Keeping Faith
Plain Truth
Salem Falls
Perfect Match
Second Glance
My Sisters Keeper
Vanishing Acts
The Tenth Circle
Nineteen Minutes
Change of Hearts
Handle with Care
House Rules
Sing You Home
If you want to read her books in order:
Songs of the Humpback Whale
Harvesting the Heart
Picture Perfect
Mercy
The Pact
Keeping Faith
Plain Truth
Salem Falls
Perfect Match
Second Glance
My Sisters Keeper
Vanishing Acts
The Tenth Circle
Nineteen Minutes
Change of Hearts
Handle with Care
House Rules
Sing You Home
As always, Jodi Picoult holds my attention. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and then my husband read it and thought it was well written. Jodi always is so precise with her research and lets us experience lives we wouldn't or couldn't understand. I am addicted to her books and appreciate the work she puts into preparation for each book.
In typical Picoult style, the book was great. Took some
twists and turns that I didn't expect.
twists and turns that I didn't expect.
same book just with a different cover
