What a great idea for a story - and it could have been done so much better. Parts of this book were well done. I liked the different points of view, and liked the way this was visually indicated with different typefaces. However, we don't get to read the point of view of one character until very late in the story, and this kept me from connecting with her. Picoult does write well, she has the ability to craft some fine imagery. Sometimes this results in younger characters coming off as precocious, as sounding way too sophisticated for their ages.
Besides not connecting with a character, I also thought the subplot involving the lawyer and his high school sweetheart didn't bring much extra to the story. Encountering the person you fell in love with as a teenager and having those same feelings 10 or 15 years after the fact? So trite. Also, few people will be surprised by the "mystery" surrounding the lawyer. For a well-researched novel, there is a glaring error about one illness that involves a key plot point. I don't want to spoil things for you so I won't. Just be aware.
I never got the soul-searching I wanted from the mother in the story. Here's a woman who conceived one child to serve as spare parts for another. Creepy. She doesn't even name the child while she is in utero. What mother does this? She declares she has a great love for Anna but she never showed it - "show, don't tell" is one of the first lessons a writer learns. The subplot involving the brother resolved itself with too much ease. And the ending? Very manipulative, but I guess that's what you get from chick lit.
Besides not connecting with a character, I also thought the subplot involving the lawyer and his high school sweetheart didn't bring much extra to the story. Encountering the person you fell in love with as a teenager and having those same feelings 10 or 15 years after the fact? So trite. Also, few people will be surprised by the "mystery" surrounding the lawyer. For a well-researched novel, there is a glaring error about one illness that involves a key plot point. I don't want to spoil things for you so I won't. Just be aware.
I never got the soul-searching I wanted from the mother in the story. Here's a woman who conceived one child to serve as spare parts for another. Creepy. She doesn't even name the child while she is in utero. What mother does this? She declares she has a great love for Anna but she never showed it - "show, don't tell" is one of the first lessons a writer learns. The subplot involving the brother resolved itself with too much ease. And the ending? Very manipulative, but I guess that's what you get from chick lit.
