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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
2007 thoughts on bookcrossing: For mass market fiction I think Jodi Picoult is certainly one of the more readable writers, and I find her books certainly addictive. I don't think they are books I would ever want to read a second time around. I also enjoyed this one more than Vanishing Acts.
The best bit about this book, for me, anyway, had to be about Amish life. I knew very little about it beforehand, and very little perspective on it, so it was interesting to see how they live and also how they compare their way of life with what they know of ours. I wouldn't want to live the Amish way, but it was interesting to learn a little about it.
I thought the ending got a bit feel-good-movie-ending style with a bit too much melodrama towards the end starting off with Katie confessing to murder all of a sudden - melodramatic shock! - only then to say, once we were all at the edge of the cliff, that she had "killed" her child through the infection she had unknowingly been carrying. And then through with Ellie's own pregnancy and so on.
In the interview with the writer at the end there was something she said about her "ideal" reader that caught my eye. Her readers (ideal at least) "...don't like to read the same book twice." I know I've said that about this book but there are certainly a lot of books I've loved so much that I already have gone back to them to submerge myself in their worlds again, or I intend to do so in the future. Has she never loved a book that much? Or maybe this is just me!
The best bit about this book, for me, anyway, had to be about Amish life. I knew very little about it beforehand, and very little perspective on it, so it was interesting to see how they live and also how they compare their way of life with what they know of ours. I wouldn't want to live the Amish way, but it was interesting to learn a little about it.
I thought the ending got a bit feel-good-movie-ending style with a bit too much melodrama towards the end starting off with Katie confessing to murder all of a sudden - melodramatic shock! - only then to say, once we were all at the edge of the cliff, that she had "killed" her child through the infection she had unknowingly been carrying. And then through with Ellie's own pregnancy and so on.
In the interview with the writer at the end there was something she said about her "ideal" reader that caught my eye. Her readers (ideal at least) "...don't like to read the same book twice." I know I've said that about this book but there are certainly a lot of books I've loved so much that I already have gone back to them to submerge myself in their worlds again, or I intend to do so in the future. Has she never loved a book that much? Or maybe this is just me!
I learned a lot about Amish culture from this book. Enough to realize that a society that doesn’t value education and doesn’t educate beyond the 8th grade would be, personally, like a nightmare for me to live in.
It even prompted me to watch a documentary on the Amish, and boy, have I never seen such unhappy looking people!
Back to the book. I liked the lawyer character who seemed smart and realistic. I followed her story the most.
The Amish woman accused of the murder was so vague and vacant and smug at the same time. I couldn’t stand her!
My reason for 4 stars is the lack of logic. A semi-spoiler follows, so stop reading if you don’t want to hear.
I guessed the murderer in the first few chapters, because there were so few characters it could have been.
And a murder defense based on “She’s Amish, she was raised a pacifist, therefore she could not have committed murder…”
That’s doesn’t make any sense at all.
It had to be someone Amish, pretty much. There was no one else around and so few suspects even.
And for the death to have been natural would disappoint the reader, in such a long legal case.
So, this was interesting for the cultural perspective on the Amish. Not so much as a murder mystery.
It even prompted me to watch a documentary on the Amish, and boy, have I never seen such unhappy looking people!
Back to the book. I liked the lawyer character who seemed smart and realistic. I followed her story the most.
The Amish woman accused of the murder was so vague and vacant and smug at the same time. I couldn’t stand her!
My reason for 4 stars is the lack of logic. A semi-spoiler follows, so stop reading if you don’t want to hear.
I guessed the murderer in the first few chapters, because there were so few characters it could have been.
And a murder defense based on “She’s Amish, she was raised a pacifist, therefore she could not have committed murder…”
That’s doesn’t make any sense at all.
It had to be someone Amish, pretty much. There was no one else around and so few suspects even.
And for the death to have been natural would disappoint the reader, in such a long legal case.
So, this was interesting for the cultural perspective on the Amish. Not so much as a murder mystery.
If there was a way to give this book a 2.5 star, I would. While the premise was good, I felt the author spent a good deal of time repeating parts of the story to fill up space. I have read other books from this author I thought that were better stories.
I did, however, like the idea of exploring the world of the Amish and whether this young woman may or may not have killed her baby.
I did, however, like the idea of exploring the world of the Amish and whether this young woman may or may not have killed her baby.
Really good. Educational, engaging, emotional. Well-developed characters.
One of the first Jodi Picoult books that led me to realize her talent. Ethical dilemma paired with unconventional religious characters to open your mind and make you consider both sides of debate.
Having grown up near Lancaster, I've always been interested in Amish culture. I felt this book treated the Amish fairly (unlike some current reality TV shows that are very exploitative. I kind of figured out some of the "secrets" before the end, but the book was still compelling.