3.28k reviews for:

The Storyteller

Jodi Picoult

4.28 AVERAGE

bookish_nature's review against another edition

4.0

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Nothing on the back told me it was going to be about the holocaust, and I’m not a historical fiction type of person so I almost DNF-ed (my fault for not researching I guess). I’m happy I stuck around though.

Part 2, though it was the most immersive of the war, was the one that kept me going. Honestly the best part of the whole book. AND THAT ENDING, did not see that coming.

My first Jodi Picoult book, and honestly I’m excited for more.

emjayen's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

tasha84's review against another edition

3.0

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I have loved so many of Jodi Picoult’s books, but this one wasn’t a home run. The reverse time line meant you knew the outcome from the start. The characters were hard to keep track of and I didn’t feel any connection to them. The book did a great job of coming at the pro life/choice debate from many different perspectives and the plot had great potential, but it fell a bit flat.

jmarrone's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

mell76's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

sfergie's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book was HEAVY.  It was an incredibly challenging read, particularly in 2025 with the current political climate, but worth it to hear Minka’s story.  It’s just devastating to see that history continues to repeat itself. 

Minka’s story got a very clear 5 stars.  Sage and Leo dropped the score a bit for me -

their relationship moved way too fast to give me any semblance of a strong foundation and starting with a lie doesn’t help.

The twist was a little obvious but made sense for the book.  The ending was frustrating but overall a very good read. 

jenndesjarlais's review against another edition

5.0

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I love all of Picoult's book, but I think this one is my favourite. It broke my heart to hear Minka's story and know that type of thing happened to millions of people. Once it was revealed that Josef was actually a Nazi that was directly involved in her grandmother's life, I wanted him to be brought to justic.

I really like the relationship between Leo and Sage, I thought their dialogue flowed really well.

I also couldn't get enough of Minka's fictional story, I thought it would make another great novel.

The ending BLEW my mind like every other Jodi Picoult story does. I really recommend this book!

kirmelmacchiato's review against another edition

5.0

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I couldn’t put this down- another heart wrenching historical fiction, this time woven between the modern day and the Holocaust. Well written and immersive this one shows once again what makes Picoult a great author.

great_lexpectations's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

abby_kraus94's review against another edition

4.0

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Good book but I felt part of the middle was too slow.