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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
The only book by Jodi Picoult I could not finish. I love, love, love Jodi Picoult, but this book was awful. I only made it 1/4 of the way in and gave up. It was a real struggle to get that far in.
This book is another page turner, with its (once again!) great topic: The Paranormal. Interested in this topic myself, I loved this book right away. Picoult does an excellent job balancing Romance into the plot as well, and it just grabs the reader right in. Any other fans of Picoult's other books, this one was no disappointment!
I really enjoyed this read. I've read other Jodi Picoult books and even though I really enjoy her style of writing the books were only "good." This book, however, really piqued my interest by centering around love lost and ghosts. It's a beautifully written story and a good recommendation for anyone who is interested in ghosts and love.
http://justaddchampagne.blogspot.ca/2013/03/review-second-glance-by-jodi-picoult.html
for full review
This is up there in my favorite Picoult’s books. I think it’s because it has to do with ghosts. More specifically, the haunting of a piece of land thought to be an Indian Burial ground which is brought on because some rich people want to build some condos or shopping malls or something to that nature on it.
Ross, a ghost hunter in training is the one for the job after he realizes that his boss his a quack. He isn’t entirely sane himself, believing he cannot die as he has attempted suicide a few times.-This all after a car accident that left his love dead. Ross, ironically being a ghost hunter had never seen a ghost before. And I believe that he started ghost hunting probably to reconnect with his dead fiancé. Shelby is his sister, and a mother who has given up her social life in order to take care of her son, Ethan. Ethan had XP- which is being allergic to the sun more or less. That being said, he sleeps during the day, parties at night, while his mom also goes to work during the day… rock star. Shelby ends up falling for the cop, Eli who is bringing the murder case of Cecilia back to life. This murder happened to be on this piece of land that is now haunted. Eli also saw Shelby in his dreams prior to knowing her (oooooooooh eerie). There are more characters as well, but I truthfully don't feel like giving them a time of day.
My favorite part is the part 2, where you see what actually happened with all of these characters and how they came to be. You see how Ceclia/Cissy/Lia ends up dead, presumably by Grey Wolf/Jon Delacour. I liked this part of the book because the anthropologist in me singed. It was interesting to read about the beginning of eugenics (the science of genetic cleansing (for lack of better word)). As fiction as it was, you knew it happened. The white folk went in and wanted to stop the breeding of degenerates, poor people, liars, insane etc. In this book, those happened to be the Abenaki Indians. And they did this by going into their neighborhoods, asking questions then writing down “stupid”, “liars” When in fact the white folk were the stupid ones because they couldn’t understand the language. My favorite character was probably Grey Wolf/Jon/Someone else but I won’t say because it’s a spoiler. And that is also why I won't go into the whole murder mystery of Cecilia. BUt I found it very intriguing, albeit at times predicatable.
They also touched on the subject of pre-screening embryo’s and if its moral or not. One of the characters was a doctor, who screened for things like Down Syndrome, or XP in order so they won’t be passed on. It was definitely something that made me think. If I knew there was a certain disease in my family, would I go and get it checked, and if my little embryo had the disease, would I terminate or not. I don’t think there is a right or wrong in this situation.
One complaint with the first half of the book is the way it was laid out. It wasn’t separated into different characters in a succinct way. It jumped from one paragraph to the next and I felt like I had to really pay attention to keep it all straight. Another complaint is the ending. It felt rushed, and that Jodi had to wrap it up in 20 pages or less.
All in all I liked it, give it 4 stars for a Jodi Picoult book. It was entertaining, had a murder mystery vibe to it, as well as a moral medical question.
for full review
This is up there in my favorite Picoult’s books. I think it’s because it has to do with ghosts. More specifically, the haunting of a piece of land thought to be an Indian Burial ground which is brought on because some rich people want to build some condos or shopping malls or something to that nature on it.
Ross, a ghost hunter in training is the one for the job after he realizes that his boss his a quack. He isn’t entirely sane himself, believing he cannot die as he has attempted suicide a few times.-This all after a car accident that left his love dead. Ross, ironically being a ghost hunter had never seen a ghost before. And I believe that he started ghost hunting probably to reconnect with his dead fiancé. Shelby is his sister, and a mother who has given up her social life in order to take care of her son, Ethan. Ethan had XP- which is being allergic to the sun more or less. That being said, he sleeps during the day, parties at night, while his mom also goes to work during the day… rock star. Shelby ends up falling for the cop, Eli who is bringing the murder case of Cecilia back to life. This murder happened to be on this piece of land that is now haunted. Eli also saw Shelby in his dreams prior to knowing her (oooooooooh eerie). There are more characters as well, but I truthfully don't feel like giving them a time of day.
My favorite part is the part 2, where you see what actually happened with all of these characters and how they came to be. You see how Ceclia/Cissy/Lia ends up dead, presumably by Grey Wolf/Jon Delacour. I liked this part of the book because the anthropologist in me singed. It was interesting to read about the beginning of eugenics (the science of genetic cleansing (for lack of better word)). As fiction as it was, you knew it happened. The white folk went in and wanted to stop the breeding of degenerates, poor people, liars, insane etc. In this book, those happened to be the Abenaki Indians. And they did this by going into their neighborhoods, asking questions then writing down “stupid”, “liars” When in fact the white folk were the stupid ones because they couldn’t understand the language. My favorite character was probably Grey Wolf/Jon/Someone else but I won’t say because it’s a spoiler. And that is also why I won't go into the whole murder mystery of Cecilia. BUt I found it very intriguing, albeit at times predicatable.
They also touched on the subject of pre-screening embryo’s and if its moral or not. One of the characters was a doctor, who screened for things like Down Syndrome, or XP in order so they won’t be passed on. It was definitely something that made me think. If I knew there was a certain disease in my family, would I go and get it checked, and if my little embryo had the disease, would I terminate or not. I don’t think there is a right or wrong in this situation.
One complaint with the first half of the book is the way it was laid out. It wasn’t separated into different characters in a succinct way. It jumped from one paragraph to the next and I felt like I had to really pay attention to keep it all straight. Another complaint is the ending. It felt rushed, and that Jodi had to wrap it up in 20 pages or less.
All in all I liked it, give it 4 stars for a Jodi Picoult book. It was entertaining, had a murder mystery vibe to it, as well as a moral medical question.
I want to give this book 5 stars cause the ending gave me goosebumps!! Unfortunately that’s just the ending. There are lots of characters in this book so it gets confusing. So in the beginning it feels soooo overwhelming, but each person has back story so she does go into detail. This is my first book I have read by Jodi Picoult, so as a first time reader getting used to her writing style I was thrown and it took me a long while to get into it. I’m happy I stuck through it like I said that ending gave me goosebumps.
One of Jodi Picoult’s more far-fetched tales, but I enjoyed it! 3.5 stars
I was incredibly hesitant to start reading this book. I want to like [a:Jodi Picoult|7128|Jodi Picoult|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1305417712p2/7128.jpg]. She has fascinating ideas, and I really like the plots she writes. I love the way she sets up characters to have their heart ripped out. I'm always left unsatisfied, though. [b:My Sister's Keeper|10917|My Sister's Keeper|Jodi Picoult|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41JSMkt%2BncL._SL75_.jpg|1639903], [b:The Pact|10916|The Pact|Jodi Picoult|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255667080s/10916.jpg|3349846], [b:Keeping Faith|10913|Keeping Faith|Jodi Picoult|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275710084s/10913.jpg|3349582], [b:Mercy|10910|Mercy|Jodi Picoult|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299040130s/10910.jpg|3349593]... they all felt as though Picoult had done what she'd wanted to do, and then she had no idea how to finish. It's like she got sick of writing the novel and wanted to move onto the next idea that had grabbed her. All these books, bar Mercy, which bored me from the start, really engrossed me. [b:Second Glance|10911|Second Glance|Jodi Picoult|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166338966s/10911.jpg|3349802] did, too.
The characters are a little weak in parts, and the romantic story line between Ross and Meredith made me roll my eyes, and the ending with the quarry... well, that made me push my suspension of disbelief a little too far, but as a whole, I felt like Picoult really wanted a satisfying ending for her characters. Everything wrapped up well here. Everyone got an ending that worked for them.
I really liked the relationship between Lia and Ross. Was it face-paced? Sure. But I'm happy to ignore my little quibbles a little. I mean, hell, this is a fantasy novel. Ross has had a miserable life and Lia's been dreaming about him. So let's go with it. And I really loved the relationship between Lia and Grey Wolf.
Just something I didn't particularly enjoy, aside from what I mentioned above. I'm not too sure how I felt Picoult's way of writing a short scene that lasts between half a page to two pages, then ending it and moving onto the next scene. It felt very [a:Dan Brown|630|Dan Brown|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1206553442p2/630.jpg] to me.
The characters are a little weak in parts, and the romantic story line between Ross and Meredith made me roll my eyes, and the ending with the quarry... well, that made me push my suspension of disbelief a little too far, but as a whole, I felt like Picoult really wanted a satisfying ending for her characters. Everything wrapped up well here. Everyone got an ending that worked for them.
I really liked the relationship between Lia and Ross. Was it face-paced? Sure. But I'm happy to ignore my little quibbles a little. I mean, hell, this is a fantasy novel. Ross has had a miserable life and Lia's been dreaming about him. So let's go with it. And I really loved the relationship between Lia and Grey Wolf.
Just something I didn't particularly enjoy, aside from what I mentioned above. I'm not too sure how I felt Picoult's way of writing a short scene that lasts between half a page to two pages, then ending it and moving onto the next scene. It felt very [a:Dan Brown|630|Dan Brown|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1206553442p2/630.jpg] to me.
This book has everything I love in a story, and yet it's something I never expected. I want to brand it a ghost story, but it's so much more than that, it ties in love, loyalty, history, and when everything in your world collides with another world you thought's outside of your reach. I picked this up because the premise promised me a ghost story, and though I was skeptical at first I succumbed to the tale and couldn't believe I had finally gotten a ghost story worthy of my time and love.
It starts with Ross Wakeman, a man who lost the love of his life, and is desperately spending the rest of what he has left to follow her into the world he can't be a part of. His desire to depart this world, ironically, is the one thing that seems to keep him firmly rooted in the current world, as he becomes almost immune to death.
Picoult creates such wonderfully flawed characters, there's no shortage of them, from Ross, to his sister Shelby, his nephew Ethan, Eli the cop, Meredith and her daughter Lucy, John Delacour, and the eugenics story. It seems like there's a lot of threads interweaving in this story and I know, I know, it sounds like it should be a recipe for disaster, yet it's not. There's such depth to each individual, perfectly fleshed out with their own flaws and vices, their own struggles. I connected with each and every one and that's saying something. Each character represents something intangible, a representation of loss, of love, life, fear, a past they can't escape and a future they can't envision. All wound together with wonderful poetic prose and a story writing style that has you hooked from beginning to end. It's haunting, chilling and heartwarming and Picoult literally wrote a masterpiece with this in my eyes.
One of my favorite aspects of the book, aside from the whole thing itself, was the inclusion of the eugenics history and the Abenaki tribe beliefs and traditions. Two sides of one coin, so perfectly balanced and well researched to be respectful but still bring that extra edge to the story. It's fascinating, and horrifying, reading about a program like that which sadly did exist and Picoult plays up the repercussions of that part of our history and shows us the horrors it entailed.
The best way to get into this book though, is to go in with your eyes closed. I mean don't read any reviews, don't read too much into the premise, but just go in blind. The story will do the rest, it will take you left and right and up and down. It's a story you have to let happen to you, that's the only way you'll really feel the tale that's been spun here. So many wondrous twists, bound together so neatly.
It starts with Ross Wakeman, a man who lost the love of his life, and is desperately spending the rest of what he has left to follow her into the world he can't be a part of. His desire to depart this world, ironically, is the one thing that seems to keep him firmly rooted in the current world, as he becomes almost immune to death.
Picoult creates such wonderfully flawed characters, there's no shortage of them, from Ross, to his sister Shelby, his nephew Ethan, Eli the cop, Meredith and her daughter Lucy, John Delacour, and the eugenics story. It seems like there's a lot of threads interweaving in this story and I know, I know, it sounds like it should be a recipe for disaster, yet it's not. There's such depth to each individual, perfectly fleshed out with their own flaws and vices, their own struggles. I connected with each and every one and that's saying something. Each character represents something intangible, a representation of loss, of love, life, fear, a past they can't escape and a future they can't envision. All wound together with wonderful poetic prose and a story writing style that has you hooked from beginning to end. It's haunting, chilling and heartwarming and Picoult literally wrote a masterpiece with this in my eyes.
One of my favorite aspects of the book, aside from the whole thing itself, was the inclusion of the eugenics history and the Abenaki tribe beliefs and traditions. Two sides of one coin, so perfectly balanced and well researched to be respectful but still bring that extra edge to the story. It's fascinating, and horrifying, reading about a program like that which sadly did exist and Picoult plays up the repercussions of that part of our history and shows us the horrors it entailed.
The best way to get into this book though, is to go in with your eyes closed. I mean don't read any reviews, don't read too much into the premise, but just go in blind. The story will do the rest, it will take you left and right and up and down. It's a story you have to let happen to you, that's the only way you'll really feel the tale that's been spun here. So many wondrous twists, bound together so neatly.
Jodi Picoult is just amazing! If you like a good ghost story wrapped in the depth that Picoult can bring than you will love this!