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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I am struggling with how to rate and review this book. If it is meant to be a mystery, it isn't. It is pretty clear upfront what happened.
People who have read enough Picoult will find it fairly typical yet good enough to be entertaining.
Part of me wants to give up on Picoult because of her formulaic writing but with each new story I keep going back.
People who have read enough Picoult will find it fairly typical yet good enough to be entertaining.
Part of me wants to give up on Picoult because of her formulaic writing but with each new story I keep going back.
Wonderful Jodi Picoult and incredibly well written in narrative of a young boy with Asperger's.
I almost always enjoy Jodi's books, and I like this one too. However, I did feel that there was absolutly no mystery whatsoever. I had it figured out immediately, and kind of felt cheated. I did appreciate facts about Asperger's, but it did get very tedious after a while. I feel that the book could have been just as interesting with 200 less pages to it.
Really enjoyed this -- couldn't put it down and wanted to just keep reading. (Wasn't thrilled with the ending, but after reading an interview with Jodi Picoult giving her thoughts about what happened in the end, I'm better with it.)
This was my first Picoult - I've seen her books so many times on the bestseller lists. I didn't have crazy huge expectations, but ugh - the writing! So much exposition, so many time outs to explore the issue of autism rather than letting the characters and action address it. If this was a book for young readers and I was reading it for a Notables list, I would say no way, young readers deserve better editing/writing skills - and so do adults!
My "rule" for novels: Authors, let the story tell itself! (Don't try to explain it to me and tell me what I should be thinking.) I liked the first 1/2 to 2/3 of this book -- a murder mystery in which the accused has Asperger's. I gained some new insights into this puzzling disorder. I don't always like novels with a multiple person narrative structure but it worked well in this case and I appreciated the honesty of the characters, But the final portion of the book became tedious. As the murder trial progressed, the book felt repetitious and I felt like I was being lectured about Asperger's. I correctly guessed the "murder mystery" long before the story ended (duh! ) and kept wondering: "Since the defendant never lies, why doesn't someone just ASK him what happened???) I thought the romance was corny and distracting (channeling Danielle Steele!) Too bad -- this was almost like reading two distinct books.
I like Picoult's books, but this was not one of my favorites. The story itself was decent, but the chapters were repetitive. I felt like I was reading the same descriptions over and over and over.
Jacob is a teen on the Autism spectrum who is obsessed with crime shows and listening to the local police scanner. When a murder happens in town, Jacob is assumed guilty because of his obsession with crime. This story follows Jacob’s story and what really happened from multiple perspectives, including his lawyer. I enjoyed this story and I think it did a good job depicting someone who has Autism. While I found the ending predictable from fairly early on in the book, I think that made me like it more because I was frustrated that no one else was picking up on it in the story. This is a great courtroom thriller.
Dear Jodi,
PLEASE please please please learn how to end a book meaningfully and in a way that doesn't make me want to throw the book that I've invested hours in reading across the room.
Signed,
Frustrated Reader
PLEASE please please please learn how to end a book meaningfully and in a way that doesn't make me want to throw the book that I've invested hours in reading across the room.
Signed,
Frustrated Reader