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brooke_reads6's review against another edition
4.0
She said that this was her version of The Crucible and it makes sense. It was just so disturbing- the thought that anyone could lie like that to try and ruin someone’s life. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I don’t really buy the ending and I think that it wasn’t clear enough what Amos was guilty of.
justlily's review
3.0
Thank goodness I was so into the plot of this one because wow, 400+ pages is a long way to go when you hate every single character. The man accused of assault? Hate him. His girlfriend? Hate her. The girl accusing him? Hate her too. All the side characters? Yup, them too. There wasn't a single moment in here where I liked or related to any of them, I found them all insufferable. For God's sake, who moves in with a single woman who has lost her child and that same night decides to take it upon themselves to clean out her dead daughter's bedroom without consent? I literally almost threw the book across the room.
Jodi Picoult is so hit and miss for me. I really did enjoy the pacing and plot of this story but the characters, my dudes. Just. No.
Jodi Picoult is so hit and miss for me. I really did enjoy the pacing and plot of this story but the characters, my dudes. Just. No.
bobbykarmakar's review against another edition
4.0
Twisted Tale
An unknown man, Jack St. Bride, enters the little town of Salem Falls. The first thing he does is register himself as a public sex offender. He is escaping into Salem Falls because he was recently released from a sentence of raping a minor at his previous workplace. He has a PhD in history and taught at a female preparatory school. No doubt, the victim he raped, was one of his students. However, given his background, I was not entirely convinced. Though he consistently argued he didn’t do it, and like many may say they did not, it is hard to believe. When I hear of this on the news, I would immediately dismiss the suspect and jump to conclusions to say they did act on that crime.
However, in the case of Jack St. Bride, through his past and background, I for one found it hard to believe. As one may keep guessing throughout the book, or straight out consider their own opinion and just silently accuse one or the other, a Wiccan mystery gets evolved and bubbles this story into the oddest defying conclusions.
Though everyone has their own opinions, this is precisely what Jodi Picoult sets up in all her books and never disappoints to have me thinking out of the context that is written on the page. The most important for Salem Falls, everyone is not who you think they may be, whether they are a convicted criminal or not. And that undoubtedly is a huge factor in this wicked tale. Another favourite book from one of my absolute favourite authors!
An unknown man, Jack St. Bride, enters the little town of Salem Falls. The first thing he does is register himself as a public sex offender. He is escaping into Salem Falls because he was recently released from a sentence of raping a minor at his previous workplace. He has a PhD in history and taught at a female preparatory school. No doubt, the victim he raped, was one of his students. However, given his background, I was not entirely convinced. Though he consistently argued he didn’t do it, and like many may say they did not, it is hard to believe. When I hear of this on the news, I would immediately dismiss the suspect and jump to conclusions to say they did act on that crime.
However, in the case of Jack St. Bride, through his past and background, I for one found it hard to believe. As one may keep guessing throughout the book, or straight out consider their own opinion and just silently accuse one or the other, a Wiccan mystery gets evolved and bubbles this story into the oddest defying conclusions.
Though everyone has their own opinions, this is precisely what Jodi Picoult sets up in all her books and never disappoints to have me thinking out of the context that is written on the page. The most important for Salem Falls, everyone is not who you think they may be, whether they are a convicted criminal or not. And that undoubtedly is a huge factor in this wicked tale. Another favourite book from one of my absolute favourite authors!
allison_murphy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kristenremenar's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting twist on the Salem Witch Trials. I bristled a bit three young women claiming sexual assault when there was none against the hero of the story - so many women haven't been believed when they step forward - but there were also storylines where it was clear that the assaults were real.
It's Jodi Picoult and once again the writing kept me hooked!
It's Jodi Picoult and once again the writing kept me hooked!
nicmacc's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first Jodi Picoult book. I really enjoyed it! Liked the story and she kept me interested in the characters and I couldn't really guess what way it was going to go. Enjoyed her style of writing immensely - can see how she is so popular. I am pleased I liked it because that means I have HEAPS of Jodi Picoult books to look forward to in the future!
mandmmom's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault
Minor: Self harm and Incest
gayle_carr's review against another edition
4.0
A perfect read with just the right amount of mystery and intrigue to keep me turning the pages.
popcorndiva's review against another edition
2.0
*Spoiler Free Review*
Before I start, I do want to say I am a pretty big fan of Jodi Picoult. I read and loved The Pact, My Sister’s Keeper, and Change of Heart. So, I expected to love this book, too. Unfortunately, that just wasn’t the case.
I’ll admit, the first red flag for me was the inclusion of Wicca. I do not practice, but I was heavily intrigued by it when I was younger. I loved what Wicca stood for and I finally thought I found a religion that could work for me. But it turns out I’m not meant to be a religious woman. Still, I am immediately critical of how Wicca is portrayed in books, movies, tv, etc. While I think Picoult did a fair job with the subject matter, I can’t help but feel that this book would leave readers with a negative taste in their mouth about Wicca and Witches.
Then we had a little dose of instalove which was when I decided that I was probably not going to be a fan of this novel. I’ve always loved the way Picoult takes her time to build relationships, tensions, and characters, but that talent was not evident here. I did not see much of a buildup at all for the main relationship in this book, though I did enjoy the small amount of buildup to Thomas’ relationship. I think because I did not connect with the main relationship on the novel, I was much more critical of the characters and their choices.
Let’s just talk about these characters for a minute. To be quite honest, I didn’t like most of them. Selena was charming, but she was a minor character with little attention. Addie was alright, at times. There were moments in the book where I thought “Yes, Addie! You go girl.” But there was significantly more instances where I just thought “Dear God, how could anyone ever think or behave this way?” Jack, oh don’t get me started. Picoult wants us to feel sorry for him and root for him, but I didn’t quite care what happened. I felt like his character was inconsistent from one scenario to another and a lot of his choices did not make sense. But the moment that made me hate Jack was on pages 248 and 249. I really hate that I hated all of these characters. I wanted to feel for the characters, but they were all bland or inconsistent or flat out not developed. For as much time as she spent giving flashbacks to Jack’s life he should have been a very believable and developed character, but instead he was inconsistent and unlikable.
I do have to give credit where credit is due. Jodi Picoult can capture my attention. Her plots are always interesting and while the actual events of the story where predictable; the elements of the story were somewhat unique. Her other novels feature much more unique, not to mention less predictable, plots. Even though I predicted just about everything, I still wanted to finish the story simply because I haven’t seen another book like this. I do want to say the very last thing that happened I did NOT see coming but I also think the last plot twist was unnecessary and just didn’t work. I understand what Picoult was trying to do, but I think that plot twist should have been explored more because to include something like that as the line last on the book seems like a nice way to explain away Gillian’s behavior when you’ve written yourself into a corner. I just wasn’t convinced or shocked. I was more annoyed than anything with that.
So, it’s 2 stars for me. It might have been 3 if I wasn’t experienced with Jodi Picoult’s fantastic writing. But, knowing what this novel could have been just made the letdown that much worse. It’s still a good read for a rainy day, but I wouldn’t really recommend it. If you want to read something by Jodi Picoult I recommend Change of Heart, The Pact, and My Sister’s Keeper.
Before I start, I do want to say I am a pretty big fan of Jodi Picoult. I read and loved The Pact, My Sister’s Keeper, and Change of Heart. So, I expected to love this book, too. Unfortunately, that just wasn’t the case.
I’ll admit, the first red flag for me was the inclusion of Wicca. I do not practice, but I was heavily intrigued by it when I was younger. I loved what Wicca stood for and I finally thought I found a religion that could work for me. But it turns out I’m not meant to be a religious woman. Still, I am immediately critical of how Wicca is portrayed in books, movies, tv, etc. While I think Picoult did a fair job with the subject matter, I can’t help but feel that this book would leave readers with a negative taste in their mouth about Wicca and Witches.
Then we had a little dose of instalove which was when I decided that I was probably not going to be a fan of this novel. I’ve always loved the way Picoult takes her time to build relationships, tensions, and characters, but that talent was not evident here. I did not see much of a buildup at all for the main relationship in this book, though I did enjoy the small amount of buildup to Thomas’ relationship. I think because I did not connect with the main relationship on the novel, I was much more critical of the characters and their choices.
Let’s just talk about these characters for a minute. To be quite honest, I didn’t like most of them. Selena was charming, but she was a minor character with little attention. Addie was alright, at times. There were moments in the book where I thought “Yes, Addie! You go girl.” But there was significantly more instances where I just thought “Dear God, how could anyone ever think or behave this way?” Jack, oh don’t get me started. Picoult wants us to feel sorry for him and root for him, but I didn’t quite care what happened. I felt like his character was inconsistent from one scenario to another and a lot of his choices did not make sense. But the moment that made me hate Jack was on pages 248 and 249. I really hate that I hated all of these characters. I wanted to feel for the characters, but they were all bland or inconsistent or flat out not developed. For as much time as she spent giving flashbacks to Jack’s life he should have been a very believable and developed character, but instead he was inconsistent and unlikable.
I do have to give credit where credit is due. Jodi Picoult can capture my attention. Her plots are always interesting and while the actual events of the story where predictable; the elements of the story were somewhat unique. Her other novels feature much more unique, not to mention less predictable, plots. Even though I predicted just about everything, I still wanted to finish the story simply because I haven’t seen another book like this. I do want to say the very last thing that happened I did NOT see coming but I also think the last plot twist was unnecessary and just didn’t work. I understand what Picoult was trying to do, but I think that plot twist should have been explored more because to include something like that as the line last on the book seems like a nice way to explain away Gillian’s behavior when you’ve written yourself into a corner. I just wasn’t convinced or shocked. I was more annoyed than anything with that.
So, it’s 2 stars for me. It might have been 3 if I wasn’t experienced with Jodi Picoult’s fantastic writing. But, knowing what this novel could have been just made the letdown that much worse. It’s still a good read for a rainy day, but I wouldn’t really recommend it. If you want to read something by Jodi Picoult I recommend Change of Heart, The Pact, and My Sister’s Keeper.