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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the book but the idea that vaccines cause autism that appears several times throughout the book spoiled it for me.
So obviously this is a Jodi Picoult novel and her books tend to be extreme. That being said, I did like this crime, court room procedural and the cast of characters and their role in the book. However, I disliked every single woman in this book. They were stupid, whiny and ridiculous. I also found parts of this book, particularly how Oliver is and the court room itself entirely unrealistic but its also a book, so I'll let it slide.
I debated between giving this 2 or 3 stars and had to settle with 2. Despite having some good moments, I just couldn't get over the fact the fact that the majority of the middle of the book bored me. I picked what had happened early and spent the whole time just wishing the story would hurry up already.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting in learning more about someone with Aspergers but it was just painful to read. Made it through a quarter of the boom then jumped to the ending which was a twist as all her books have one. It was overall just depressing.
Usually Picoult leaves the reader surprised, but I had "solved" the mystery within the first 100 pages (it was SO obvious) so it drove me nuts. The entire court hearing was frustrating because they didn't even consider what was the truth had happened, they just placed blame because Jacob had Asperger's. I was hoping the "truth" would have been revealed in a more exciting way, like an outburst in court or something dramatic, not during deliberation, on page 526 of the book.
But I liked what I learned about child psychopathology in this book; namely, a day in the life of a family with a child who has Asperger's. I usually like Picoult's books for their controversy and the reader's inability to take a position or figure out what should happen until the last chapter. But this one was too easy.
But I liked what I learned about child psychopathology in this book; namely, a day in the life of a family with a child who has Asperger's. I usually like Picoult's books for their controversy and the reader's inability to take a position or figure out what should happen until the last chapter. But this one was too easy.
I usually enjoy Picoult's ability to make me sympathize with every character. However, I felt that my sympathy was somewhat strained with this group of people, and was ultimately very disappointed in the actions of some of the characters. Although I usually feel I can understand and sympathize with the actions of characters I disagree with in Picoult's novels, in this case I really couldn't understand or sympathize with many of the characters' choices.
I will admit that I liked this book more than I ever expected to. While it does have some flaws, the story is well told, the characters compelling, and the research that Jodi Picoult put into this novel was definitely impressive. Because I too have a son with autism, I was able to identify best with Jacob’s mother, Emma, and I think Jodi Picoult hit it out of the park with her character alone. Reading about Emma’s obsession with supplements, special diets and all the little accommodations she had to make for Jacob made me believe that the author knows this subject well. This is not a book I would normally have read, but I’m glad I did. For me, the character of Jacob wasn’t quite believable when speaking in the first person because he seemed too lucid and self analyzing to truly be an accurate depiction of someone on the spectrum, Aspies included, but I was able to forgive this in the interest of furthering his story. His inability to tell his side of the events to anyone involved in defending him was frustrating and not quite believable, but it was a good, entertaining read.
I love jodi but I called the ending to this book a quarter of the way through. Her style is predictable but her stories are great. Not my favorite of hers but I still love her work.
This book was well-researched and written, but I got really tired of the long platitudes about motherhood. I also think it’s irresponsible to print false information about vaccines causing autism, which has been thoroughly debunked, but which has caused nutjobs all over our country to not vaccinate their children out of fear. In a 529 page book, those paragraphs could easily have been left out and not have effected the story one teeny bit.
Also, how did no one ask Jacob if he did it? Over the course of several months?????
ALSO, not liking someone is not a good reason to set them up for murder! So Jacob gets to the house, sees what happened, and pins it on Mark? Why couldn’t he just erase the evidence of Theo being there? That makes NO SENSE.
It also would have been nice, after 529 pages, to know what happens to them.
Also, how did no one ask Jacob if he did it? Over the course of several months?????
ALSO, not liking someone is not a good reason to set them up for murder! So Jacob gets to the house, sees what happened, and pins it on Mark? Why couldn’t he just erase the evidence of Theo being there? That makes NO SENSE.
It also would have been nice, after 529 pages, to know what happens to them.