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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
first good crime book i've read all year. i liked the detours the writing took and enjoyed seeing things from lots of different perspectives, only annoying bit is the miscommunication.
I read this book years ago and while I actually quite enjoyed it, I felt the ending really did not tie up the loose ends at all.
Can anyone actually tell me what happened right at the end? Do we know what happens to the two sons?
It's been bothering me since I read it like four years ago.
Can anyone actually tell me what happened right at the end? Do we know what happens to the two sons?
It's been bothering me since I read it like four years ago.
She continues to outdo herself with her research, but this book really dragged, especially since I listened to it on cd.
Painfully obvious and predictable and filled with so much repetitive exposition about Asperger's Syndrome that it ultimately made me feel like i was being lectured by someone who has it and would not take the hint that I understood them the first time and get the freaking point okay??? Very disappointing.
I hadn't read a Jodi Picoult book for quite a long time, but this one got good reviews from some people whose opinions I trust, so I thought I would give it a shot.
I listened to the audio book version of this one, and it was nice to have each character read by a different person. The only one that annoyed me (and only a little) was the woman who read for the mom. She has a southern accent (which didn't seem to fit the character?) and said many words with two syllables that should have been only one syllable (eg. kay-er instead of "care", or "say-ed" instead of "said"). But she did a good job with the emotional part, and by the end I had mostly gotten used to her...
The person playing Jacob didn't speak with a particularly robotic voice during his section, though he did pause at odd times. The others spoke roboticly during their sections when they were making Jacob say something. I guess that's ok though -- entire chapters of robotic speech probably would have gotten old quickly (though I feel bad saying that, since real people have this problem, but... I'm just remembering my review of [b:The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian|693208|The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian|Sherman Alexie|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327908992s/693208.jpg|829330] audiobook...)
Overall, I liked the book, though the characters often made me angry in the way that they dealt with Jacob. Not that they were mean to him or anything, but that they OVER babied him at times, and wouldn't let him tell his story. The lawyer -- I suppose he had a good excuse, since if Jacob HAD said something to incriminate himself then the lawyer has a moral quandary ... but the mom? The brother? Multiple times he started to tell the story, or to correct something, and they told him not to say anything.
Now, it's true that when he did get his chance on the witness stand, he wasn't clear. However, if you ask me that took 1) some very planned writing on the part of the author... seriously, not a SINGLE clue came out there that would have made someone question what was happening? and 2) Some REALLY poor questioning on the part of the lawyers. You know, like "What was Jess doing when you arrived?" etc. AND knowing that Jacob has trouble with being literal and multi-part questions... even his own lawyer sure did ask a lot of multi-part questions... and of course, Jacob always answered one part and everyone assumed he answered the other part. Got very annoying. Nobody thought to ask him the most important question until ... a few minutes before the book ended.
There were also times when, although it was stated many times in the book that Jacob is really literal and doesn't understand metaphors, Jacob USED metaphors. Both in his narration during his chapters and when talking to others. Seemed like an editor should have found those? Or maybe he just has their particular meanings memorized?
Theo was by far my favorite character. It seemed like he had a lot more depth than the others and I liked his sections the best.
I've seen a lot of complaints about the ending. I suppose no one came right out and said what happened, but in Jacob's last chapter I felt that he (in his own, indirect way) explained it. So I'm ok with that.
Anyway, I liked the book. I thought the author did a good job portraying the kid with Asperger's and the very much conflicted emotions of his family. I felt like she did get a little preachy about the vaccines -- I imagine the author feels that way about vaccines herself and not just that the character(s) feel that way because of a) just the way those sections were written and b) no one actively tells the character(s) otherwise... though the lawyer THINKS it when the one doctor is on the stand...
I'd recommend it. It was suspenseful, with enough twists to keep me interested, even though it gets a bit annoying with all the talking around things that the characters do. And you'll know "whodunnit" pretty early in the book (though there are a few times where you wonder if you might be mistaken).
I listened to the audio book version of this one, and it was nice to have each character read by a different person. The only one that annoyed me (and only a little) was the woman who read for the mom. She has a southern accent (which didn't seem to fit the character?) and said many words with two syllables that should have been only one syllable (eg. kay-er instead of "care", or "say-ed" instead of "said"). But she did a good job with the emotional part, and by the end I had mostly gotten used to her...
The person playing Jacob didn't speak with a particularly robotic voice during his section, though he did pause at odd times. The others spoke roboticly during their sections when they were making Jacob say something. I guess that's ok though -- entire chapters of robotic speech probably would have gotten old quickly (though I feel bad saying that, since real people have this problem, but... I'm just remembering my review of [b:The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian|693208|The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian|Sherman Alexie|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327908992s/693208.jpg|829330] audiobook...)
Overall, I liked the book, though the characters often made me angry in the way that they dealt with Jacob. Not that they were mean to him or anything, but that they OVER babied him at times, and wouldn't let him tell his story. The lawyer -- I suppose he had a good excuse, since if Jacob HAD said something to incriminate himself then the lawyer has a moral quandary ... but the mom? The brother? Multiple times he started to tell the story, or to correct something, and they told him not to say anything.
Now, it's true that when he did get his chance on the witness stand, he wasn't clear. However, if you ask me that took 1) some very planned writing on the part of the author... seriously, not a SINGLE clue came out there that would have made someone question what was happening? and 2) Some REALLY poor questioning on the part of the lawyers. You know, like "What was Jess doing when you arrived?" etc. AND knowing that Jacob has trouble with being literal and multi-part questions... even his own lawyer sure did ask a lot of multi-part questions... and of course, Jacob always answered one part and everyone assumed he answered the other part. Got very annoying. Nobody thought to ask him the most important question until ... a few minutes before the book ended.
There were also times when, although it was stated many times in the book that Jacob is really literal and doesn't understand metaphors, Jacob USED metaphors. Both in his narration during his chapters and when talking to others. Seemed like an editor should have found those? Or maybe he just has their particular meanings memorized?
Theo was by far my favorite character. It seemed like he had a lot more depth than the others and I liked his sections the best.
I've seen a lot of complaints about the ending. I suppose no one came right out and said what happened, but in Jacob's last chapter I felt that he (in his own, indirect way) explained it. So I'm ok with that.
Anyway, I liked the book. I thought the author did a good job portraying the kid with Asperger's and the very much conflicted emotions of his family. I felt like she did get a little preachy about the vaccines -- I imagine the author feels that way about vaccines herself and not just that the character(s) feel that way because of a) just the way those sections were written and b) no one actively tells the character(s) otherwise... though the lawyer THINKS it when the one doctor is on the stand...
I'd recommend it. It was suspenseful, with enough twists to keep me interested, even though it gets a bit annoying with all the talking around things that the characters do. And you'll know "whodunnit" pretty early in the book (though there are a few times where you wonder if you might be mistaken).
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5⭐️
Summery
Jacob is an 18 year old boy with Asperger's syndrome. A form of autism. He is high functioning but still has problems relating to the world around him. Imagine if you could never put yourself in someone else's shoes? If you could never comprehend what another might be feeling? The idea of making friends is beyond your capabilities. This is Jacob.
/"Asperger's is a label to describe not the traits Jacob has but rather the ones he lost"/
Jacob is obsessed with criminal forensics. Blood splatter patterns, DNA analysis, and finger printing. His favorite show is CrimeBusters. He watches it every day even though it's reruns. He HAS to watch it every day. It's compulsive. Along with staging crime scenes for his mother to solve and to follow the police to crimes to try to help.
Due to his inability to understand the world around him, Jacob finds himself under arrest when his social skills teacher winds up missing then dead. Jacob is the number one suspect. He staged the crime and set up the clues for the cops to find in hopes that they would lead to the real culprit.
Emma is a single mother. It's not easy. Her husband left when Jacob's diagnosis became too much, leaving her to raise her two boys alone. She will do anything to help her son navigate the world around him and find exceptance from narrow-minded people.
When Emma finds her oldest son arrested and incarnated, she moves heaven and earth to try to make people understand that he needs help and compassion, not prison. That she would do anything to keep him home and under her care. But how far can a mother's /love reach?
"Even if he is a murderer, by design or by accident, he is still mine,"/
Theo has had a hard life. It's not easy being the younger brother of a sibling with autism. No one understands. Everyone just thinks his brother is strange, and by association, he must be as well. His whole life has been governed around Jacob's wants and needs. Keeping Jacob safe. Theo just wants a life of his own. A path of his own.
In the chaos that is his life, he began to enter the homes of families he wished he had. Taking small trinkets home with him. Until he enters the wrong one, leaving drastic results in the wake.
Not only is Theo now trying to cope with his own misadventures, but also the course altering repercussions of his brother.
Rich is the detective on the case of the dead social skills teacher, Jess Oglivy. Jacob hadn't even been a suspect at first. They didn't even know she was dead, just missing. But all clues keep leading back to this strange kid who doesn't make eye contact and speaks through movie quotes half the time.
Rich doesn't know anything about Asperger's or autism. What he learns he uses to coerce a confession.
Oliver just got his law degree. He has never handled a serious case. When Emma bursts into his office and drags him to the station to help her son, his whole world, snowballs. Thrust into the deep end, Oliver has to learn on his feet how to negotiate not just the courtroom but also how to control Jacob.
My Thoughts
This is a heat wrenchingly beautiful story. One that is filled with not just a mother's feirce love but also that of family and friends. It's about protecting your loved ones even against themselves. It flowed effortlessly, gripping and twisting my emotions till I didn't know myself, how I felt.
I personally have a sibling with Asperger's, and this book hit so close to home. There are a lot of differences between my family members and Jacob, but the similarities took my breath away. I also have a child on the nerodivergent scale. (Very low on it) The worries that Emma felt over her child fitting in and making friends was almost like looking in a mirror. ( Though I'm sure most parents can relate to that worry)
The characters were written so realistic that I felt as if I personally knew them. I wanted to befriend Theo and explain to him that it does get easier. I wanted to tell Rich it was ok not to understand mental illness but not ok to play on it to your own end. I wanted to hug Oliver and let him know he was doing a good job even when he wasn't sure what he was doing. I wanted to sit and actually listen with my whole body to what Jacob was trying to tell us. Lastly, I wanted to scream and Emma to breathe. Just breath.
Emma was my least favorite character and the one I could relate to the most. It was her realism that drove me crazy. The way she caters to all of Jacob's idiosyncrasies. (Making him all one color foods on certain days, one color clothes on certain days, i.e., ) she tried to make the world fit into Jacob's life instead of helping Jacob's fit into the world. I completely understood her reasoning, but as a mother with a child who isn't neurotypical, I spend a lot of time helping her to cope and adapt, so she CAN function without me. Emma never seems to do this. Jacob has a much harder time coping with what he goes through in this book due to the fact he has been catered to and babied. He has no clue how to function in society without all the quirks that he has been allowed to cater to and to exacerbate.
I LOVED this book. It's no wonder Jodi Picoult is as popular an author as she is. Her stories are both powerful and thought-provoking. They are books that hold up well in society. Tales that need to be told, from perspectives that don't often get shared. I will never stop reading her tales.
Summery
Jacob is an 18 year old boy with Asperger's syndrome. A form of autism. He is high functioning but still has problems relating to the world around him. Imagine if you could never put yourself in someone else's shoes? If you could never comprehend what another might be feeling? The idea of making friends is beyond your capabilities. This is Jacob.
/"Asperger's is a label to describe not the traits Jacob has but rather the ones he lost"/
Jacob is obsessed with criminal forensics. Blood splatter patterns, DNA analysis, and finger printing. His favorite show is CrimeBusters. He watches it every day even though it's reruns. He HAS to watch it every day. It's compulsive. Along with staging crime scenes for his mother to solve and to follow the police to crimes to try to help.
Due to his inability to understand the world around him, Jacob finds himself under arrest when his social skills teacher winds up missing then dead. Jacob is the number one suspect. He staged the crime and set up the clues for the cops to find in hopes that they would lead to the real culprit.
Emma is a single mother. It's not easy. Her husband left when Jacob's diagnosis became too much, leaving her to raise her two boys alone. She will do anything to help her son navigate the world around him and find exceptance from narrow-minded people.
When Emma finds her oldest son arrested and incarnated, she moves heaven and earth to try to make people understand that he needs help and compassion, not prison. That she would do anything to keep him home and under her care. But how far can a mother's /love reach?
"Even if he is a murderer, by design or by accident, he is still mine,"/
Theo has had a hard life. It's not easy being the younger brother of a sibling with autism. No one understands. Everyone just thinks his brother is strange, and by association, he must be as well. His whole life has been governed around Jacob's wants and needs. Keeping Jacob safe. Theo just wants a life of his own. A path of his own.
In the chaos that is his life, he began to enter the homes of families he wished he had. Taking small trinkets home with him. Until he enters the wrong one, leaving drastic results in the wake.
Not only is Theo now trying to cope with his own misadventures, but also the course altering repercussions of his brother.
Rich is the detective on the case of the dead social skills teacher, Jess Oglivy. Jacob hadn't even been a suspect at first. They didn't even know she was dead, just missing. But all clues keep leading back to this strange kid who doesn't make eye contact and speaks through movie quotes half the time.
Rich doesn't know anything about Asperger's or autism. What he learns he uses to coerce a confession.
Oliver just got his law degree. He has never handled a serious case. When Emma bursts into his office and drags him to the station to help her son, his whole world, snowballs. Thrust into the deep end, Oliver has to learn on his feet how to negotiate not just the courtroom but also how to control Jacob.
My Thoughts
This is a heat wrenchingly beautiful story. One that is filled with not just a mother's feirce love but also that of family and friends. It's about protecting your loved ones even against themselves. It flowed effortlessly, gripping and twisting my emotions till I didn't know myself, how I felt.
I personally have a sibling with Asperger's, and this book hit so close to home. There are a lot of differences between my family members and Jacob, but the similarities took my breath away. I also have a child on the nerodivergent scale. (Very low on it) The worries that Emma felt over her child fitting in and making friends was almost like looking in a mirror. ( Though I'm sure most parents can relate to that worry)
The characters were written so realistic that I felt as if I personally knew them. I wanted to befriend Theo and explain to him that it does get easier. I wanted to tell Rich it was ok not to understand mental illness but not ok to play on it to your own end. I wanted to hug Oliver and let him know he was doing a good job even when he wasn't sure what he was doing. I wanted to sit and actually listen with my whole body to what Jacob was trying to tell us. Lastly, I wanted to scream and Emma to breathe. Just breath.
Emma was my least favorite character and the one I could relate to the most. It was her realism that drove me crazy. The way she caters to all of Jacob's idiosyncrasies. (Making him all one color foods on certain days, one color clothes on certain days, i.e., ) she tried to make the world fit into Jacob's life instead of helping Jacob's fit into the world. I completely understood her reasoning, but as a mother with a child who isn't neurotypical, I spend a lot of time helping her to cope and adapt, so she CAN function without me. Emma never seems to do this. Jacob has a much harder time coping with what he goes through in this book due to the fact he has been catered to and babied. He has no clue how to function in society without all the quirks that he has been allowed to cater to and to exacerbate.
I LOVED this book. It's no wonder Jodi Picoult is as popular an author as she is. Her stories are both powerful and thought-provoking. They are books that hold up well in society. Tales that need to be told, from perspectives that don't often get shared. I will never stop reading her tales.
Emma Hunt has struggled for the past 18 years as a single mother to two boys, one of which has Asperger's, a high-functioning form of Autism. She has dedicated her life to this boy who has to eat specific colors each day of the week, much watch Crimebusters every day at 4:30, and cannot have his routine interrupted for fear of a total meltdown. He cannot look people in the eye, he is extremely literal, He doesn't understand normal human emotion and does not know how to read social cues or interact with others.
But this disorder that causes so many challenges, is also what makes Jacob brilliant. He has an incredibly high IQ, does very well in school, and is absolutely obsessed with forensics. In fact, he knows forensic methods and procedures possibly better than most of the law enforcement in his town.
But it is this obsession with forensics and crime scene investigation that will get him wrapped up in a murder mystery of his own when he becomes the primary suspect in the death Jess, his social skills coach. Soon he finds himself on trial, having to deal with all of the unexpected things that come with it.
Told from the perspectives of Jacob, Emma, Theo (Jacobs' brother) as well as the lead detective on the case and the lawyer they hire, we are taken through the investigation and criminal proceedings of Jacob, and we see how
I have always found Jodi Picoult to be a master of characters. Her stories are always so rich in complex characters. She develops characters that you come to know, characters with flaws, hopes, dreams, emotions. Characters that make mistakes yet ones you route for nonetheless, and this story was no different.
Jodi Picoult is also incredibly adept at research. Her stories are some of the most well-researched pieces of fictional literature I have ever read, and it is impossible to come away without learning something. In this instance, she had to become an expert in Asperger's and forensic science so she could do justice to the character of Jacob and any other person living with the disorder.
Something I found to be brilliant within this storyline, was how she provided the outside perspective, all of those in Jacob's life without Autism and how they view and approach him, as well as Jacob's perspective, how his mind works. So while Jacob has such a hard time understanding and deciphering the reactions of others, we see inside his mind. The way he justifies actions and how they make logical sense to him while perplexing everyone else.
And in the same vein, we are those outside spectators, who have a hard time understanding the things Jacob does or says, how he reacts and handles certain situations.
And because of these multiple perspectives, we go through the book never truly believing whether Jacob is guilty or innocent. We just don't know.
I admit I found the ending a little bit anti-climatic. I predicted what the ultimate crime was fairly early on in the story. But what made it anti-climatic, was the resolution. Once Jacob is put on trial, we are witnesses to the courtroom drama. We get to hear the opening and closing statements of both sides, we see the question of the witnesses, the spectacle that Jacob sometimes makes of himself in the courtroom. We get it all. But once the trial has ended and the jury is in deliberation......that is it. We learn the truth and the book ends. It is never formally resolved in the story. And after a 20-hour audiobook, I was a bit disappointed in that.
All-in-all, I found this to be very well crafted and I enjoyed my time with these characters. I highly recommend Jodi Picoult if you are looking for an author that will make you think. That will make you question what you know and what you believe.
But this disorder that causes so many challenges, is also what makes Jacob brilliant. He has an incredibly high IQ, does very well in school, and is absolutely obsessed with forensics. In fact, he knows forensic methods and procedures possibly better than most of the law enforcement in his town.
But it is this obsession with forensics and crime scene investigation that will get him wrapped up in a murder mystery of his own when he becomes the primary suspect in the death Jess, his social skills coach. Soon he finds himself on trial, having to deal with all of the unexpected things that come with it.
Told from the perspectives of Jacob, Emma, Theo (Jacobs' brother) as well as the lead detective on the case and the lawyer they hire, we are taken through the investigation and criminal proceedings of Jacob, and we see how
I have always found Jodi Picoult to be a master of characters. Her stories are always so rich in complex characters. She develops characters that you come to know, characters with flaws, hopes, dreams, emotions. Characters that make mistakes yet ones you route for nonetheless, and this story was no different.
Jodi Picoult is also incredibly adept at research. Her stories are some of the most well-researched pieces of fictional literature I have ever read, and it is impossible to come away without learning something. In this instance, she had to become an expert in Asperger's and forensic science so she could do justice to the character of Jacob and any other person living with the disorder.
Something I found to be brilliant within this storyline, was how she provided the outside perspective, all of those in Jacob's life without Autism and how they view and approach him, as well as Jacob's perspective, how his mind works. So while Jacob has such a hard time understanding and deciphering the reactions of others, we see inside his mind. The way he justifies actions and how they make logical sense to him while perplexing everyone else.
And in the same vein, we are those outside spectators, who have a hard time understanding the things Jacob does or says, how he reacts and handles certain situations.
And because of these multiple perspectives, we go through the book never truly believing whether Jacob is guilty or innocent. We just don't know.
I admit I found the ending a little bit anti-climatic. I predicted what the ultimate crime was fairly early on in the story. But what made it anti-climatic, was the resolution. Once Jacob is put on trial, we are witnesses to the courtroom drama. We get to hear the opening and closing statements of both sides, we see the question of the witnesses, the spectacle that Jacob sometimes makes of himself in the courtroom. We get it all. But once the trial has ended and the jury is in deliberation......that is it. We learn the truth and the book ends. It is never formally resolved in the story. And after a 20-hour audiobook, I was a bit disappointed in that.
All-in-all, I found this to be very well crafted and I enjoyed my time with these characters. I highly recommend Jodi Picoult if you are looking for an author that will make you think. That will make you question what you know and what you believe.
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4 STARS
I read this for book club and could not put it down. It is a honest look at Asperger's with a mystery to keep things going. A single working at home mother (advice columnist) has two children and her attention is always on Jacob and his Asperger's. Jacob likes to visit crime scenes and Theo likes to break into homes and know what it feels like having things. When Jacob's tutor is found dead...Jacob is the first one they suspect.
I read this for book club and could not put it down. It is a honest look at Asperger's with a mystery to keep things going. A single working at home mother (advice columnist) has two children and her attention is always on Jacob and his Asperger's. Jacob likes to visit crime scenes and Theo likes to break into homes and know what it feels like having things. When Jacob's tutor is found dead...Jacob is the first one they suspect.
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense