Take a photo of a barcode or cover
airmid 's review for:
Second Glance
by Jodi Picoult
In some ways I loved this book, in others it made me want to hit my head against a brick wall, multiple times.
Some context.
The book is about an investigation into the death of a young woman who died in 1932. It's also about the eugenics movement in America pre World War II, designer babies, with a side order of suicidal thinking and happily ever afters. In other words; there's a lot going on.
Throughout the book the reader is introduced to a plethora of characters on a quest to find the murderer of a young woman 70 years prior to the start of the book. To be blunt, both the mystery of the killer, and most of the plot twists can be solved a mile before they hit.
The whole section where the reader is taken back in time to witness the final weeks of the murder victim from her perspective, didn't work for me. Information revealed to the reader in this section is restated later in the story by characters in the 'present'. It gives the distinct feel that the author only knows how to weave in a couple of plot twists and likes to reuse them in the same book. Almost like the author couldn't quite figure out if she was going to get all the information she wanted into the story, so added everything to one section, then added the same information in later as required.
Most of the characters in the book are typical Picoult characters; the single mum with a son who has an unusual condition which rules his mother's life, the doctor who has a disconnection with her daughter, and then there’s Ross. The one that annoys me the most is Ross, who's constant complaints over his life really wear you thin when he doesn't seem to care about what the rest of the world would feel like if he wasn't there. Years after the untimely death of his girlfriend he continues to pine over her and think about joining her. He gives the impression of a man who time has forgotten to bring forwards, his whole character is shaped around his not being able to let go.
This would be less annoying if, at the end of the book, when he manages what he's wanted to achieve for years, he didn't decide to come back. With no medical reasoning, he comes back from the dead while his sister is off dealing with his funeral arrangements.
It's infuriating.
However well written the book, it took me half of the book to care about any of the characters which is too much.
Final Rating: 2/5
Some context.
The book is about an investigation into the death of a young woman who died in 1932. It's also about the eugenics movement in America pre World War II, designer babies, with a side order of suicidal thinking and happily ever afters. In other words; there's a lot going on.
Throughout the book the reader is introduced to a plethora of characters on a quest to find the murderer of a young woman 70 years prior to the start of the book. To be blunt, both the mystery of the killer, and most of the plot twists can be solved a mile before they hit.
The whole section where the reader is taken back in time to witness the final weeks of the murder victim from her perspective, didn't work for me. Information revealed to the reader in this section is restated later in the story by characters in the 'present'. It gives the distinct feel that the author only knows how to weave in a couple of plot twists and likes to reuse them in the same book. Almost like the author couldn't quite figure out if she was going to get all the information she wanted into the story, so added everything to one section, then added the same information in later as required.
Most of the characters in the book are typical Picoult characters; the single mum with a son who has an unusual condition which rules his mother's life, the doctor who has a disconnection with her daughter, and then there’s Ross. The one that annoys me the most is Ross, who's constant complaints over his life really wear you thin when he doesn't seem to care about what the rest of the world would feel like if he wasn't there. Years after the untimely death of his girlfriend he continues to pine over her and think about joining her. He gives the impression of a man who time has forgotten to bring forwards, his whole character is shaped around his not being able to let go.
This would be less annoying if, at the end of the book, when he manages what he's wanted to achieve for years, he didn't decide to come back. With no medical reasoning, he comes back from the dead while his sister is off dealing with his funeral arrangements.
It's infuriating.
However well written the book, it took me half of the book to care about any of the characters which is too much.
Final Rating: 2/5