A review by abbywebb
Second Glance by Jodi Picoult

3.0

This book had a great ending. Disappointingly though, the 400 or so pages leading up to the wind-down were sleepy. There were so many characters introduced at the beginning that I thought I would need to make a list in order to keep track - the way you might find characters outlined in classic novels.

The story led us into the exploration of ghosts - which I can't say I am interested in - and the world of eugenics - which I do think is quite intriguing. It was a cross between a murder-mystery and trippy romanticism.

On a different note, there was the actual writing. I love words, and I mean really love words. But Picoult tried to use way to many of them and contort them into some poetic meaning. I understood near the end as to why she was doing this, but it was frustrating beyond belief at the time I was reading it. I have to say I was glad there was no court case in this novel, a Picoult theme that shows up in her books again and again.

If this book had picked it up a notch earlier on and didn't make me think I was reading this for a high school lit class, I may have given it an extra star. But as it stands, I think 3 stars is generous enough.