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A review by jenbsbooks
Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult
4.75
Glancing through other reviews, it seems so many gave this a lower rating because it was "too much like My Sister's Keeper" ... I haven't read that (only vaguely familiar with the movie), and maybe that unfamiliarity helped me here, because this kept me quite captivated. So many times I had to pause the audiobook, to find my spot in the Kindle copy to make notes/highlights. There were several connections to my life - which just makes a book more personal. I can only imagine the discussion possibilities for a book club! I don't know that I loved the 2nd person approach, but it was unique and memorable. I didn't love the ending and can't say it was completely unexpected, but I got hit in the feels several times throughout. Tears at times ...
I had this in all three formats; I'd found the physical book at a thrift store, and picked it up for my LFL, and that bumped it up my TBR. I was able to get the audio and Kindle copy from the library, and I went primarily with audio. Three PARTS, the chapters within were labeled by the POV (Charlotte, Amelia, Sean, Piper, Marin) ... I would have liked to also have chronological/numbered chapters, because it was difficult to move between the formats and find my spot (so much easier to just find "chapter 17" and what page it starts on than "the ... fourth/Amelia section in part 1" ...
Different narrators for the five(really six) were necessary, as while technically 2nd person (to Willow), each chapter/POV was 1st person. I liked that all the voices were so distinct. Even stopping and starting, coming back into the book after a break, I could determine who was speaking. It was interesting to get all the different perspectives and experiences. While Marin's storyline wasn't completely disconnected, I still wondered about its inclusion. It felt a little distracting to me. The whole 2nd person approach ... were these letters? A conversation (actual/imagined?) was a little odd, and sometimes made me shake my head when whichever POV was telling Willow things SHE did ... duh, she was there (I know, necessary for the story, but strange in this setup). I guess I was imagining everyone in a group, telling it too Willow, AND to the others (and the reader).
The "cooking/baking" portions (Charlotte) ... another interesting addition. Some of the "profound statements" were in these sections.
Things jumped around a little at times ... one in particular, the first time Willow goes near the pond. One moment that's the story, then it shifts into a memory about Charlotte baking for Sean, then it's the present again, Charlotte and Willow/Amelia baking ... um, so I guess they got back from the pond okay, and just started baking? I had to stop the audio and refer to the print to see if I'd missed something. In text, there were *** to break up the sections, but still, abrupt!
The baking (King Arthur Flour), the cutting, a DUI arrest, the selection of the jury (#3 was called for jury duty while I was reading this, and it was interesting to see some of the same stuff in his experience, which he told me all about) and how it went in the book. A recent read "Out of My Mind" also featured a little girl who had physical disabilities (cerebral palsy in that case) but very intelligent, unexpected mental acuity. Here, I had to keep trying to remember what a five-year old was like, as Willow seemed SO advanced (reading at a 6th grade level, her recitation of facts and just the way she spoke and acted), too much so, even considering the situation?
The title - while tying in perfectly, is overdone. Makes it a little hard to find on a book search (have to include the author too). The cover ... perhaps too much foreshadowing? The role the frozen pond will play..
ProFanity x 13
I had this in all three formats; I'd found the physical book at a thrift store, and picked it up for my LFL, and that bumped it up my TBR. I was able to get the audio and Kindle copy from the library, and I went primarily with audio. Three PARTS, the chapters within were labeled by the POV (Charlotte, Amelia, Sean, Piper, Marin) ... I would have liked to also have chronological/numbered chapters, because it was difficult to move between the formats and find my spot (so much easier to just find "chapter 17" and what page it starts on than "the ... fourth/Amelia section in part 1" ...
Different narrators for the five(really six) were necessary, as while technically 2nd person (to Willow), each chapter/POV was 1st person. I liked that all the voices were so distinct. Even stopping and starting, coming back into the book after a break, I could determine who was speaking. It was interesting to get all the different perspectives and experiences. While Marin's storyline wasn't completely disconnected, I still wondered about its inclusion. It felt a little distracting to me. The whole 2nd person approach ... were these letters? A conversation (actual/imagined?) was a little odd, and sometimes made me shake my head when whichever POV was telling Willow things SHE did ... duh, she was there (I know, necessary for the story, but strange in this setup). I guess I was imagining everyone in a group, telling it too Willow, AND to the others (and the reader).
The "cooking/baking" portions (Charlotte) ... another interesting addition. Some of the "profound statements" were in these sections.
Things jumped around a little at times ... one in particular, the first time Willow goes near the pond. One moment that's the story, then it shifts into a memory about Charlotte baking for Sean, then it's the present again, Charlotte and Willow/Amelia baking ... um, so I guess they got back from the pond okay, and just started baking? I had to stop the audio and refer to the print to see if I'd missed something. In text, there were *** to break up the sections, but still, abrupt!
The baking (King Arthur Flour), the cutting, a DUI arrest, the selection of the jury (#3 was called for jury duty while I was reading this, and it was interesting to see some of the same stuff in his experience, which he told me all about) and how it went in the book. A recent read "Out of My Mind" also featured a little girl who had physical disabilities (cerebral palsy in that case) but very intelligent, unexpected mental acuity. Here, I had to keep trying to remember what a five-year old was like, as Willow seemed SO advanced (reading at a 6th grade level, her recitation of facts and just the way she spoke and acted), too much so, even considering the situation?
The title - while tying in perfectly, is overdone. Makes it a little hard to find on a book search (have to include the author too). The cover ... perhaps too much foreshadowing? The role the frozen pond will play..
ProFanity x 13