Hey guys!
So before I start this review, I have one thing to mention:
I'd love to see Jodi Picoult and James Patterson write a book together. I don't know what made me think of that, but I did. I feel like Jodi's emotional connection with the reader and twists combinded with Patterson's good eye for a mystery and what-not and both of their legal system and court writing would be a really good combination.
Anyways, here's my review, and it does have a few spoilers, so if you haven't read Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult, don't read this, unless you have absolutely no intention on ever reading it.
First off, I really liked this book. It captivated me, it made me want to cry at some points, and for God knows what reason, I felt connected to it. That said, I only would give it four stars. As much as I really liked it, it didn't have that je ne sais quoi that Nineteen Minutes had, which is my favourite of her books, at least in my opinion. It just felt like it was missing something, even though I couldn't figure out what it was.
The book is told through four narrators--Father Michael, Maggie Bloom, June Nealon and inmate Lucius DuFresne. I love books that have multiple narrators because I love hearing the different side of things from the various different people who all come from different sides of the story (a lawyer, a priest/spiritual advisor to a death row prisoner, the victim's mother/wife and the friendly/observant inmate). I can't say I even have a favourite narrator, because I liked them all for different reasons.
I liked Father Michael, because it was interesting to see how much he had changed between when he was on the jury on Shay's case to being his spiritual advisor on the other side of the spectrum. I liked Maggie because a) I want to be a lawyer, so naturally, I love hearing lawyers' perspectives on things b) because I related so much to her other than the law thing, like our love of British guys for example c) she changed so much through the duration of the novel, so sublty, but I loved seeing the overall transformation. June was probably my least favourite narrator, because I felt like she was too whiney and stubborn. Which, okay, she'd been through two dead husbands, a dead daughter and a daughter needing a heart transplant, but still. Then again, it's a Jodi Picoult book, so what should I expect. I liked her, though, because her view was so different from the other three's. Lucius was interesting. It was kind of cool to see the story through someone who spent a lot of time around Shay and was kind of in the same shoes as him, and I think that added to the story.
Moving on (I don't really like giving a synopsis of the book, so I'll keep it short). The story is about what happens on the path to Shay Bourne's execution, and whether or not he really was a "messiah" or just fooling everyone, and how he desperately wants to give his heart to Claire Nealon. In short, Maggie takes the case to court, wins, so Shay is hung instead of killed through lethal injection, so he can donate his heart, which allows Claire to live.
So, on to more of my opinions, observations and what-not:
1. I thought it was kind of ironic that the dog was born around the time that Elizabeth and Kurt were murdered and then the dog kind of died when Shay died/Claire got her new heart.
2. I liked how it came full-circle in a non-traditional way. Shay started off performing so-called miracles, but then when Claire gets his heart, she brings the dog back to life.
3. So, the gum and the biblical lines and the description of Michael's grandfather were explained. And Lucius died of AIDS afterall. So, what about the wine in the pipes of the prison?
And I tink that basically sums it up!
Jules
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
OO4. A Review and a Preview
Hey!
I didn't know what to expect when I began this book. I adore Paris, which was probably the main reason I decided to buy this book. I guess you could say that it was different than I expected. I kind of thought it would be really superficial and all the characters would be super-bitchy. I was wrong. The main character, Jirina, is one of the most naive girl I have ever encountered in a book. She leaves Sweden for Paris not knowing anything, literally, about anything. She's like a child almost. Then after a while, she starts to become a little bit more in-tune with reality. Basically, the book tells the story of what happens when a naive fifteen year old Czechoslovakian girl from Sweden moves to Paris to become a model one summer in the early 80's and all of the drama and the hardships she goes through and how she kind of matures. Jirina, as much as I wanted to like her, was one of the most frustrating characters I've ever encountered. Between her naivite and her dumb decisions and ignorant ways, she just frustrated me. I did love a lot of the other characters though, like Hugo and Emanuel. They're probably the only reason why I gave this book three stars--I loved the way they handled their lives and dealt with Jirina. Well, that and I loved hearing about Paris. Overall, I couldn't say I'd recommend this book to everyone, but if you like hearing about Paris, modeling and don't mind a frustrating narrator who likes to complain about everything.
We started Frankenstein in school this week, and I'm starting Summer in the City by Robyn Sisman tonight. And I'm still in the process of listening to Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult, almost done though.
I haven't really heard much about Summer in the City, but it was one of the discounted books at Barnes and Noble the last time I was there, and it looked good, and for $2.99, I couldn't resist buying it. Its about a London woman and a New York man who swap houses for the summer for their job, and figure out this plot against one of them and try to fix it and yeah. It's pretty chick-lit-esque. So, at this point, I think it's fair to say that I have an obsession with novels that take place in cities. Paris in A Model Summer and London and New York in Summer in the City, and a million others in other books I've read. I don't know why, but I just love it.
Anyways, I should probably go do something productive with my life. Not that writing about books isn't productive. Or that reading isn't productive. But I have a pile of schoolwork that needs to get done. Well, wait, who am I kidding, I have like 16 days of high school left, why should I do schoolwork? Haha.
Julia
I didn't know what to expect when I began this book. I adore Paris, which was probably the main reason I decided to buy this book. I guess you could say that it was different than I expected. I kind of thought it would be really superficial and all the characters would be super-bitchy. I was wrong. The main character, Jirina, is one of the most naive girl I have ever encountered in a book. She leaves Sweden for Paris not knowing anything, literally, about anything. She's like a child almost. Then after a while, she starts to become a little bit more in-tune with reality. Basically, the book tells the story of what happens when a naive fifteen year old Czechoslovakian girl from Sweden moves to Paris to become a model one summer in the early 80's and all of the drama and the hardships she goes through and how she kind of matures. Jirina, as much as I wanted to like her, was one of the most frustrating characters I've ever encountered. Between her naivite and her dumb decisions and ignorant ways, she just frustrated me. I did love a lot of the other characters though, like Hugo and Emanuel. They're probably the only reason why I gave this book three stars--I loved the way they handled their lives and dealt with Jirina. Well, that and I loved hearing about Paris. Overall, I couldn't say I'd recommend this book to everyone, but if you like hearing about Paris, modeling and don't mind a frustrating narrator who likes to complain about everything.
We started Frankenstein in school this week, and I'm starting Summer in the City by Robyn Sisman tonight. And I'm still in the process of listening to Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult, almost done though.
I haven't really heard much about Summer in the City, but it was one of the discounted books at Barnes and Noble the last time I was there, and it looked good, and for $2.99, I couldn't resist buying it. Its about a London woman and a New York man who swap houses for the summer for their job, and figure out this plot against one of them and try to fix it and yeah. It's pretty chick-lit-esque. So, at this point, I think it's fair to say that I have an obsession with novels that take place in cities. Paris in A Model Summer and London and New York in Summer in the City, and a million others in other books I've read. I don't know why, but I just love it.
Anyways, I should probably go do something productive with my life. Not that writing about books isn't productive. Or that reading isn't productive. But I have a pile of schoolwork that needs to get done. Well, wait, who am I kidding, I have like 16 days of high school left, why should I do schoolwork? Haha.
Julia
Thursday, April 7, 2011
OO3. Can You Keep A Secret review
I just wrote a review of a book I read a long time ago, Sophie Kinsella's Can You Keep A Secret, for a goodreads groups book of the month, so I thought I'd post it here too, since I haven't really posted anything recently. So, here it is!
Emma Corrigan is on a plane, which she believes is going to crash and she will die, so she starts talking to the man next to her (which she will later find out that he's the CEO of her company), and basically tells him everything from her darkest secrets and her desires. When she gets back to work, and finds out that the man is the CEO and sees all her coworkers vying for his attention, she's embarrased to realize that when they all want him to at least know their names, he knows so much more about her. So as the novel progresses, Emma struggles to balance her working ability with her fears that her boss is going to say something about her confessions on the plane, especially since he knows way more about her than her closest friends and her boyfriend.
I absolutely love Sophie Kinsella because she's reliable. Reliable in the sense that I can always count on her to make me laugh, or at the very least, smile, as I go through the pages of her books. All of her characters are either lovable or 'love to hate' and that's the case in Can You Keep a Secret.
All I can say is, after reading this book whenever I'm on an airplane I make a great effort to bury all of my secrets and confessions so they don't accidently come out because you never know who the person seated next to you will be.
-Jules
Emma Corrigan is on a plane, which she believes is going to crash and she will die, so she starts talking to the man next to her (which she will later find out that he's the CEO of her company), and basically tells him everything from her darkest secrets and her desires. When she gets back to work, and finds out that the man is the CEO and sees all her coworkers vying for his attention, she's embarrased to realize that when they all want him to at least know their names, he knows so much more about her. So as the novel progresses, Emma struggles to balance her working ability with her fears that her boss is going to say something about her confessions on the plane, especially since he knows way more about her than her closest friends and her boyfriend.
I absolutely love Sophie Kinsella because she's reliable. Reliable in the sense that I can always count on her to make me laugh, or at the very least, smile, as I go through the pages of her books. All of her characters are either lovable or 'love to hate' and that's the case in Can You Keep a Secret.
All I can say is, after reading this book whenever I'm on an airplane I make a great effort to bury all of my secrets and confessions so they don't accidently come out because you never know who the person seated next to you will be.
-Jules
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