I've never read Picoult before, but students recommend her books to me all the time. I was pretty excited to read one and so far haven't been disappointed.
I think this plot is fascinating. I keep thinking about it when I'm done reading. What would I do in Anna's position? In her mother's position? If I were the lawyer?
So, I'll break up the rest of my comments to fit the parts of the books that inspired them. Beware, depending on where you are in the book I may be revealing important plot points to you.
P 7: "I'm telling you, if aliens landed on earth today and took a good hard look at why babbies get born, they'd conclude that most people have children by accident, or because they drink too much on a certain night, or because birth control isn't one hundred percent, or for a thousand other reasons that really aren't very flattering." How true! And I just can't believe that creating a child to act as replacement parts (basically) to an existing child is any better than these reasons. This automatically makes that child a second-class citizen within the family. To some extent they, or their body parts at least, have to be expendable. And you can see this reflected in the way that Anna's mom thinks about her. For example, on p. 100 we find out that she is nine months pregnant and hasn't even thought of a name for her. I just don't see this as ethical. I can see the reasoning behind it, but I just don't think it is right.
P. 17: "I do the math- if there are 400 words or so on every page, and each of those legal books are 400 pages, and there are twnety on a shelf and six shleves per bookcase- why, you're pushing nineteen milion owrds, and that's only partway across the room." I love everything about this sentence. The idea of all these words and books and the way that she takes time to calculate how many words that is.
P. 76: "... performance artist that sculpts dog crap into busts of world leaders." I admit it, I took the time to picture some recent presidents done in dog poo. It made me happy. Also, I love all the different reasons Campbell gives for having a service dog. I have a suspicion about what the real reason is and want to see if I'm right.
I finished today because I had a hard time putting the book down. I'll try to write my comments in a way that won't give anything away for those who haven't finished (or in A's case, started).
First, let me say that I really liked this book. I thought it was written well, the plot was fascinating and gave me a lot to think about, and obviously it kept my attention as I finished it within a few days.
While normally I don't care for books that switch between multiple characters, it seemed to work in this one. Each character had a different perspective on the central dilemma so it made it more balanced, I thought.
I didn't care for the fact that the Sara's chapters often went back in time. I understand the purpose of this, but it just disrupted the story for me and made me focus more on the timeline than on the story itself. With that said, I did like hearing about a younger Anna (for example, when she tells Sara that "In case I forgot to tell you afer, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be" P 174). These types of scenes made her older character easier to understand and I'm not sure how the reader would get this without the flashbacks? Oh well, I still liked those sections the least.
Another part from Anna that I liked was when she discusses the religion of Annaism on p. 256, and especially her discussion about the moon, sun, and stars.
What do you think about the way that Brian handles Jesse's activities? I'm torn on this, but I think I still would have taken the more extreme measures because they were some pretty extreme activities. (How is that for vague?)
It made me happy that I was right about why Campbell had a service dog. I loved both Campbell and the dog. I kind-of wish Picoult had given Judge his own chapters! My favorite explanation about the purpose of the service dog was when Campbell said (and I don't remember what page so I am paraphrasing here), "I'm a recovering alcholic and he gets between me and a beer." :-)
The ending was rather a shock. I didn't see it coming at all. Even when I was reading it, I couldn't believe it. At first I was pretty mad about it, because I'm not a big fan of these types of endings, but the more I think of it, the more I like it. It does seem to fit.
I haven't finished yet. But, I am having a difficult time putting this book down. Like M, I am thinking about it even when I am not reading.
My husband and I discussed what we would do in the parent's position last night. We decided that we probably would create the "designer baby" to save our child. However, I am not sure that we would have continued to borrow from that child after the cord blood. The fact that Anna feels like she doesn't exist outside of Kate is sooo sad. As a parent, you try to love each of your children equally. I think that Sara and Brian have fallen severely short in this area. Not only have they sacrificed Anna,but Jesse is in desperate need of their love and guidance. I am not sure that I could sacrifice two healthy children to sustain a suffering child's life. Kate's life is such utter misery. Wouldn't have been better for all involved to have just let her go?
This book was OK. I didn’t care for the subject matter so I think that biased me right off the bat against the book. I could NOT have another child just for spare parts. I don’t think Sara and Brian thought this whole thing through very well, seemed very “gut reaction” to me and must have been VERY costly in the long run, more so in relationships than money. I can’t say I liked any of the characters. Sara was just too commanding and over the top and the rest of the family basically did what Sara wanted. Things I found incredulous/didn’t like: 1) Neither Sara nor Brian bought any Christmas presents BEFORE Christmas and bought them instead at the hospital gift shop. That’s just wrong. 2) Putting Anna at age 2 through what she did – and again and again and again. Just wrong. 3) Brian knows Jesse is the arsonist because of a cigarette and the laundry. And then lets Jesse off??? Come on! 4) The legal notice did not have Anna’s legal name – shouldn’t it have said Andromeda? I was quite sure that was her real name. 5) The whole thing with the dog – why didn’t Campbell just be honest instead of all these excuses? 6) I didn’t like Jesse hitting on Julia,that seemed so out of character for him. 7) Kate getting ready for the prom and her mother picks out her dress for her and orders it from bluefly.com and it is there in 2 days? 8) The “happy ending” with Campbell and Julia getting married. I really don’t think Julia needed to be in the story at all. 9) People released on “PR bail” - I had no clue what that was (I guess that is a GREAT thing) and had to look it up online – it is Personal Recognizance Bail, why not just say bail? 10) AND THE ENDING! UGH! Too easy. The titles bugged me a bit – Thursday in Kate’s flashback – just happens to be a Thursday? I would have preferred just dates rather than weekdays.
M, I agree, Judge should have had his own chapters. I would have enjoyed that greatly!
When I kept getting closer and closer to the end of the book and the trial was just starting, I thought something was going to happen unexpectedly since there weren't enough pages left to "follow through". I did NOT like the ending and then so little after that - kind of like oh well, life goes on....
ok ok, I'm finally done with this book - sorry it took so long!
I'll start by restating that I already knew the plot and ending twists before I started the book, so I spent a lot of time just waiting for the other shoe to drop. That being said, I think it was very well written. Picoult definitely knows her way around storytelling. I also liked the chapters being told by different characters, and the fonts used for each. But overall, I didn't really care for the book.
I was very, very surprised that the only chapter Kate narrated was the final one. I think we should have heard a bit from her, especially after Anna finds her drunk and realizes she has tried to kill herself previously.
I really didn't care for the Campbell/Julia subplot. It seemed like Picoult was desperate to give someone a happy ending and really forced it too quickly onto them. Harvard law grad, and Julia is falling into bed with Campbell the night before the trial?! Doesn't seem right, no matter how much she's still in love with him. Also I didn't care for Campbell's constant secretiveness about his seizures. Actually, let me rephrase, I didn't mind his snide remarks and avoidance as much as I disliked his condition being hidden from the readers. bout halfway through the book I actually put the book down because I was so sick of Picoult almost revealing it, and then not. I think it's a good way to keep readers involved one or two times, but more than that is uncalled for. In the Ramona books, her parents (and mine) always say "First time is funny, second time is silly, third time is a spanking."
Jesse -- I'm torn between saying his character wasn't even necessary, or saying that he was probably the most realistic one in the entire book.
The readers guide in my book said you will either love Sara or hate Sara, and I'm not in her fan club. She was always so unwilling to ask for help from her sister, who was always there for her, and I was glad when Zanne told her to stop being a martyr. I was disappointed that she invested so much time and love into 1 lost cause (Kate) and seemed unfazed at losing another lost cause (Jesse). Also, what was up with Brian biting her and them enjoying the taste of blood in their lovemaking? I mean, I expect that kind of thing in the Sookie Stackhouse books, but here it was just weird.
As to the overall premise, I would never, ever petri-dish create a child, even if it were to save another child. I would never in-vitro, hormone treat or otherwise "help along" conception. My feeling has always been that there are already far, far too many abandoned, unwanted or uncared for children in this world that need parents; there is no need force-create your own genetic ones when you could help the greater good by adopting or fostering.
I didn't mind the surprise ending, in fact, it fit the book rather well. What I hated was Kate's 4-page recap of the following 8 years. This is the same beef I had with Shirley -- we spend 418 pages following 1 week in the life of this family + Julia and Campbell, and then you throw alllll the grief and recovery into one little chapter at the end?!?! The Jesse/Brian forgiveness scene falls into this category too. gah. Gah!
6 comments:
I've never read Picoult before, but students recommend her books to me all the time. I was pretty excited to read one and so far haven't been disappointed.
I think this plot is fascinating. I keep thinking about it when I'm done reading. What would I do in Anna's position? In her mother's position? If I were the lawyer?
So, I'll break up the rest of my comments to fit the parts of the books that inspired them. Beware, depending on where you are in the book I may be revealing important plot points to you.
P 7: "I'm telling you, if aliens landed on earth today and took a good hard look at why babbies get born, they'd conclude that most people have children by accident, or because they drink too much on a certain night, or because birth control isn't one hundred percent, or for a thousand other reasons that really aren't very flattering." How true! And I just can't believe that creating a child to act as replacement parts (basically) to an existing child is any better than these reasons. This automatically makes that child a second-class citizen within the family. To some extent they, or their body parts at least, have to be expendable. And you can see this reflected in the way that Anna's mom thinks about her. For example, on p. 100 we find out that she is nine months pregnant and hasn't even thought of a name for her. I just don't see this as ethical. I can see the reasoning behind it, but I just don't think it is right.
P. 17: "I do the math- if there are 400 words or so on every page, and each of those legal books are 400 pages, and there are twnety on a shelf and six shleves per bookcase- why, you're pushing nineteen milion owrds, and that's only partway across the room." I love everything about this sentence. The idea of all these words and books and the way that she takes time to calculate how many words that is.
P. 76: "... performance artist that sculpts dog crap into busts of world leaders." I admit it, I took the time to picture some recent presidents done in dog poo. It made me happy. Also, I love all the different reasons Campbell gives for having a service dog. I have a suspicion about what the real reason is and want to see if I'm right.
I finished today because I had a hard time putting the book down. I'll try to write my comments in a way that won't give anything away for those who haven't finished (or in A's case, started).
First, let me say that I really liked this book. I thought it was written well, the plot was fascinating and gave me a lot to think about, and obviously it kept my attention as I finished it within a few days.
While normally I don't care for books that switch between multiple characters, it seemed to work in this one. Each character had a different perspective on the central dilemma so it made it more balanced, I thought.
I didn't care for the fact that the Sara's chapters often went back in time. I understand the purpose of this, but it just disrupted the story for me and made me focus more on the timeline than on the story itself. With that said, I did like hearing about a younger Anna (for example, when she tells Sara that "In case I forgot to tell you afer, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be" P 174). These types of scenes made her older character easier to understand and I'm not sure how the reader would get this without the flashbacks? Oh well, I still liked those sections the least.
Another part from Anna that I liked was when she discusses the religion of Annaism on p. 256, and especially her discussion about the moon, sun, and stars.
What do you think about the way that Brian handles Jesse's activities? I'm torn on this, but I think I still would have taken the more extreme measures because they were some pretty extreme activities. (How is that for vague?)
It made me happy that I was right about why Campbell had a service dog. I loved both Campbell and the dog. I kind-of wish Picoult had given Judge his own chapters! My favorite explanation about the purpose of the service dog was when Campbell said (and I don't remember what page so I am paraphrasing here), "I'm a recovering alcholic and he gets between me and a beer." :-)
The ending was rather a shock. I didn't see it coming at all. Even when I was reading it, I couldn't believe it. At first I was pretty mad about it, because I'm not a big fan of these types of endings, but the more I think of it, the more I like it. It does seem to fit.
I haven't finished yet. But, I am having a difficult time putting this book down. Like M, I am thinking about it even when I am not reading.
My husband and I discussed what we would do in the parent's position last night. We decided that we probably would create the "designer baby" to save our child. However, I am not sure that we would have continued to borrow from that child after the cord blood. The fact that Anna feels like she doesn't exist outside of Kate is sooo sad. As a parent, you try to love each of your children equally. I think that Sara and Brian have fallen severely short in this area. Not only have they sacrificed Anna,but Jesse is in desperate need of their love and guidance. I am not sure that I could sacrifice two healthy children to sustain a suffering child's life. Kate's life is such utter misery. Wouldn't have been better for all involved to have just let her go?
This book was OK. I didn’t care for the subject matter so I think that biased me right off the bat against the book. I could NOT have another child just for spare parts. I don’t think Sara and Brian thought this whole thing through very well, seemed very “gut reaction” to me and must have been VERY costly in the long run, more so in relationships than money.
I can’t say I liked any of the characters. Sara was just too commanding and over the top and the rest of the family basically did what Sara wanted.
Things I found incredulous/didn’t like:
1) Neither Sara nor Brian bought any Christmas presents BEFORE Christmas and bought them instead at the hospital gift shop. That’s just wrong.
2) Putting Anna at age 2 through what she did – and again and again and again. Just wrong.
3) Brian knows Jesse is the arsonist because of a cigarette and the laundry. And then lets Jesse off??? Come on!
4) The legal notice did not have Anna’s legal name – shouldn’t it have said Andromeda? I was quite sure that was her real name.
5) The whole thing with the dog – why didn’t Campbell just be honest instead of all these excuses?
6) I didn’t like Jesse hitting on Julia,that seemed so out of character for him.
7) Kate getting ready for the prom and her mother picks out her dress for her and orders it from bluefly.com and it is there in 2 days?
8) The “happy ending” with Campbell and Julia getting married. I really don’t think Julia needed to be in the story at all.
9) People released on “PR bail” - I had no clue what that was (I guess that is a GREAT thing) and had to look it up online – it is Personal Recognizance Bail, why not just say bail?
10) AND THE ENDING! UGH! Too easy.
The titles bugged me a bit – Thursday in Kate’s flashback – just happens to be a Thursday? I would have preferred just dates rather than weekdays.
M, I agree, Judge should have had his own chapters. I would have enjoyed that greatly!
When I kept getting closer and closer to the end of the book and the trial was just starting, I thought something was going to happen unexpectedly since there weren't enough pages left to "follow through". I did NOT like the ending and then so little after that - kind of like oh well, life goes on....
ok ok, I'm finally done with this book - sorry it took so long!
I'll start by restating that I already knew the plot and ending twists before I started the book, so I spent a lot of time just waiting for the other shoe to drop. That being said, I think it was very well written. Picoult definitely knows her way around storytelling. I also liked the chapters being told by different characters, and the fonts used for each. But overall, I didn't really care for the book.
I was very, very surprised that the only chapter Kate narrated was the final one. I think we should have heard a bit from her, especially after Anna finds her drunk and realizes she has tried to kill herself previously.
I really didn't care for the Campbell/Julia subplot. It seemed like Picoult was desperate to give someone a happy ending and really forced it too quickly onto them. Harvard law grad, and Julia is falling into bed with Campbell the night before the trial?! Doesn't seem right, no matter how much she's still in love with him. Also I didn't care for Campbell's constant secretiveness about his seizures. Actually, let me rephrase, I didn't mind his snide remarks and avoidance as much as I disliked his condition being hidden from the readers. bout halfway through the book I actually put the book down because I was so sick of Picoult almost revealing it, and then not. I think it's a good way to keep readers involved one or two times, but more than that is uncalled for. In the Ramona books, her parents (and mine) always say "First time is funny, second time is silly, third time is a spanking."
Jesse -- I'm torn between saying his character wasn't even necessary, or saying that he was probably the most realistic one in the entire book.
The readers guide in my book said you will either love Sara or hate Sara, and I'm not in her fan club. She was always so unwilling to ask for help from her sister, who was always there for her, and I was glad when Zanne told her to stop being a martyr. I was disappointed that she invested so much time and love into 1 lost cause (Kate) and seemed unfazed at losing another lost cause (Jesse). Also, what was up with Brian biting her and them enjoying the taste of blood in their lovemaking? I mean, I expect that kind of thing in the Sookie Stackhouse books, but here it was just weird.
As to the overall premise, I would never, ever petri-dish create a child, even if it were to save another child. I would never in-vitro, hormone treat or otherwise "help along" conception. My feeling has always been that there are already far, far too many abandoned, unwanted or uncared for children in this world that need parents; there is no need force-create your own genetic ones when you could help the greater good by adopting or fostering.
I didn't mind the surprise ending, in fact, it fit the book rather well. What I hated was Kate's 4-page recap of the following 8 years. This is the same beef I had with Shirley -- we spend 418 pages following 1 week in the life of this family + Julia and Campbell, and then you throw alllll the grief and recovery into one little chapter at the end?!?! The Jesse/Brian forgiveness scene falls into this category too. gah. Gah!
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