To start with, I am a fan of Jodi Picoult’s work, but despite my bias, this novel is not to my liking. If it is written to be a love story, it falls short where its main characters Emily and Chris are concerned. I just couldn’t feel empathy for either of them, especially the selfish Emily.

The story slowly progresses by alternating between two time slots, now and then, spanning eighteen years of relationship between two neighboring families, Harte and Gold. The two families are very close, especially because their children Chris and Emily--three months apart in age—have grown up closer than siblings and have later become lovers, a relationship encouraged by both sets of parents.

The novel begins with the parents being informed that the teens were found around a carousel, with Emily dead with a gunshot to her head and Chris with a scalp laceration. The story then involves the changes of color in the relationship between the two families, court proceedings, and a great deal of heartache.

Chris and Emily are not Romeo and Juliet, if any reader thinks of drawing a likeness. Emily’s internal conflict is downright flimsy, and no matter how accomplished she is, she is an extremely self-centered person who creates the tragedy that befalls on everyone, out of practically nothing. Chris, also, is a highly accomplished student, but for a supposedly strong character, he is exceedingly incompetent in that he mismanages his own situation and gives in to Emily’s whim. Both of these characters are guilty of misjudging what true love is.

All the other characters--the parents, lawyers, people in the jail—are masterfully developed with keen insight into human behavior. Despite my dislike for the two teens, some scenes with the other characters bewitched me, as proof of the author’s mastery with characterization and storytelling.

seeing that even a highly accomplished author can sometimes formulate a weak premise to start a complicated plot.

the two teen characters. Emily's melodrama was infuriating and Chris's reasoning lacked.

disappointed.

is Jodi Picoult, a graduate of Harvard and Princeton. Several of her novels have been made into movies.
Some of her books are: Songs of the Humpback Whale (1992), Harvesting the Heart (1994), Picture Perfect (1995), Mercy (1996), The Pact (1998), Keeping Faith (1999), Plain Truth (2000), Salem Falls (2001), Perfect Match (2002), Second Glance (2003), My Sister's Keeper(2004), Vanishing Acts (2005), The Tenth Circle (2006) Nineteen Minutes (2007), Change of Heart (2008), Handle With Care (2009), House Rules (2010), Sing You Home (2011).

it is about teenage suicide and how suicide ruins everyone around the suicidal person. Even though the teen characters annoyed me, the other areas in the novel are highly successful.

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Created Jun 21, 2014 at 7:30pm • Submit your own review...