June's second husband and daughter are brutally slain when she is pregnant with their child, Claire.
Years later Shay Bourne, convicted of the murder is on death row, awaiting his sentence to be carried out. When he finds out that Claire is seriously ill and needs a heart transplant he decides he wants to donate his heart to save her life.
With the help of Maggie, a struggling ACLU lawyer and Michael, the guilt ridden priest who also served on the jury that convicted him, Shay struggles to get his dying wish.

A seriously enthralling read. The story is told from the different angles of the eclectic characters who come together to fight for what they believe in.

The chapters are not numbered, but titled with the character they represent, each speaking in the first person. Each different character even has a different type face for their chapters.

The Epilogue. I won't go into it because it will spoil the story for anyone wanting to read the book, but I will say I think it was a little tacky.

Recommend it! That was after I'd visited the tissue box!

This is a seriously thought invoking book. Jodi writes about different aspects and beliefs of religion. One of the characters is Catholic, while another has been raised in a Jewish family. It raises great debating points about religion and gnostic beliefs. I found this very interesting.

This is the first Jodi Picoult book I've read. I was a little confused in the beginning when the similarities between her characters and those from The Green Mile seemed almost parallel. And then she acknowledges this herself and the story unfolds in a completely different direction. Very clever.

Before I started reading I had already been told the basic premise of the book. I thought this would ruin it for me. But the way Jodi writes her characters and draws the reader in is very absorbing. There's something for everyone here. Her characters are flawed and realistic. I love that.

The end was very predictable (meaning the Epilogue) It was the only downside to the book.

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Created Sep 23, 2008 at 7:25pm • Submit your own review...