The theme of this novel has to do with protecting someone, and its concern is specifically on mothers and children. The plot hovers around several mothers, although one of its main characters is Elly, the lawyer who has longed for a child for a long time.

Katie Fisher, an Amish teenager has a baby out of wedlock, a fact too difficult for her to handle, as she doesn’t admit her situation until she goes into labor and bears a premature baby. When the baby is found dead in the barn, Katie is charged with murder, and Ellie Hathaway, the hotshot lawyer with boyfriend issues who is on a visit to her aunt in the area, accepts to defend her. The court case is highly complicated and Ellie’s defense of Katie, as to finding evidence, takes many forms and faces complications, until the plot presents a surprise twist at its end.

The story is intricate and, despite its calm Amish town setting, full of tension and suspense, as its author reveals the story in tiny pieces, with every twist and turn undoing a revelation or taking it to a new direction. Any summary, therefore, cannot do justice to this multi-dimensional work full of mystery and rich, dramatic characterization.

Some of this excellence comes from the point of view shifts, as each chapter provides a different first person or limited third person point of view by each important character, with several chapters using the omniscient POV. Through this change in POVs, the readers get to know the characters inside out.

The backdrop of the Amish town. Just by reading this novel, a person can learn quite a lot about the Amish.

is Jodi Picoult, an American Author, 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, Harvesting the Heart, Picture Perfect, Mercy, The Pact, Keeping Faith, Plain Truth, Salem Falls, Perfect Match, Second Glance, My Sister's Keeper, Vanishing Acts, The Tenth Circle, Nineteen Minutes, Change of Heart, Handle with Care, House Rules, Sing You Home, Between The Lines, The Story Teller, Lone Wolf, and Leaving Time.

As a Jodie Picoult fan, I enjoyed reading it, as the plot is richly layered with splendid characterization.

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Created Nov 13, 2014 at 6:46pm • Submit your own review...