Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

When was the last time you read a book that left you sobbing at the end?  Leaving Time was just such a book for me.  That makes it particularly hard to write a review of this book as I don’t want to ruin the experience for someone else!

Leaving Time had a very unique premise.  Jenna Metcalf is a young thirteen old girl that wants to finally discover the truth behind her mother’s appearance.  Her mother was an elephant researcher, Alice Metcalf, who disappeared when Jenna was only three.  Jenna’s parents ran an elephant sanctuary in Northeast United States.  Through some sort of strange series of events a woman was trampled to death at the sanctuary and Alice was found farther away knocked out.  After being taken to the hospital, she checked herself out in the night never to be seen again.  Where did Alice go?  Is she still alive?

Jenna enlists the help of Serenity, a psychic who was once famous, but has lost her power.  Serenity seems to be able to help Jenna find clues, and together the two of them enlist Virgil, the original detective on the case who now a drunken private eye.  Virgil is sure he made a mistake a decade before.  Will this cast of misfits solve the mystery?

The narrative is told from Jenna, Serenity, and Alice.  Alice’s point of view is her research into the grieving of elephants and motherly bonds that she first researched in Africa, and then starts telling her story of meeting Thomas, Jenna’s father, and her journey to living at an elephant sanctuary and becoming a mother.  I really liked the narrative and found it unique.  The story was engaging and page turning and I really liked the characters.

This book was a second book choice for the FLICKS (aka Rogue) Book and Movie Club.  We sadly had to cancel our May meeting due to everyone being busy.  I hope that we get to discuss our books at some point!  This one has a lot to discuss, especially as mothers.

My favorite quotes:

“I would argue that there is a special empathy elephants have for mothers and children – either their own species’s or another’s.  That relationship seems to hold a precious significance and a bittersweet knowledge:  An elephant seems to understand that if you lose a baby, you suffer.”

“There’s no biological advantage to grief.  In fact, in the wild, it can be downright dangerous to be moping around or swearing off food.”

“It is a fact universally acknowledge, there is not greater force on earth than a mother’s revenge.”  I love Serenity’s call back to Pride and Prejudice here.

Overall, Leaving Time is a very engaging novel, with a unique storyline and great characters.  I really like the story of grief, of mothers and daughters, and how much I learned about elephants.  I also like learning more about psychics as well.  I highly recommend this book . . . although bring a box of Kleenex when you are reading it!

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Small Great Things is the May book club pick for the FLICKS Book and Movie (aka Rogue) Club.  I think this novel will provide ample discussion at our book club next week.

Ruth Jefferson has been a labor and delivery nurse for twenty years.  She’s a widow who loves her job and her son, Edison.  She has been trying to make a great life for Edison making sure they are in a good school district and putting away money for his education. One day, Ruth is doing a routine check on a newborn and feels an odd vibe in the room, especially after the father tells her to stay away from his wife and that he wants to see her supervisor.  Ruth then finds out that they do not want any African American personnel working on their child.  As the only African American labor and delivery nurse, Ruth feels affronted.  Later during an emergency, Ruth hesitates to perform CPR on the baby before the rest of the staff get there.  Did this hesitation cause the baby’s death? 

Ruth’s world is torn apart with losing her job, her nursing license, and getting arrested.  White public defender, Kennedy McQuarrie gets her case, but says they must not mention race in the courtroom.  Kennedy gets to know Ruth and her story and her thoughts about race make a change in Kennedy throughout the novel.  Will Ruth end up in jail or will the truth set her free?

The story was told through the point of view of Ruth, Kennedy, and Turk, the white supremacist father.  I liked the different viewpoints, but really felt this was Ruth’s story.  I had a real hard time reading Turk’s chapters.

I’m really torn on this novel.  The story was definitely page turning, but several notes of the story rang false to me.  First of all, I kept thinking this book was hitting so many items from my Living Inclusively and Teaching Inclusively classes – sometimes word for word on discussions we had in class.  Then I got to the Acknowledgments section and saw a thanks to Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum who literally wrote the textbook we used in our classes.  Overall, this made the book odd to me at times like it was a part of a classroom lecture.

Secondly, just like in that class, I had problems with the thesis set forth by modern diversity classes.  As Picoult states in her afterword, “I expect pushback from this book.  I will have people of color challenging me for choosing a topic that doesn’t belong to me.  I will have white people challenging me for calling them on their racism.”  I had a problem with both of these items.  I feel that novels or non-fiction written by African Americans on their experiences ring so much truer - such as The Color Purple, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and The Grace of Silence.  I had a problem that in this book Picoult seems to think there are only two kinds of white people – raging racists, and everyone else who things they are not racist, but really are inside.  This was the general premise of my diversity class as well.  Why is there not room for a third type of white person that respects people of all backgrounds and understands history and the struggles that African Americans have gone through?  That we truly can’t understand the African American experience as we aren’t African American, but we can acknowledge that they have a lot to deal with that a white person never has to experience?  I feel like the tenants of Dr. Beverly Tatum that are parroted by Picoult are only used to drive a wedge between people with no path forward.

Third, I had a problem with the characterizations of the white supremacists.  They were 100% evil and it was hard to feel any empathy for them.  They were one dimensional and without trying to give anything away, the ending of the book rang false as we hadn’t really gotten to know these characters besides the fact that they were very terrible people who had no problem with beating up others and killing neighbors’ dogs.  I’m not a fan of white supremacists, but to make this novel work, especially the ending, having them written as multi-dimensional would have served the story so much better.

I thought it was clever that the baby involved in the story is named Davis and Ruth’s last name was Jefferson.  I’m not sure if that was intentional to make me think about Jefferson Davis and the confederacy.

The White supremacists sections were frightening.  To think that such people live amongst us and have gatherings in the woods to sell swastikas and the like with their families is horrifying.  It would explain a lot of what we see today.

I related to Kennedy discovering that her mother watches Fox news with her young daughter and her displeasure with it.  I have the same thing happening to my own children.  Also a quote from her mother “You know, if they weren’t so angry all of the time, maybe more people would listen to them,” could have directly come from many of my family members.

Favorite quotes:

“I don’t have a problem with white people.  I live in a white community; I have white friends; I send my son to a predominantly white school.  I treat them the way I want to be treated – based on their individual merits as human beings, not on their skin tone.” – Ruth

“Trayvon was a good kid, a smart boy.  You are a respected nurse.  The reason that judge didn’t want to bring race – the same reason your lawyer is skirting like it’s the plague – is because Black people like you and Trayvon are supposed to be the exceptions.  You are the very definition of when bad things happen to good people.  Because that is the only way white gatekeepers can make excuses for their behavior.  But what if that’s not the truth?  What if you and Trayvon aren’t the exceptions . . . but the rule?  What if injustice is the standard?” – Wallace Mercy

“The State just sees a dead baby. They’re targeting you because they think you failed as a nurse.”

“You’re wrong.” I shake my head in the darkness, and I say the words I’ve swallowed down my whole life. “They’re targeting me because I’m Black." (Kennedy and Ruth)

Overall, Small Great Things is a page-turning novel that should prompt good discussion at my book club.  I felt that the storyline was too much like my diversity textbook at times and didn’t really flesh out the “bad guys” to give the ending believability.  For a great book on diversity and living the African American experience I would highly recommend The Grace of Silence by Michele Norris.

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library

The Jodi Picoult Project

One of my favorite blogs has a new interesting reading Challenge. Suko’s Notebook has introduced The Jodi Picoult Project. For this challenge, one needs to commit to reading at least one novel by this prolific author. The reading challenge will run from October 2011 through October 2012.


I enjoy Jodi Picoult’s novels and I have two on my shelf that I borrowed from my sister-in-law, Sing You Home and House Rules that I need to read. I also would love to read Plain Truth and Salem Falls. These two novels were my good friend Laura Hivala’s favorite Picoult novels. She recommended them to me and I’ve had them on my to-read list for quite a while! I’ll try to read these four books over the next year . . . or at least one of them!

Thank-you for the great new challenge Suko!

The Pact by Jodi Picoult

Yes, I had to read a Jodi Picoult book while I was sick to make myself cry. The Pact was another great Picoult novel that made a tragic event a personal family tragedy. Chris and Emily have been together since they were infants and it was only natural that they should start dating as teenagers. Their parents are also great friends. Their world is torn apart when they receive a phone call one night and discover that Emily and Chris have been shot. Determining the exact events of the night is harrowing and a good read. It was depressing though as a parent to think about your children being involved in such circumstances in the future. It does make you think.

My only complaint is that the version that I read had too descriptive of a book blurb on the back cover and it actually ruined the “surprise” at the end of novel for me. I would suggest skipping reading the blurb on your copy if you can!

Book Source: I received this book at our white elephant gift exchange for one of my book clubs. I read it for our March book club meeting, which unfortunately I wasn't able to attend as I was sick!

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

My Sister's Keeper was my personal pick for the Lakeshore Mom's book club this month. I read the book two years ago and knew it was a page turning, fantastic story that is especially relevant to mothers. To read a summary of the plot of this novel, please see my previous blog about this novel. I think it was a good book club pick, everyone told me before book club how much they enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. I had the same experience, it was my second time reading the novel, but I couldn't put it down. After a nail bitting Lost finale last week, I stayed up late to finish My Sister's Keeper. And I wonder why I never get enough sleep!

We had a great discussion of this novel yesterday at book club at my house from a mother's prospective. On one hand, we had one member who though the mother, Sara, was way overboard on protecting her sick daughter Kate. On the other hand, another member could see how one could get this protective and would give anything to cure their sick daughter. It was a good talk.

If you are looking for a good page turning summer read that you can't put down, I highly recommend this book. It would be a timely read as a movie based on the novel is coming out at the end of June. See the trailer here. I am a little disturbed by the casting (Cameron Diaz is not old enough by a good decade and Alec Baldwin is too old by two decades) and very disturbed about the rumored change in the excellent novel ending. But I still want to see the movie besides my misgiving!

Quick Book Review Update

As with movies, I've read a lot of books in the last month during baby feedings. I'm a month behind on reviews with the new baby so I'm going to do a quick summary of what I've read in the past month to catch up! I'm going to list the books I've read from the most recent to the one I had finished right before the baby was born!

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. I loved the Masterpiece Theatre mini-series and also read the book over the past few days. The book does not include any stories about Doctor Harrison or Lady Ludlow - they are separate novellas, which I didn't realize at first! The book is a charming picture of life in a small village during the Victorian era. I enjoyed it.

The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier. This book was recommended and borrowed from my good friend Elina (she has been recommending books to me since 4th grade!). This book was about a woman who has relocated to modern day France and becomes obsessed with tracing the story of her ancestors. Her ancestors were Hugenots that had to flee France to Switzerland to avoid prosecution in the 16th century. Half of the story is about her ancestor Isabelle and the dark secret hidden in the family. It was a good book and very interesting to learn about the era.

Princess by Jean P. Sasson. Princess was also loaned and recommended to me by Elina. The book was a first person account of a Saudi Arabian Princess named Sultana for the book's purposes. It was a vivid account of life under the veil and rule of men. It gave good brief background to the history of the region and of Islam. It was a good book to read to understand women's issues in the Middle east althought it was written directly after Desert Storm so it is a bit dated. It's hard to believe that women live such restricted lives in our modern age.

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. This is another book borrowed from Elina. I enjoyed this novel a lot! It tells the tale of a beautiful unicorn tapistry and how it was designed and woven. The lives it intersects are fascinating. I highly recommend this novel to fellow lovers of historical fiction.

Time and Again by Nora Roberts. This novel is actually a combination of two older novels by Nora Roberts. They both involve handsome men traveling back in time from the 24th century and meeting the love of their lives. They were entertaining novels, but not among Roberts best.

The Perfect Summer by Luanne Rice. This book was a Mom's Club book club pick. The story is a romance/mystery involving a woman, Bay McCabe, who's unfaithful husband has disappeared, and who's teenage crush has reappeared. I enjoyed this light read, except for the excessive mention of the "boardwalk" that Bay and Danny worked on in their youth.

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. I thought this novel was riveting and thought provoking (although I figured out the "surprise" ending right away. It involved a murderer who was on death row and wanted to donate his heart to his victim's family. The murderer may also be performing miracles in jail.

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner. I enjoyed this book although it's surprise ending was a tear jerker, especially after you've just given birth. I think Ben thought someone had died when he saw my tears! This novel is a follow up to Good in Bed. I thought it was a good sequel and enjoyed getting back into Cannie's story.

The Strongbow Saga Book Three: The Road to Vengeance by Judson Roberts. This novel was another first look review from Harper Collins so the novel actually comes out in June. I enjoyed the novel. Although I hadn't read the first two in the series, I was able to grasp the story quickly and go with it. If you enjoy Viking adventure tales, this book is for you.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

I literally could not put this book down I was so intrigued by it. Jodi Picoult delivers another timely novely that deals with issues of today. This novel is set in a small New Hampshire town that is shattered during "nineteen minutes" when a young man named Peter Houghton comes to school one day with a bag full of guns and vengence on his mind. The novel is primarily the story of Peter and also of Alex Cormier, a judge, and her daughter, Josie. Josie was a friend of Peter's when they were younger and witnessed the shootings, although she can not remember them.

Picoult is excellent at writing at the shades of grey in her novels. In this situation, you want to hate Peter for what he has done, but he actually comes across as a rather likeable young man who was bullied to the breaking point. The only point I did not like is that it seemed unrealistic that Alex would have been able to be the judge at all over this case with her MAJOR conflict of interest. Overall thought, it was an excellent novel.

If you are looking for a page-turning novel - I highly recommend this book!

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Mrs. Smith recommended this book to me. It is an excellent book - and a real page-turner. I stayed up late Saturday night to finish it to its shocking conclusion. I was crying by the end, which made Ben wake up sleepily and think there was something wrong with me:-)

This novel has an intriguing concept. It's about two sisters, one named Kate who is 16 and has leaukemia and the other named Anna who is 13. Anna was a "designer baby" who was created in a lab and placed her mother's womb so that she would be a genetic match for Kate and be a doner. The donations started with cord blood at birth and have gone on from there. Now at age 13, Anna wants the donations to stop and has gone to a lawyer to be medically emacipated from her parents so that she won't have to donate one of her kidneys to Kate.

Besides this main plot, the book also tells the story of how Kate's sickness has affected the family as a whole. Jesse, the older brother, is a raging juvenile delinquent who has been ignored most of his life to meet Kate's pressing needs. Brian, the father, is a fire chief and loves his family. He has seen his marriage fall apart as he watches his wife, Sara, obsess over saving Kate no matter what the cost. Sara has her obsession and her marriage and other two children seem to fall apart to meet Kate's needs.

Another interesting side plot is about Campbell Alexander, Anna's attorney, and Julia, Anna's case worker. They were high school sweethearts who broke up under no very nice circumstances. They are reunited to work on this case and must work through their issues. I could have read a book just about these two!

The book was told through the view points of each of these main characters. They each had their own font too, which I thought was a cool point. The characters were very ingrossing and the plot moves along quickly. I recommend it to anyone and I plan on reading some more books by Jodi Picoult!