Published: 2012
Pages: 421
Should you read it? If you are Jodi Picoult fan, it is similar to some of the recent books but I think Jodi had other things on her mind when she was writing. It's sort-of autopilot writing. In writing this book, I wonder if she felt how I feel as a mother when I'm trying to solve a problem for one of my children and I go through the motions with every other facet of my life until I have this problem solved. If you have never picked up Jodi Picoult and want to, I would look for some of other earlier books: My Sister's Keeper, Nineteen Minutes and Plain Truth being my very favorite.
What's it about? A family story told by four members: Luke, Georgie, Edward and Cara. Luke is a Steve Irwin type but instead of crocodiles, it's wolves. Georgie is his ex, mother of his children Edward and Cara. Edward is the oldest, prodigal son (gay) and Cara is the wise-beyond-her years teenage daughter. Luke and Cara are in a horrific car accident that leaves Luke in a coma. Edward, the only heir that is of an age of majority is called home to make decisions for his father. Georgie, remarried with adorable little twins, who even though she insists she hasn't, has left her old life behind. Cara, 17, has lived with her father for the last 4 years and has been taking care of him as he's too preoccupied with his wolves to pay bills and buy groceries. So what happens when this group of 3 disagree about life-terminating decisions for Luke? They go to court. Who defends Edward? Why, of course, Joe, Georgie's new husband. Why does Georgie allow this? I guess she is truly not interested in those older kids. Why does the court system allow this? Never addressed.
Well? It's the usual Jodi Picoult but it lacks the zip, vigor and "straight from the headlines" plot with a twist at the end. Is Picoult tired of this format? Is she tired of writing? Has she just become completely lost in the persona of Jodi Picoult the author? I think yes to all. It's a straight up miss.
My Usual Complaint? The teenager who has the wisdom of Solomon. When most teenagers think like, "Why does everyone hate me?" Cara, the precocious thinks like:
I wonder if what makes a family a family isn't doing everything right all the time but, instead, giving a second chance to the people you love who do things wrong.
Home is the place where you know where the silverware lives, where the cups hide, where the clean plates go.
I think Picoult gives her teenage characters some sort of omniscience that just does not ring true. It's purpose, I suppose, is to move the plot along, but I'm just not keen on it.
Why do I Keep Reviewing Buying and Reviewing Picoult? Up to this point, for as many complaints that I have had, she has done an equally good job of surprising me and giving me some food for thought. I like that in an author. Now, this time, not so much on surprise and not too much food; a little, but certainly not a feast.
So It Remains To Be Seen... Is this just the end of a format that Picoult has been using for her last several books? Has it run its course? I would hate to think that Picoult is all done writing. She still has a wonderful way with words. I want to see more. I am all done with this format, however, and I hope she is too.
My Favorite Parts of the Book: The times when Luke was with the wild wolves. There were times when I was convinced I was going to go find my own wolf pack. If you are curious about wolves, this book was quite educational about pack life.
People assume that the reason I walked away from the pack that day was because the harsh conditions had finally become overwhelming-- the weather, the cold, the near starvation, the constant threat of predators. But the real reason I came back is much simpler.
If I hadn't left at that moment, I knew I would have stayed forever.
The only one I read was My Sister's Keeper, and the end made me mad (ie, what a cop-out).
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't read only Christian books(by a longshot) I found that if I read something with a sensitive, true-life issue, I want to read it through the lens of scripture.
I usually love Jodi Picoult but this review doesn't sound very good at all... might have to give this one a miss I think.
ReplyDeleteMegan @ Storybook Love Affair
I really don't like posting negative reviews yet this one lacked pop and punch. It's almost the Picoult books have turned into a finely oiled machine but this one lacked personality. I didn't feel like she was writing for me anymore but rather just writing.
ReplyDeletePaula - I like the way you think. I usually try to find my own spirituality through the characters of the book. You know, how is this person on the same spiritual journey as I am and how is this one walking a different journey. I might consider trying to be more choosey about the next book I read like this. It might be more edifying, at least.
ReplyDeleteThe only Picoult book I've read was My Sister's Keepers, and to me all the characters seemed very one-dimensional and didn't really have distinctive personalities. When I saw that all of her other books followed the same kind of "tragedy/drama" theme, I decided to stay away. She seems like a formula author.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't like when authors make teens seem TOO thoughtful, like you said. I was a thoughtful teen, but nothing like what you quoted above.
Oh well. Hope that your next Picoult is better, if you read another! :-)
I know - a thoughtful teen, hmm... Home is the place where you know where the silverware lives, where the cups hide, where the clean plates go.
ReplyDeleteOkay, then home is my son's bedroom because that truly is where the silverware lives, the cups hide and the once clean plates go.
I've seen a few disappointed reviews of this one. I find her to be very hit or miss and there is a lot of formula but I thought Nineteen Minutes was such a powerful account of the harm of bullying. I also quite liked the one with the ghosts. I still have loads of her books to read so won't be buying this one even though the wolves drew me in at first.
ReplyDeleteSounds good and painful. That seems to be the Jodi way.
ReplyDeleteI like what you point out about the teenager. SO true!
Oh, Ellie, I miss you. I have to pop over to your blog and visit. Yes, I liked Nineteen Minutes very much too.
ReplyDeleteHey JuJu - Her picture of teenagers is very unrealistic. I know that she has her own teenagers. I wonder if she writes based on her own teenagers or if these teenagers come somewhere from her imagination.
ReplyDeleteI've never read Jodi Picoult because her books seem so sad and I don't do sad.
ReplyDeleteBut I find the thing you said about teenagers very interesting.
Not only is her idea of teenagers unrealistic this novel is absolutely rife with inaccuracies in the way in which wolf behaviour is depicted. This would not be such an issue for me (I understand fiction is given certain artistic licence) however she states she consulted a wolf 'expert' in writing this. She consulted Shaun Ellis. Who firstly does not have any degrees in biology, naturalism or scientific or behavioural fields, has never published any peer reviewed work and is regarded by real wolf experts (those who have been studying the species for many years and who have countless peer reviewed articles and qualifications) as a fraud. His national geographic film 'wolf man' was staged with captive socialised wolves in a controlled environment. Not only did he not interact with them as stated he actually presented completely false observations as facts. For example he states that he taught a pack of wolf puppies to 'be wolves' when their mother rejected them, one way in which by teaching them to howl. Howling is an innate behaviour. It is not learned it is instinctual (this is supported by scientific fact not falsely correlational observation). Any human can make a wolf howl. I have done it and have the video to prove so. I worked at a captive wolf reserve and as part of the morning routine I would go to the main packs enclosure to give them medication. The funniest part of the routine was howling at the wolves to wake them up and having that stimulate their morning rally howl, but I did NOT teach them how to do it and neither did their other keepers some of which who have raised them from pups.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest issue here is that Picoult is not representing this work as pure fiction that would be excusable. On her website she touts her use of numerous sources and experts (http://www.jodipicoult.com/faqs.html). When asked the question "How do you do your research?" she replies, "Meticulously. I hate catching authors in inaccuracies when I’m a reader, so I’m a stickler when I’m writing....When I start researching, I read everything I can about a topic. Then I meet with an “expert”. Obviously she did not read anything but anthropomorphic drivel. This enrages me so because people don't seem to understand the impact of misinformation.
ReplyDeleteWhy is what she's done an actual problem above the regular exemptions for fiction? I’m sure plenty of people would ask so what if she depicts the wolves as having the ability to sense how many puppies they will have and if and when they will leave the pack even before they are born? So what if she says that wolves divvy up a kill according to rank with the alpha always getting the intestines (FYI the wolves I fed deer carcass too went for the juicy meaty parts first in an all-out fur flying free for all completely irrespective of rank additionally this "priority feeding" custom suggested by Picoult has been completely debunked by David Mech)? So what? This is just a novel! It’s not fact.
Well that’s not entirely true is it? The dangerous part is people read this book and because these points are translated by characters that are represented as having professional views and this is supported by the author’s assertion that she uses meticulous research and consults "experts" people believe them as fact. Due to the globalisation of the world’s information sources anyone can now have an opinion on any debate using any points they believe to be facts. More than ever the truth is whatever those with the loudest voice tell us, and a bestselling author is indeed a loud voice. So it works pretty much like this: some young idealist joins a conservation group because he/she wants to help these animals that are 'just so like us', they weigh into debates using false hoods. From there once a inaccurate point is represented and disproved by more well informed parties in the debate (which it almost always is in relation to positive falsehoods) it can completely discredit the standing of that entire group and thus cause any valid arguments they might have to become devalued. This may sound extreme but I have seen it happen. It happens every day in every environmental debate currently under public scrutiny. Positively skewed points can be as damaging as negatively skewed ones and often far less easily forgotten because people often feel deceived into supporting something on the premise of misinformation. She is not a new writer. This is her 18th novel, she should not only know better but be able to understand that what she has done should be weighed with the same level of ethical and moral debate as the issues she likes to write about. I do admire a number of her works, however this disastrous attempt has me wondering if she has the same understanding of the fair and honest pursuit of truth and compassion for her subject matter represented in so many of her novels. You can write a story including a clever and well thought out metaphor using another species without fictionalisation of their basic biology and diluting the public’s understanding of their relative place next to us in this world. Which, clearly has occurred because it is recommended here as an educational source of information on pack life (please note I mean no offence to the blogger I simply used that reference to demonstrate a point). Wolves have such a rich social structure and set of natural behaviours they do not need us to make them more interesting.
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ReplyDeleteI apologise for the rant on your lovely page, but I have just finished this novel and am not only angry but depressed by what it had to say on an animal I hold in high regard, whose conservation status is under serious debate, due in part to misinformation, as I write this. I hope I did not offend you at all because that was not my intention, I appreciated and enjoyed your review and in no way wish to imply any offence. I tend to get a little passionent about this topic and late night blogging makes a girl somewhat strong worded. Additionally I want to stress actually having a biology degree and current research with canines does not make me an expert but it does make me informed, something Jodi could have been by simply taking the time to make the right phone calls. Maybe her next novel should be titled 'The truth is in the telling' with that tag line 'When a pretty lie sells, would you bother looking for the truth?'
ReplyDeleteOk rant over, my humblest appologies.
P.A.W
P.A.W. - No apologies necessary! Rant away. I hope it felt good to get this off your chest. My blog is as good a place as any for that.
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