Mulling on Monday #8

  1 ½ Stars

 ”Mondays are pothole in the road of life.” – Anon

  Agreed. Mondays are jarring, especially after a busy weekend. But, here I am today, writing about a book I read on teh weekend, squeezing it in at bedtime.

  And, due to my sad collection of library books, it is yet another Jodi Pilcout novel. Songs of A Humpback Whale. And I am wondering why it is even a novel at all.

  No, I mean it. This Jodi novel was not well done. At all. It was messy, confusing, and the plot was all jarbled. One big mess, if you ask me. Just not good!

  First of all, the multiple characters were all right. Matter of fact, they were the only part I could rely on. But to have the story moving in two differnt directions at once…not good. I admire her idea, her creative license, but that was just a no-no that really brought the story down.

  Let me explain how it worked; she had four characters talking like you would usually see in a book; going forwards, the plot progressing. But then Rebecca, the daughter is going backwards. So. You knew the ending of the story before you even really got into it. Hello? Why bother to even finish the novel? I only did becuase I wanted to see how she ended this mess (and trust me, it was not worth it).

  The plot was pointless. Wife has a fight with husband. Wife leaves with kid. Drives across the country. Finds a hot man at her brother’s place. Husband comes. You can figure the rest out. (and no, this is not a spoiler, becuas you learn this almost right away.)

  Whether this novel was just no good becuase it was her debut one, I don’t know what happened here.

  Oh. What I did like. Other than when it ended? (ouch.) It was different than her other novels, which tend to repeat characters and plot lines. But this was just horrible, and not what I was looking for from her. I was expecting the typical, comfortable Jodi Pilcout novel. But this…no.

  Overall? Not good. Don’t really bother.

  Rachel is a survivor. She survived a plane crash with only four others when she was four. She is also a life preserver…she is the glue that holds her parents together.

But when things escalate in the Jone’s household Rebbeca and her mother, Jane,  leave, following only letters that Jane’s close brother sends, bringing them places they have never been, and bringing mother and daughter closer than they have ever been.

It’s not just a journey to get to see her brother though: it’s an exploration of their pasts, of their lives, and everything in between love and hate.

Author: Jodi Pilcout

Published: 1992

Page Count:352

ISBN: 0743431014    (isbn13: 9780743431019)

Quote Day

“You don’t love someone because they’re perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they’re not”

— Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper

Book of the Week: Ninteen Minutes

4 1/2 Stars

Yet another Jodi Picoult book. And this one makes the Book of the Week shelf. I absolutely love this novel, and it is my favorite Jodi novel out of the six I have read.

I love this one because of the truth behind the story, the innocencce, and the pain that floods the pages. It’s heartbreaking and utterly relevant to many teen’s emotions and needs. I read this not too long ago, after reading My Sister’s Keeper, and Perfect Match. While I thought that My Sister’s Keeper was good, I loved this book. It’s so full of raw emotion and surprises.

Again, I had an issue with the end, just because I was sad that it had to end that way, and becuase I loved the characters too much to let them go that way. But I was also happy at the end, even if it was a bitter end to the novel.

This is truly one of the best novels that Jodi has written.

In nineteen minutes, a lot can change, and quickly.

Such as having the time to pull out a gun and going on a rampage in your high school.

That is what Peter Houghton does, when he finnally snaps and lashes out against those who tormented him all his life.

This is the story of why, and what one kid did when he had enough.

Author: Jodi Picoult

Published: February 5th 2008 by Washington Square Press (first published 2006)

Page Count: 464

ISBN:0743496736    (isbn13: 9780743496735)

Heartbreaking and utterly relevant to many teen’s emotions and needs.
I read this not too long ago, after reading My Sister’s Keeper, and Perfect Match. While I thought that My Sister’s Keeper was good, I loved this book. It’s so full of raw emotion and surprises.

Mulling On Monday #1

4 1/2 Stars

All right, so for my Mulling Monday Moment, I have decided that the book I will ‘mull over’ will be a Jodi Picoult novel that I finished recently.

I promise that I will not give out any big spoilers. You may complain if I do.

For those of you who have not heard of Jodi, which would be strange as she is really big right now, she is the author of the extremely popular novel ‘My Sister’s Keeper’, which was made into a movie and was out on DVD not too long ago. She has written numerous books, all with different moral topics that keep the reader extremely interested, and really educate them. But, she is also an author that people seem to love or hate. She does have some good things going for her, yes, but she also an author that tends to be repetitive; even if the story-lines are still amazing.

Guessed the book yet? Book #1 of Monday Mulling is ‘Handle With Care’, Jodi’s sixteenth novel that has been published.

‘Handle With Care‘ was not that different from all her other novels; big issue, women takes charge to save her kid with issue, even if her decision is questionable.  Goes to court, etc. I do admit that it was not my favorite novel of all of hers, but it still was pretty good, even if she tends to recycle the same ideas over and over again.

The issue of OI, or Osteogenesis Imperfecta, was an interesting one, and the way that Jodi presented it was great. What I also liked about the book was that it was thick! I sat down all day to read it, and it took a while, which was lovely for me. What I also liked was the way she used different characters viewpoints, which were accentuated clearly by chapter change and font change.

Now. What I had issues with. I was not particularly fond of the ‘talking to Willow’ approach. I found it to be quite annoying at times, and I was really not into that. I also will say that I found the ending abrupt and, like all of her books, unexpected. But this time I did not like the twist, as it was extremely unnecessary. But no spoilers will you find here.I also found that I was more interested in the other characters rather than just Willow. Also, because Jodi tends to re-use story lines, I found this one awfully close to ‘Perfect Match’. But hey, both were pretty good.

So, a quick synopsis on the book, straight out of my own mouth.

Willow has always been breakable. From the day she was born, she was broken. More fragile than a butterfly. More delicate than spun silk.

Willow has a disease that many don’t understand. But Charlotte and Sean O’Keefe know all too well about Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or OI. This is a disease that means one wrong move could shatter bones. A sneeze, a step, a turn too quick. Over her life, Willow will break hundreds of bones, contributing to a life time full of pain and suffering.

But Charlotte thinks she has found an option to be able to support her daughter, and to pay for her medical issues with no questioning on if they could be able to eat supper. A  lawsuit could cover it all. Just two issues. Charlotte would have to get up in court without her husband’s aproval and say that she never would have had the child she loves so much had she known of her disease in advance. She would also be suing the OB/GYN – who is her best friend.

What do you do when it comes down to morals? How far do you go for somebody you love at the expense of somebody else you love? What do you give up?

Author:  Jodi Picoult

Published:  March 3, 2009

Page Count:  496

ISBN:  978-0743296410

http://www.jodipicoult.com/handle-with-care.html