Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult - a book review

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult : June's first husband was killed in a car crash. Against all the odds, her daughter was uninjured and, in another miracle, June found love again with the policeman who rescued them. Six years on they are a happy family, June pregnant with their own child.

But now June's second daughter is dying without the new heart she so urgently needs. And her first daughter, along with her husband, is dead, killed by Shay Bourne, an itinerant workman they welcomed into their home. The crime was so heinous that Shay has been given the death penalty for the first time in 69 years in New Hampshire. Shay is going to die, and he is looking for redemption. He wants to give June's daughter his heart . . .

This was written in true Picoult style. It has all the twists and turns you come to expect from her. This book has had lots of criticism of resembling Stephen Kings The Green Mile. In fact I feel it was very similar, but I also know that she knows that. She has one of the inmates on I-tier call Shay Bourne 'Green Mile' and even has one of the characters say they would rather be curled up with the latest Stephen King novel. Besides the main character basically being the same the stories are very different. Jodi Picoult's is based on the very the touchy topic of religion. Where Green Mile is more about the death sentence and sentencing innocent people. If you liked Green Mile, which I did, I would recommend Change of Heart to you. And vise versa if you liked this then I would recommend The Green Mile, not the movie. Where the movie was entertaining it didn't have the same impact that the book did, there was just something lost in the feeling for the main characters. A topic I could go on and on and on about all day!
As I am a very curious person when it comes to religion I really did like this book. Religion is a very personal thing as I feel it says a lot about the person, but I hate how it's something people can't talk about in an easygoing conversation. It always seems to turn into a childish argument of who is right and who is wrong. If you are a close-minded person when it comes to religion I would stay clear of this book as it's just going to piss you off. I'm sorry if that statement pissed you off. I'm just warning you.

I think this book warrants a read. Maybe not my favorite Picoult novel but it definitely still has me thinking!

Check out our other reviews of Jodi Picoult's books: House Rules, Keeping Faith, The Pact, My Sister's Keeper, The Tenth Circle and Plain Truth.

A Book Review

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

For the second time in her marriage, Mariah White catches her husband with another woman, and Faith, their seven-year-old daughter, witnesses every painful minute. In the aftermath of a sudden divorce, Mariah struggles with depression and Faith begins to confide in an imaginary friend. At first, Mariah dismisses these exchanges as a child's imagination. But when Faith starts reciting passages from the Bible, develops stigmata, and begins to perform miraculous healings, Mariah wonders if her daughter a girl with no religious background might indeed be seeing God. As word spreads and controversy heightens, Mariah and Faith are besieged by believers and disbelievers alike, caught in a media circus that threatens what little stability they have left. Is Faith a prophet or a troubled little girl? Is Mariah a good mother facing an impossible crisis or a charlatan using her daughter to get attention?

Another Picoult novel that didn't disappoint. It's just something about the way she writes. Religion is a touchy subject at the best of times so this book could be touchy for some. Also if you are a strong non-believer you may find this book very ... annoying. It's not meant to try to make you believe, it's trying to get you to ask "what if?"
I read the book pretty quickly because I couldn't put it down. Although a good book and definitely recommended I felt like something was missing at the end. So, if anyone else has read this please let me know what you thought. I want to know if anyone else felt that way. Like something wasn't answered? Along with the last couple pages...how did you interpret that?