JODI PICOULT

I have placed "sizzler ratings" next to books read, even if the review hasn't been added at this time.

	The Pact		Keeping Faith
	Mercy		Plain Truth
	Picture Perfect		Salem Falls
	Harvesting the Heart
	Songs of the Humpback Whale

Sub-category: Psychological drama/courtroom
The plot: Soccer teacher Jack St Bride has just left jail where he spent 8 months for a crime he didn't commit. With his whole world turned upside down, he drifts into the quiet town of Salem Falls and takes on work as a dishwasher. He just wants to get on with his life and try never ever to fall into the same trap that got him convicted the first time. However, four high school girls, who adhere to the wicca beliefs, are working to using him and trapping him in the same web of lies that got him convicted the first time.
Comment: There is something about the way Picoult wrote this novel that endears Jack to the reader from the opening paragraph. As Jack quietly tries to rebuild his life again, it is with fascinating horror that the reader keeps turning the page, being lead ever closer to the moment when you know Jack is going to be enticed back into the same trap - even as he valiantly struggles to avoid the possibility. Throughout the entire story, Picoult hangs onto the reader until the last chapter, where at last, the truth is revealed and justice is delivered. An excellent and compelling read as every bit as spellbinding as Keeping Faith.

Sub-category: Psychological page-turner/courtroom
The plot: A dead baby is found wrapped and buried in hay in an Amish farm in East Paradise township in Pennsylvania, US. The police are called in and an 18 year old Amish girl is arrested. However, she is adamant that she did not give birth to the baby. Ellie Hatthaway, a distant relative of the accused, finds herself not only defending Katie, but having to live with Katie and absorb the Amish way of life as she prepares to defend Katie. However, as the trial draws closer, Katie begins to remember details surrounding the baby, and her relilgious beliefs also conflict with the defense Ellie is trying to build for Katie...
Comment: An interesting read... Despite the gruesome murder which appears to have been done, this story comes championing the quiet life the Amish people of Pennsylvania lead. Through Ellie's tortured 20th century upbringing, she learns to respect the values of the Amish, even as she misses her own creature comforts. However, it is the constant erosion of her defense for the Amish girl, Katie, which keeps one turning the pages.
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Sub-category: Psychological page-turner/courtroom
The plot: An ordinary day ferrying her child around, turns into disaster for Mariah White when she comes home to find her husband taking a shower with another woman. Exit husband, enter single mother. Unlike the first time that she found her husband with another woman, Mariah must fight back this time for both the herself and her child, Faith. However, shortly afterwards, Faith starts talking to an invisible friend, her 'Guard.' Faith begins quoting the bible, something she never learnt, and performing miracles. Word gets out and the religious and disbelievers all congregate around her house. In the midst of all this, her ex-husband gets word and decides to fight his wife in court for custody of his daughter - remove her from the 'madness' that he believes Mariah has enveloped their daughter in.
Comment: Gripping! Unputdownable! Loved it! Right up until the very last page, Picoult keeps you turning the page, anxious to find out the limit of the psychological torture you can endure. Admitedly, the subject matter may disturb some people or turn some people off, but like Howatch's books, I recommend this one for the sheer high quality of writing and well crafted story that it is!
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Sub-category: Psychological page-turner/courtroom
The plot: When Melanie gave birth to her daughter, Emily just after her next door neighbour Gus, gave birth to a son, Chris, it was inevitable that everyone hoped the two children would end up united in love. Sure enough, as the teen years intruded upon their existance, Emily and Chris became a serious romantic item. That was until one night when the Hartes and Golds recieve phone calls to go to the hospital. For Gus and James Harte, it is relief they feel as Chris is alive, although injured. For Melanie and Michael Gold, it is devastation. Their bright daughter is dead at 17 - part of a double suicide pact that went wrong - Chris is still alive. However, there is enough evidence at the scene of Emily's death to implicate Chris as a murderer and not part of a double suicide pact. What follows is a tense build up to the climactic courtroom drama where Chris is tried for killing the his soulmate.
Comment: I must admit, the subject matter didn't particularly grab me, but the book came highly recommended, and when I put it down 3 nights later, I must admit - it was a well written book! Picoult develops her characters well and reveals motives little but little, urging us to continue turning pages to find out the answers to the big questions posed at the start of the book. This is not a depressing book, but the tragedy and impact of suicide unfolds in a way that makes the reader empathise with the Gold's and their lost daughter.A very compelling read!
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