Book Review: Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer

Title: Between the Lines

Author(s): Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer

Series/Standalone: Between the Lines Duology (Book #1)

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 385

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Year Published: 2012

Format: Audiobook 

"Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book- one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous and loving. He really speaks to Delilah. And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He's a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He's sure there's more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom. 

A romantic and charming story, this companion novel to Off the Page will make every reader believe in the fantastical power of fairy tales."

My Rating: 3/5

This was a fun audiobook and I really enjoyed the concept of the story. Seeing such a popular author writing with her daughter gave me the warm and fuzzies but overall this book fell flat for me. I understand that I am not the targeted audience but there were a few messages that I wasn't a fan of. I liked how the characters appeared to be real teenagers. I liked that the perspectives alternated and the chapters from the book where Oliver lives help to really flesh out the world. All together, fun, but nothing that will stick with me. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Title: Small Great Things

Author: Jodi Picoult

Series/Standalone: Ruth Jefferson (Book #1)

Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary

Pages: 480

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Year Published: 2016

Format: Audiobook

"Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?

Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy's counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family- especially her teenage son- as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other's trust, and come to see that they've been taught their whole lives about others- and themselves- might be wrong.

With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice and compassion- and doesn't offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game."

My Rating: 4.5/5

I'm going to start this review by saying that this is not written by a black author. I think that is an important note to make and that is why it was docked one point. Not because I don't think that people can't write from other perspectives rather than their own, but I think that it could be offensive to those in the black community.  I do think that this book was very interestingly written from the perspectives of Ruth (a black labour and delivery nurse), Turk (a white supremacist) and Kennedy (a white public defender) and how their lives combine and their views on the world morph. It brings up the subject of not being able to see the white supremacy culture that is present in our day to day lives when you have the privilege of not having to take notice of it. I do think that the ending statements were vital to the enjoyment of this book. The author took time to do research, speak to those who have had the experience where she had not and had input from the black community to be sure that she was capturing the story to the best of her ability.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

Title: Sing You Home
Author: Jodi Picoult
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Adult Fiction, Chicklit, LGBT
Pages: 466
Publisher: Atria Books
Year Published: 2011
Format: Physical Copy
First Line: "One sunny, crisp Saturday in September when I was seven years old, I watched my father drop dead."

"Every life has a soundtrack. All you have to do is listen.

In the aftermath of a series of personal tragedies, Zoe throws herself into her career as a music therapist. When an unexpected friendship slowly blossoms into love, she makes plans for a new life, but to her shock and inevitable rage, some people- even those she loves and trusts most- don't want that to happen.

Sing You Home explores the delicate boundaries of identity, love, marriage, and parenthood. What happens when the outside world brutally calls into question the very thing closest to our hearts: family? Once again, Jodi Picoult gracefully brings the hidden tension of life sharply into focus in this poignantly honest novel."

My Rating: 4/5

I know that Jodi Picoult is a very popular author for chicklit and adult fiction, but this is the first novel of hers that I have read. And I really enjoyed it. I came to realize though  that Jodi Picoult is to chicklit, what Nicholas Sparks is to romance. A standard if that makes sense. Not to say that I didn't enjoy this story. I think that this book does an interesting job of questioning values and relationships, especially the idea of families in the modern day. 
I also think that Jodi Picoult does a great job of hitting hard right from the start, which makes me interested in reading more of her works.

Thanks for reading,
Sidny

Spoiler: Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

I have come to terms with the fact that I might be trash for the drama in Jodi Picoult's books. I'm really looking into the idea of looking into more of her books (kind of hoping that some of her books come up in the bookclub I thought). I really think that Jodi Picoult tackled important subjects in this story. Homophobia, the idea of the modern family, mental health, etc. These were all important themes throughout the story line. I can understand how this is alittle much for some people, but to me these were important subjects to think about.

Characters:
Zoe: I think that this concept may be difficult for people to understand, but this story is an interesting account about sexuality and how sexuality is fluid. I liked the way that Zoe described how she was attracted to Vanessa. She very much describes that she is attracted to people rather than the gender.  I also enjoyed her perspective as a music therapist it made me happy to see someone taking their love of music to help those around them. 

Vanessa: I liked Vanessa. She was willing to fight for Zoe and give it her all. She also didn't force her into anything she wasn't comfortable with. She is straightforward with her sexuality and doesn't hide it from Zoe which I think is an important aspect to consider.

Max: I really liked him at the beginning of the stoyr, but as i watched the story unfold I found myself getting extremely frustrated with him. I understand that people change with their experiences, but Max totally flipped into another person after joining the church (not that I think this happens to all people who join a religious group).

Reid: He might be my least favorite character in this whole story. He thinks that he can buy the embreos near the end of the story he wants to have kids but doesn't care about the cost that it would put anyone else under. He also is very suspicious. I can't explain it all, because I don't want any biased that I might have towards certain religions to come front and centre, so let's just say I hated him.

Liddy: I do wonder more about her childhood and how she gained such a personal relationship with God and the idea of religion. I understand that she was a pastor's daughter, but it's also made clear that he engaged in drinking and possibly other "sins". I'm curious about her back story but happy to see her happy with Max at the end.

Pastor Clive: I honestly think that he thinks he is doing the right thing, but I enjoyed in the court room when his beliefs were brought into perspective. You can't only take things you need as direct quotes, when there are so many others that are not appropriate to this day and age. 

Wade: He's a smooth talking son of a gun, but that didn't win him any favors by the end of the story line. I truly hope that his career went downhill from here.

Angela: I loved her. She was sassy, full of passion for her job and just honest with those around her. Although she herself doesn't identify as gay, she is able to defend gay rights and rights of those that often go unheard. 

Lucy: I wonder more and more about her life. About what happened to her by the end of the book and if she was able to survive in Pastor Clive's house until she was 18. I can't say that I was surprised by the fact that she was his step daughter, in fact I started to wonder about it about half way through the book, then brushed that idea aside. I hope that she got the help she needed before it was too late.


Moments to Remember:
Final Line: "That, really, she is the luckiest girl in the world."


Thanks for reading,
Sidny