Author: Jodi Picoult
Published: 2009
Publisher: Atria Books
477 pages (hardcover)
Summary: Charlotte and Sean O’Keefe have been trying to conceive a baby for a long time, but when their wish is granted, they discover their baby has osteogenesis imperfecta, a disorder in which the bones are so brittle that walking, rolling over in your sleep or even a sneeze could break a bone. Charlotte and Sean love their daughter, Willow, and fiercely protect her, although caring for a disabled child has them busy constantly and drains their bank account. After an incident leads the family into the law office of Marin Gates, five years later, they are introduced to the idea of a ‘wrongful birth’ lawsuit. The money they may win will help pay for all of Willow’s needs and more for the rest of their lives. The downside is that in a ‘wrongful birth’ lawsuit, the parents will have to admit that maybe their child shouldn’t be born … not to mention the doctor their are suing against is Charlotte’s best friend. While Charlotte is ready to make the sacrifices required in making this lawsuit, Sean isn’t, and their family begins to fall apart.
My Thoughts: This is my second Picoult novel. I asked my sister if she always writes about kids with disorders or diseases, and somehow a lawsuit and court gets worked in there (FYI: the only other Picoult book I’ve read is My Sister’s Keeper). My sister said no, but it’s one of her favourite formulas. I digress.
I really enjoyed this book, it was an amazing read and really addictive. I stayed up extremely late the past few nights reading this book, telling myself, “Just one more chapter, one more chapter.” It really hooks you in. I think I was particularly interested in this book because I am pretty fond of kids and can’t wait to have my own one day in the distant future, and when I read about Willow and her OI disorder, it just broke my heart. I love it when books can do that — even though they are completely fictional characters in a completely fictional situation, they still manage to pull on your heartstrings and convince you that you need to care about them.
It’s kind of funny that despite what this entire novel is about, I totally hated the lawsuit and I hated Charlotte, yet I still love the story. I don’t care what anyone else says, Charlotte was in it for the money and she was selfish. The money is for her daughter, of course, but not only to make life easier for Willow, but Charlotte herself too. There is one scene where Charlotte tells Piper (the best friend and her doctor, the person she is suing) that if Piper was in her situation, she’d do this for her daughter too, and naturally, Piper says no, she would not have done this, which I heartily agree with. I mean, it’s so cold hearted, to sacrifice your decade long friendship with your best friend. Not to mention you had no intention of suing her until the lawyer popped the idea in your head and told you about how much money you’d get. Then of course, you have your own husband saying, “Don’t file this lawsuit, it’s not worth it” and she does it anyway! Of course, this is all my personal, subjective perspective and funny enough, I love it. The book had me very emotional at times (a lot of it was grrrr Charlotte you bitch! but still, that’s kind of fun when reading a book).
I love love love this book, but I have to admit, the ending kind of started heading downhilll. Mind you, it wasn’t terrible or anything. There was the totally random scene where Piper and Sean kissed (wtf?), and the cheesy and, in my opinion, unrealistic scene where the judge told everyone to leave the courtroom so that Sean and Charlotte may be alone and make up. But all that was forgivable as they were small scenes and didn’t take away from the story too much.
!!!SPOILERS!!! The only truly WTF scene was the very ending. After all that hard work, after all the years they spent on the lawsuit and winning it and all the trials and tribulations the entire family had to go through, after cutting Piper and her family out of their life in order to do all this (because that’s cruel), Willow drowns in a lake. Seriously? I was stunned. I couldn’t believe that the story built up so much only to end with, “Oops, she fell in the lake, drowned and died. The end.” I have a feeling there’s supposed to be something maybe poetic or ironic or something … but I don’t see it. I just see a very lackluster ending. I mean, if she had to die, couldn’t it be in a way that isn’t so random? !!!END SPOILERS!!!
All in all, an extremely amazing book that is highly addictive. I wanted to read it all in one sitting, but it’s a pretty long book, haha and I needed to sleep some time (I read in the evenings). Picoult kind of dropped the ball on the ending, in my opinion, but I would never say that it ruined the book for me. It was a little disappointing, but when I remember everything else that happened, it’s just a little hiccup. I think everyone should give this book a try, it’s thought provoking, emotional and wonderful.
My Rating: 5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment