Sing You Home [Hardcover]

It really irks me when Picoult's books are described as 'courtroom dramas' or said to be 'formulaic' because believe me, they are so much more than that. Her books are always a compelling blend of ethical dilemmas, gritty drama, moral issues and above all else, stories with a heart and an unexpected twist in the tale. Just when you think you know what is going to happen, something else is thrown at you that leaves you wondering just what will happen next. For me, this is the strongest Picoult book yet, which is no mean feat because I didn't think she'd ever be able to top the sheer brilliance that was 'Nineteen Minutes.'

I loved this novel. It's hard to say too much without giving away any of the plot, but I will say that it focuses on the true to life issues of the heartbreak of losing a baby, the struggles of IVF, same sex relationships and religion- a real mixed bag of engrossing topics! That's the main point of this novel: it feels real. Very real. In fact, it upset me at points because it felt so true to life and was written so compassionately on the certain situations and scenarios.

Picoult as ever, has really done her research and crafts a beautiful tale with incredibly drawn characters with believable flaws and personalities; it had me turning the pages wanting to know more about them and their lives and left me unable to put this down. As an atheist myself, I did find it a bit overdone on religious sentiment at time, but it did work with the stories theme and characters actions. I also liked how she incorporated certain current happenings to make the story even more believeable; i.e. at one point she had members of the Westborough Baptist Church in there, which added a completely realistic slant to events and happenings. Nobody quite writes like Jodi!

Recommended for long-time fans of Picoult and anyone wanting to give her books a try for the first time; this would be a great place for you to start- the accompanying CD soundtrack is also a winner (clever idea!) and very fitting with the story itself- just beautiful. I think this is her most personal story yet- and she tells it incredibly well.

This is a book of two parts. The main part - Zoe and Vanessas' relationship is written beautifully. Picoult writes an sympathetic and unsentimental (although romantic) picture of the pair. She also highlights the bigotry of some church movements towards gay people.

The other part is about Zoe's incompetence as a music therapist. She seems to wander around with her acoustic guitar like a travelling minstrel. She has no hesitation about diving, univited, into the rooms of dying children and older men to seemingly play them the wrong tunes. Her relationship with the suicidal teenager is just bizarre and her treatment methods unlikely to achieve anything but more likely to make the situation worse. This part of Picoult's writing slides into the mawkish. She is often overly tempted to slip into aphorisms that seem to be straight out of a self-help book.

I worry that Picoult tries too hard to hit the right 'buttons' to produce emotional effect. I know, though, that I am in a minority here and appreciate that many appreciate this book very much. For me, it was not one of Jodi's best.

I am an avid Jodi Picoult fan, I have read nearly all of her novels, and I have to say i dont think this was her best effort. For me everything stops when I get her new book, (luckly for me she always releases them in time for my birthday!) I thought the CD was a nice touch although I will be honest I cant listen to music and read at the same time. Maybe if i read the book again i will give the CD a try at the same time.

I love Jodi's style of writing, whereby she dedicates each chapter to a character and writes from their perspective, this is extremely common in her novels. I felt the characters were well explored which consequently provided an insight into their backgrounds. However, although I liked the premise of the story, i just didnt believe it. Dont get me wrong I think it is a real contentious issue for same sex couples to fight for the same rights as heterosexual couples along with the issue of battling for custody of embryos from a retrospective relationship and I dont think i would come up with a fair conclusion for this, and I understand and empathise with anyone in this or a similar situation.

The religous aspect of this book grated on me and I found myself skim reading these parts aswell as feeling angry at the attitudes Picoult was conveying. I understand that this is in essence indicitive of her superb writing, but i just thought it was a little too heavy, although that is just my personal opinion, and maybe most of it was necessary for the book. I agree with a previous reviewer, in that if you are religious this may not be the book for you.

The characters themselves I liked. I particularly liked Vanessa and her vulnerability, and i feel this could have been explored a lot further. Although it was explained that she had a less than perfect childhood and her mother wasnt supportive of her sexuality. However, i feel this could have been expanded as we only had a short time in the book focused on her. Max frustrated me, it felt as though he didnt really know what he wanted and felt he continuously tried to gain approval from those around him.

As with some of the other reviewers, i felt the ending was not only rushed but unbelievable. I wished that the character of Lucy had been explored more, and we never knew why she "accused" Zoe of sexual harrassment and whther her father had a part play in that. We knew that she was troubled but it was never explicit as to why other than her religious conflict with her parents. Her sexuality was hinted at but not confirmed. Although it was unexpected I was frustrated that Max suddenly had a change of heart, and gave the embryos to Zoe. After all the reasons that Max gave for wanting his brother to have them, just doesnt seem believeable that he would just "change his mind". The last chapter, infuriated me as it was a happy ever after ending, Max ended up with Liddy, but no mention of how that happened. yes it was discovered that they had feelings for one another but as Picoult clearly described Liddy's character she had no intention of leaving Reid and her character being extremeley religious, i just dont think it was fitting. Also, in the final chapter, Samantha says she has a loving family with her 2 moms and her dad, given that Max stated repeatedly that he did not want to be father (which was why he wanted Reid and Liddy to have the embryos and he wanted be uncle max), just seems to saccahrine for me. There was no conclusion for Liddy either, other than her getting together with Max, regarding her wanting a child.

All in all, i did enjoy it i just dont think its up to Picoult's usually high standards and it certainly wasnt me favourite.