Well I was struggling with this book but after I wrote that last post and read about another 20 pages or so it started pulling me in. I still don’t think it’s as good as some of her previous novels, but still good and worth a read.
I thought a little too much attention was paid to explaining the death penalty and all the court issues that go along with it and to religion. I would have liked to see the story focused on more but I did learn a few interesting tidbits about these subjects. For the most part though I skimmed through these sections.
The book is about Shay Bourne who is on death row for killing a young girl and her stepfather. He wants to gain salvation by being a heart donor to this dead girl’s sister. It is a very moving story that makes you ask yourself what you’d do if in the same situation. It also makes you question your beliefs in certain things-like the death penalty or certain religious views.
I have this one on my shelf but haven’t had a strong desire to pick it up yet. I think my crush on Picoult’s books is waning a little bit. My favorite, I think, is My Sister’s Keeper–which is also about organ donating…hmmm. Does Canada have the death penalty? Texas doesn’t have the highest rate (I think Oklahoma does), but it ranks up there. Often a controversial topic, especially with so many being exonerated by DNA testing recently. If you are interested in this type of thing (although it sounds like maybe you aren’t), The Innocent Man by Grisham was very very interesting–I reviewed it back in May.
I agree to some extent Trish. Picoult has always been one of my favorite writers but the last few haven’t been as good for me. I’m going to give her next one a shot and see from there-although I will likely not buy it but get it from the library. I also loved My Sister’s Keeper and Nineteen Minutes.
We don’t have the death penalty in Canada at all. You know I think it would depend on the story as it’s an interesting topic. I think maybe it was just the way it was portrayed in this particular novel-I’m not sure.