A spark of light a novel

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Jody Pacult does a great job, providing many different perspectives and well thought out characters in all of her stories.

A Spark of Light touches on very common themes on today's society among them abortion, gun control, religion, etc. Controversial themes that could easily be misinterpreted. I really liked the way Picoult handled this subjects, it was thoughtful and thought-provoking. And yet, it never really hits you as hard as you expect the subjects to be. The book is told in a reverse timeline, so you are aware of how things end up before they develop. I really wanted to love this book and yet it seems it never does enough. I think the reverse timeline, although an interesting technique does not help in the storytelling. it lessens the impact of the circumstances because you are already aware of them when they are been executed. That plus a lackluster ending did this book no justice like it deserved. Interesting read, but expected more.

Book #73 Read in 2018 A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult Picoult is one of my favorite authors and this book keeps her safely in that category. A shooter opens fire in an abortion clinic. This book goes backwards in time, hour by hour, leading up to the events. Readers will learn the background of the multiple characters and what brought them to that fateful shooting. There are twists and turns that will surprise readers. As usual, Picoult has done her research and is able to show multiple sides to a heavy issue. A must read. I received this book from Amazon Vine in exchange for a honest review.

It only took me eight months, but I finally finished. I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult, but I did not enjoy this book... at all. I obviously knew what the book was about and I thought that enough time had passed between starting this book and my own miscarriage, but I was wrong. Normally Picoult’s books are very equal, showcasing each side of the issue unbiased, but I felt this book was overwhelmingly democratic and pro-choice. I couldn’t relate to any of the characters - even characters I thought represented pro-life ended up being twisted - and the characters that did represent pro-life were crazed and religion was very skewed. That aspect made me very disappointed. The book is graphic in describing the abortion process and made me sick to my stomach. It even described the process of my induced miscarriage and it was extremely triggering. The backwards format of the story was confusing and hard to follow. I didn’t feel like there was much resolution to the story at all - not that it mattered since I didn’t care about any of the characters. I would have preferred a whole book on Beth’s story - what happened and then the legal ramifications she faces. And the two twists - one was so obvious, I guessed it after a few chapters and the other was shocking (wish I had some more back story there). But overall, I was less than impressed with this book.

The structure was interesting (the story being told in reverse) but was anticlimactic. It was also extremely predictable.

Stop making trauma porn about mass shootings

** spoiler alert ** The reverse-order format is executed practically flawlessly and Picoult’s characters, as always, draw you in. The reveal toward the end was less shocking than her other work, but it was a fun, thoughtfully researched story.

3.5 (+) I really enjoyed the perspectives of the different people in the story. (-) The plot was not as well done as other of Picoult's novels and I didn't love the format of this one.

3.5 stars rounded up. I struggled with the backwards chronology.

First off I didnt like that the story went backwards, I thought it didnt give it any drama since I felt like I knew everything that was going to happen. Also I thought there were way to many narrators and a lot of them sounded the same. I thought it would have been a great story if it was done better.

Good book but not her best. It was more one sided then usual and I didn’t care for the flow of the book which was going back in time hour by hour but the actual chapter moved forward.

Didn’t like the way the book started from the end and was told backwards. Made it hard to connect with its characters.

Enjoyed reading it but the timeline wasn’t really enjoyable. I didn’t skip to the end because I’m stubborn and wouldn’t allow myself to not read a whole book, but it didn’t quite do it for me. I think it’s an important book and full of great points regarding pro-choice/pro-life but I felt I couldn’t really connect to anyone, and since it left so many questions unaswered/open endings… I feel betrayed. Why did I finish reading it if I got nothing out of this book? The author’s notes are good, so stick around for the end just to read those.

3.5⭐️ I really think Jodi brought across as amazing message about abortion, sexism and religion in this book. However I just don’t like books that are read reverse chronologically😅 Apparently there were originally 16 main characters - I’m glad she brought it down to about 10 but it was still a lot and that many different storylines along with a backwards timeline was a lot🙃

I really think Jodi brought across as amazing message about abortion, sexism and religion in this book. However I just don’t like books that are read reverse chronologically😅 Apparently there were originally 16 main characters - I’m glad she brought it down to about 10 but it was still a lot and that many different storylines along with a backwards timeline was a lot🙃