Jenny &
Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

Book #61 Read in 2013 Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult As Picoult typically does with her books, this one has an edgy topic at its core--when does family have the right to "pull the plug" on a loved one? Luke has researched and lived with wolves. This was done at the expense of his family. He and his wife Georgie divorced, his son Edward has not spoken to him for years but his youngest child, daughter Cara, still lives with him and idolizes him. Then there is a horrific accident that involves Luke and Cara. Both are hurt but Luke is being kept alive by machines. Cara wants to give Luke time to heal, fully needing to believe that her father will recover. Edward wants to terminate life support and donate Luke's organs. A court battle ensues to try to decide what Luke would want if he could tell them. This book is told in chapter alternating between different points of views of different characters. Picoult is masterful at this technique--allowing readers access to the minds of many characters, keeping single loyalty to one character at bay. All of the character are complex yet well-developed--none perfect but all with interesting flaws. I enjoyed this book. http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

Sometimes when novelists are pressured to push out content, especially on six month contracts, the writing becomes a little formulaic. I've experienced this many times when reading entire authour's works; Jodi Picoult is like Jane Green in the way that she has been asked to push out a book every six months, it's not actually possible for all of these to be sensational. It becomes apparent that they can write well with their eyes closed, and thus do not have to first be inspired by an idea for a story. Usually the plot and characters are chosen in some random way and there isn't a lot of flow. This is what has happened here. One of Picoult's lesser known novels, Lone Wolf, is about a man's journey to reconnect with his family after spending years in the wild with wolves. This journey is ended abruptly when he suffers a traumatic brain injury as the result of a car accident. Now his two children must decide whether or not to remove their father from life support - and they see things very differently. This plot is interspersed with narrative experience's of Luke's time with the wolves - it took me quite a few chapters to realize that these chapters were foreshadowing and providing metaphors for the next plot advancement. I still have yet to decide whether I appreciate the way this added to a more coherent structure, or if I was bored by the pre-reveals. I'll let you know. Also, tangential observation - do all of Picoult's books involve a human rights issue that must be solved in court? Do they all have a lawyer as a main character? Is this a thing that I just never ever noticed?!

I will admit that at first, I found Lone Wolf to be incredibly boring (which is why it took me 5 months to read this). I only kept reading because JP is my best friend's favourite author and I was determined to read this for her. But once it got to the court case, I actually started to enjoy it quite a bit. Which is surprising because I was dreading that part, thinking it would be awful to get through. But I thought it was interesting and it made me tear up more than I was expecting to! I doubt I'll ever be able to call myself a fan of Jodi Picoult, but I'm glad I made it through Lone Wolf! The ending was worth getting through the beginning. 2015 Reading Challenge: A book by a female author

I can't decide about Luke Warren. As a father he sucked and I felt such anger at him. And poor Edward This book is a must read, jodi picoult is such a fantastic writer I had so many emotional trips with this one. Oh I can't say more without giving it away