... But I do make an exception for Jodi Picoult's novels, and when I heard a few months ago that Change of Heart was to be released this month, I saved up one of my Waterstones vouchers especially for it! I eagerly picked up my copy on Thursday and took it to the counter and started reading it ... Read review
June's first husband was killed in a car crash. Against all the odds her daughter was ... more
uninjured - and in another miracle June found love again with the policeman who rescued them. Six years on they are a happy family June pregnant with their own ch...
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Advantages: Superbly written, absorbing, great story, developed characters Disadvantages: Nothing at all
...a few months ago that Change of Heart was to be released this month, I saved up one of my Waterstones vouchers especially for it! I eagerly picked up my copy on Thursday and took it to the counter and started reading it as soon as I got home, and managed to finish it at 1am on Sunday morning..it was that good that I just couldn't put it down.
Like all of Picoult's book, this one has a controversial main storyline and a court case, ... ...in, causing your feelings to change from one chapter to the next, and by the end, you're left questioning everything you had thought from the start. Even as write this now, I can't put my finger on my own views on this, I flit from one viewpoint to another, and for me, this is where Picoult's talent lies...making her reader feel the emotions of the book, and able to pull their own conclusions from it. A truly wondeufl piece of literature, simply ... more
It's not very often that I get excited about a book release, as I just don't like to pay the prices of newly released hardback books. But I do make an exception for Jodi Picoult's novels, and when I heard a few months ago that Change of Heart was to be released this month, I saved up one of my Waterstones vouchers especially for it! I eagerly picked up my copy on Thursday and took it to the counter and started reading it as soon as I got home, and managed to finish it at 1am on Sunday morning..it was that good that I just couldn't put it down.
Like all of Picoult's book, this one has a controversial main storyline and a court case, so nothing new there. Even though they all follow the same format, they make for wonderful reading and every page absorbs me, I just have to keep reading to find out more. This particular book tackles the issue of the Death Penalty in the United States, and at the same time, the issue of Organ Donation. You wouldn't have thought both topics could evolve in the same storyline but amazingly they do, to great effect.
Shay Bourne is a prisoner in New Hampshire state Prison in I-Tier, where the most dangerous criminals are held. However, unlike his fellow inmates Shay is the first prisoner in New Hampshire in 69 years to have been sentenced to death via lethal injection. Shay murdered Elizabeth and Kurt Nealon, an 8 year old girl and her police-man step father. But here comes the twist. June Nealon, Kurt's widows, other daughter Claire needs a new heart, otherwise she'll die. Shay wants her to have his heart when he's killed. But will June accept the heart of the man who murdered her family? If she doesn't, can she live without her surviving daughter?
As you can see, the plot is pretty full-on and its certainly not a book you want to dive into lightly. You have to sit and concentrate on every word, and the book really tests your own thoughts on the issues within; the death penalty, organ donation and also religion. As well as the main themes, religion plays a major part in the book because Shay seems to be performing miracles from within the prison. Can a murdered really be Jesus reincarnated? There are just so many questions in the book, and my head was spinning after finishing some chapters, and I just couldn't stop thinking about the things that Picoult was writing about, which is a real talent.
Interestingly, although the story evolves around Shay Bourne completely, we never actually hear from the character himself. The book is written from several points of view, all in the first person, which makes for interesting and varied reading. Firstly, we hear occasionally from June, the one most affected by Shay's actions. She is clearly bitter and we get a real insight into her personal battles with herself over whether or not she should let her daughter have the heart of a convicted double-murdered. The fact June's chapters occur rarely make them more powerful when you read them, and the short length of them also add something to them. She is concise, and often makes you turn around any sorry feelings you might develop towards Shay, so in turn, the author is making you question every feeling you have for Shay!
We also hear from Lucius, Shay's next-door inmate, also in prison for murder. He has AIDs and is suffering bad health, and the two form some sort of friendship within the prison. Lucius seems to believe in the miracles Shay seems to be performing, but doesn't have religious beliefs himself. Lucius' chapters were really good to read, as they offered an insight into prison life and were incredibly well written, with deep insights into all sorts of things. Maggie Bloom is Shay's attorney who is going to help him die in a way which enables him to donate his heart. Maggie isn't confident, but is passionate about her work as a lawyer, and is determined to help Shay. Her father is a Rabbi, but despite this she doesnt have strong religious beliefs in any form. You can see Maggie's feelings towards Shay at the end changing a lot, and it is interesting the way Picoult does this gradually, and also affects your own feelings also.
The final character we get told the story by is Father Michael, a priest who becomes Shay's spiritual advisor. However, Father Michael has a secret to hide from Shay, because he knows if it comes out, Shay won't want to know him. Still Michael carries on as his advisor, and the two become close, with Shay trusting his deepest thoughts to the priest. However, I did find some of the priests chapters hard-going because of all the religious text describing various things to do with the Bible, the Gnostic gospels and also even delving a bit into the Jewish faith. Hard-going but definitely interesting.
The use of the first person writing in the book, despite it being narrated by multiple characters was incredibly interesting, and is one of the key features in any of Jodi Picoult's books. It works well though, because of the controversial topics used, it is so interesting to see many points of views, and Picoult seems to be able to switch from one person to another seamlessly without its feeling stunted or that it doesn't flow properly.
For me, Picoult's talent lies in creating a very powerful book which for days after, you are still contemplating the issues of and you know it has left a mark on you. I was incredibly moved by My Sister's Keeper, the first of Picoult's novels I read, and this has coninued through every novel I have read from her. This one in particular however, was especially powerful, with a really controversial theme at its heart. tH Death Penalty is certainly a tough one to debate, especially as we don't have it in this country, and to be honest, this book made me glad we don't have the ability in this country to sentence someone to death. There are too many issues surrounding the whole thing, and Picoult is careful to bring each one of these to light in her novel.
This is truly an amazing book to read, and you must give it a try, even if you haven't read any of Jodi Picoult's previous work. This isn't her best book, but comes extremely close. I read this in just a few days, despite being a real chunk of a book, it is incredibly absorbing and I just couldn't put it down. The human emotion in the books draws you in, causing your feelings to change from one chapter to the next, and by the end, you're left questioning everything you had thought from the start. Even as write this now, I can't put my finger on my own views on this, I flit from one viewpoint to another, and for me, this is where Picoult's talent lies...making her reader feel the emotions of the book, and able to pull their own conclusions from it. A truly wondeufl piece of literature, simply superb.
ISBN: 978-0340935811. The book is published in Hardback by Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, and was released on April 17th 2008. It has 464 pages.The RRP is £16.99 but I purchased mine on a half-price deal in Waterstones, and Amazon are selling it for £7.65 (plus postage). I expect the paperback version will released in around 12 months time.
Advantages: Story brings with it many emotional dilemmas Disadvantages: None
...skills as a lawyer can change the way people think. Brought up in the Jewish faith with a Rabbi as a father might make you think that she would be deeply religious but she has rejected all that and doesn't really believe in God so to try to change a law based on religious belief seems a bit out of character for her. She listens to all sides of the story and whilst she would rather be trying to stop the death penalty, she realises that the best she ... ...sure that the convicted murdered dies in a way that best suits his needs.
Father Michael is a surprising character. We first meet him as a jury member who reluctantly agrees that Shay Bourne should be sentenced to death. He always feels guilty for this however, and this is one of the main reasons for him becoming a priest. When word of miracles start to spread about the man he helped to convict, he visits the prison and becomes a close advisor of ...
belfin 27.05.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Change of Heart - Jodi Picoult
From the very first page I was absorbed in Jodi Picoult's latest novel 'Change of Heart' It tells the story of Shay Bourne, who was convicted of the double murder of a police officer and his step daughter eleven years ago. He was sentenced to die by lethal injection and now that all appeals are used up and his death is imminent, he wants to be able to do one final thing in order to make some sense of his life. The wife and mother of the victims is ... ...tragedy in her life, her younger daughter Claire is seriously ill and will die unless a heart transplant takes place. Shay hears of her plight whilst watching a local news programme and offers his heart to Claire. This gesture provides the very clever title 'Change of Heart' which in this case has more than one meaning.
The book then follows what happens as a consequence of this offer and is told through the eyes of four people. June Nealon is adamant ...
kingfisher111 17.07.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Change of Heart - Jodi Picoult
Advantages: Great characters Disadvantages: A bit too similar to the Green Mile
...all now! Change of Heart focuses on the story of a death row inmate called Shay Bourne who has been convicted of a double murder of a police officer and the officers step daughter. June Nealon is the mother of the murdered child and widow to the officer. June has another daughter fathered by the dead police officer who has a heart defect and urgently needs a heart transplant to prolong her life. The irony in the story is that Shay wants to donate ... ...The first thing that stood out to me in this book was the first person writing. Each chapter of the book is written in the first person by each of the main characters. This really did take a bit of getting used to start of with and I found myself flicking back to each character to try and keep up with what was going on and who was saying what! This did annoy me to start off with but the characters are portrayed so well that you soon immerse yourself ...
withers1979 21.03.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Change of Heart - Jodi Picoult
Advantages: Intriguing page turner, great ending Disadvantages: format same as other books
...book I am reviewing is Change Of Heart and it uses this same format.
~*~The outline of the story~*~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When June Nealon's 7 year old daughter and police officer husband are shot dead, she is left heart broken. But she is also pregnant and finds the strength to carry on. She rebuilds her life for the sake of her 2nd daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth then develops a heart problem and eventually needs a donor to survive. June is faced ... ...do I accept the heart from the man who murdered my husband and daughter? Jodi Picoults books always seem to involve making tough choices. You always find yourself thinking what would I do?
When I read the background to the book, I expected this to be the crux of the story. There is however a lot more to the book than this. The murderer in question is Shay Bourne. He has been on death row for 11 years and resigned himself to his death. He wants to ...
kirkytracy 21.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Change of Heart - Jodi Picoult
Advantages: Issues, characters, plot. Disadvantages: The English doctor.
...This question is central to Change of Heart and, as you'd have gathered from the fact that it's written by Jodi Picoult, the answer isn't straightforward. June Nealon hasn't had much luck in life, to put it mildly. Her first husband was killed in a road accident, though their daughter, Elizabeth, miraculously survived. She managed to find happiness again by marrying Kurt Nealon, a police officer. She was pregnant when he and Elizabeth were brutally ... ...and debates that arise in Change of Heart may remind you of another of Picoult's novels, Keeping Faith. Indeed, a character from Keeping Faith turns up in this novel! Like Keeping Faith, some parts of Change of Heart may seem implausible, but Picoult is always careful to leave it up to the reader to decide which characters (if any) are reliable. This is very much a "read and make up your own mind" novel.
The characters are complex and not entirely ...
DoubleFantasy11 21.05.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Change of Heart - Jodi Picoult
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