Jodi Picoult protagonists

[CeciledeVolangesdeNouveau]

As is my wont, I’ve discovered Jodi Picoult and gone through her entire published oeuvre like a forest fire.

I generally find her fabulous at putting both sides of an argument across, creating sympathy for her viewpoint characters, showcasing how differing perspectives can be reached from reasonable viewpoints.

I’m not a mother yet though, and I tend to find her mother characters really extreme and annoying. Not all of them, but really most of them. Melanie Gold, Charlotte O’Keefe and Nina Frost in particular. They seem like really awful characters who don’t care who they hurt, including their child, to appear the “perfect parent”, possibly in tribute to whatever they’ve given up in service of being a mother.

This may be an inflammatory post or it may get no views, but Picoult is widely read so I’d be fascinated by other opinions.

Oh and the abortion clinic shooting one - is that A spark of light or 19 minutes?

Abortion clinic - a spark of light. I read that in Swedish in a mental hospital (don’t even ask) and it’s actually what inspired me to read the rest.

Shooting one is Nineteen Minutes but it’s a school. Really interesting one because even Picoult couldn’t get me inside the head of a school shooter.

The religious ones are Keeping Faith and Change of Heart. Really liked Change of Heart actually, there’s a good bait and switch twist.

The Religious one - Leaving Time, I think. I actually thought the twist was closer to Sarah Waters’ Affinity in that she makes you believe the book is a totally different genre than it is.

19 minutes is the school massacre. A Spark of Light is the abortion clinic.

I used to love JP. I didn't love Mad Honey in the slightest. I wonder if it was the two author thing.

My Sister's Keeper was good, and I quite liked Handle with Care. The Pact was good and I really loved 19 minutes. Plain Truth was really interesting. Those are so books that made me ponder how I would behave as a mother in that situation.

I didn't like the Storyteller. I could barely get through Leaving Time.

It's funny, I used to say I loved JP books but I definitely feel her earlier work was stronger. I feel like she chases the controversial issue and writes around it now, rather than genuinely having a good idea for a book.