Plain Truth
by Jodi Picoult
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Book Reviews of Plain Truth
Book Review: excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
The Amish aren't known for violence, yet in "The Plain Truth", a peaceful Amish girl is charged with murdering her baby. I will admit that I did anticipate the twist in the end that the book was leading up to, but Jodi's style kept me engrossed in the story. She always has strong characters with depth and makes me, the reader, actually care about what happens to them. (If I remember correctly, I bawled while reading "My Sister's Keeper"...)
I always learn from Jodi, too. I had no idea about 1/2 of what she wrote about the Amish. People have these preconceived notions that aren't true at all. For example, did you know that during their teen years, their parents allow them to get a taste of the Englisch world? They run around in gangs and their parents are more lenient, though fervently hope that the teen decides to be baptized in the Amish faith when the time comes. She also had a character who was a ghost-hunter, who made a good point about ghosts; physics states that energy cannot be destroyed, so when someone dies, where does their energy go?
Jodi makes me think. Which is why I love her. She has never disappointed me, and I love how she seems to pick her topics straight out of the headlines of the news. (Read "19 Minutes"...talk about a different perspective...) Keep writin' 'em, Jodi, and I'll keep readin' 'em!
Book Review: Picoult knows how to spin a story
Summary: 3 Stars
...but that said, she falls short of creating great fiction. Her male love interests for her characters in her books are fiction indeed and the reader is painfully aware that a woman is describing a fantasy man: overly solicitous with unbelievable dialogue. I've found her works to be so close to being good, both the premises and the characters, but in the end Ms. Picoult doesn't either do the extra work or have the chops to write anything more than a page turner. "Plain Truth" is an enjoyable page turner and her research about and presentation of the Amish way of life is instructive and in context. A writer with more restraint would have had Ellie, the big city lawyer who is forced to live with an Amish family due to bail conditions, behaving with a little more restraint in the beginning. For a woman paid to weigh her words, the lawyer never did. And while so many people have referred to the surprise ending they never saw coming, the clues are there and obvious. Perhaps if this had been my first Picoult novel I would not have picked up on them either, but since I had read "Salem Falls" previously, I felt like I had Picoult's formula down and the ending was what I had expected it to be. This was a good summer read, but it never lived up to its potential to be a great book.Book Review: A Rich, Well-Written Drama
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a great book, rich in detail and drama. Katie Fisher, a young unmarried Amish woman, gives birth in secret and the infant's body is found dead in her family's barn. Her distant cousin, Ellie Hathaway becomes involved and ends up representing Katie in a controversial court-room drama. In preparation for the trial, Ellie lives with the Fishers on their farm and learns the customs of the Amish.
Picoult delivers a very emotional story narrated alternately in third person and first person from Ellie's perspective. Katie's character is often frustrating as her testimony changes, but she is also very sympathetic due to the constraints of her religion and community. Ellie is a tough lawyer who faces the challenges of being thrust into an unfamiliar society, governed by its own rules and practices. Other supporting players like Katie's shunned brother Jacob, Ellie's former beau Coop, and Katie's parents contribute to this multi-layered narrative. At times, Plain Truth was mildly predictable, but still delivered great insight on the Amish way of life, a great courtroom battle, and the occasional dramatic twist.
Book Review: beautiful story - picoult's writing is a drug
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a phenomenal book. The character development is so rich you feel like you really know each person. The cultural context adds an element of education, and the suspense is at just the right level. I wasn't blown away by the ending, but I really enjoyed this book. So much so that I've started reading more and more of Picoult's books. They are really just great, fast moving stories that make for easy and entertaining reads, with a bit of education thrown in. Maybe even a little philosophy. I...more This is a phenomenal book. The character development is so rich you feel like you really know each person. The cultural context adds an element of education, and the suspense is at just the right level. I wasn't blown away by the ending, but I really enjoyed this book. So much so that I've started reading more and more of Picoult's books. They are really just great, fast moving stories that make for easy and entertaining reads, with a bit of education thrown in. Maybe even a little philosophy. I usually don't love chicklit - but this is very high quality chick lit. Not classics material, but worthy of a bit of timeBook Review: Spoilers Questions
Summary: 4 Stars
First off, let me begin by saying that I haven't yet finished the book, but this is bothering me so much that I'm not sure if I even will finish it. If anyone hasn't read the book and doesn't want anything given away, please read no further. But here is my first and largest problem with this book...if the father is who we are lead to believe it is (the "Englisher" friend of her brother's), then how in the heck could Katie have given birth two months prematurely on July 10th when the father had been out of the country since October?? The baby would have had to be full term in that case. So can someone help me out here and tell me...does the author explain this discrepancy, or is it just a glaringly stupid error that SOMEONE should have caught??? Picoult herself is the mother of three children, and surely there are fact checkers somewhere in the editorial process...how did this slip by? Or did it? If she explains it later in the book (I am at the trial phase now), please let me know so I can finish reading this...otherwise, it's going to the used bookstore tomorrow!