Plain Truth
by Jodi Picoult
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Book Reviews of Plain Truth
Book Review: YAWN INSPIRING
Summary: 2 Stars
This book was not what I expected. Unfortunately I was swayed by the positive reviews. I thought the book lacked luster and was a bit of a drag. The story could have been told in a few pages rather than dragging it to over 300 pages long. The subplot between Ellie and her paramour was boring and stupid. I didn't fall in love with any of the characters because they all lacked substance. I thought Katie was boring and infuriating because someone who could have weaved so many lies about what happened to her in the "English" world was a complete contradiction to her Amish lifestyle. Frankly, I'm a bit disappointed in the author, Jodi Picoult, because this is the third book I've read by her and they all involved some kind of family drama that led to a court room drama. I think her range is short-sighted. Unfortunately I bought this book along with The Pact...hopefully my review of that book will be more positve.
P.S. Don't even bother reading Mercy because that one is even more YAWN INSPIRING. I returned it back to the store.
Book Review: Agonizingly S-l-o-w-w-w
Summary: 1 Stars
I am reading this for a book club and dread picking it up every night. I'm on page 110 and still know just as much as I knew on page one. The action--such as it is--is interrupted constantly by five-page italicized "rememberings" that took place in the past.
The "descriptive" writing style is maddening, like something from a silly writer's workshop. Nobody in this book "drinks a glass of lemonade." Noo, that would be too quick, and the book would only be 200 pages then. In this book (I'm making this up,) they would ..."walk into the kitchen, still and quiet and uneartly slow in the morning half-light, untouched yet by the activity of the household. They grasp the silvery handle of the icebox, smooth and cool and soothing, somehow, to the palm reddened by life in the barns and hollows of the Amish land they all knew and loved. Inside the icebox is the crystal bottle of lemonade, gleaming, yet tart..."
AAIAEEEIII! Enough! Just pour the da*n lemonade and let me turn the page!
Book Review: Interesting story filled with stereotypes
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the second Picoult book I've read (the first being Vanishing Acts, which was NOT good, in my opinion).
I can't help but feel that I'm trapped in a Lifetime movie when I read Picoult novels because one, her dialogue is ALWAYS cheesy, and never insightful or meaningful. And two, the stories are always intriguing and compelling, but are predictable and the characters are very stereotypical. You always have the bold, successful lawyer who has recently come under self-doubt or self-discovery ... or something. The crime, which Picoult usually manages to ruin at the very end with the otherwise "quiet" and "demure" character doing something "surprising." It's just all too formulaic for me. I always expect more depth and less song-and-dance, and I never get that from this writer.
That being said Plain Truth really is a good story. The twists and turns tend to be a bit much at times, but it's entertaining, I guess. Just like a corny Lifetime movie.
Book Review: To Tell The Truth, It's Pretty Plain
Summary: 2 Stars
This novel had an interesting premise: dead baby found on Amish farm. Amish girl denies birth despite physical evidence indicating pregnancy. Big-city lawyer comes to defend Amish girl in her murder trial and ends up learning a lot about herself and dealing with her past. And of course, it's Jodi Picoult, which automatically means it'll be a compelling read. And it was. But mainly because delving into the character of Katie Fisher (which means delving into what it's like to be Amish) was fascinating. As far as the actual murder mystery storyline goes, everything was utterly predictable. I knew as soon as the baby was found exactly what had happened and spent the entire book waiting for everyone else to catch on. And Ellie's (a.k.a. big-city lawyer) transformations and realizations were something I'd seen before a million times and to make it worse, there didn't seem to be any real reasons for her to be the way she was. Two stars only because I like the Amish.Book Review: The Plain Truth is Difficult to Come By
Summary: 4 Stars
This story opens with the discovery of the body of a newborn baby on an Amish farm. The rest of the book deals with the struggle for the truth.
Although it had been proven that young Kate had just given birth, she denied ever having been pregnant, let alone having ever given birth. Little by little, she admits to remembering more and more circumstances linking her as the mother of the baby.
Meanwhile, defense attorney, Ellie Hathaway, learns truths about herself. Forced to stay on the Amish farm in order to maintain custody of her client, she is compelled to face a totally different lifestyle and a set of values that is much different than her own.
Interesting characters and a fascinating glimpse into the Amish way of life, make this book irresistible. The ending has a unique and unexpected twist which readers are sure to love. This novel obliges the reader to contemplate the meaning and value of truth.