Day 10
of my A to Z Challenge. J is for Jodi Picoult.
If you
don't know how this works, I've posted the link back to the rules of the
challenge at the end of this, along with a link to yesterday's post. If
you want to read my full alphabet, just keep following the links. Each day has
a link back to yesterday's post.
I knew
when I started this challenge, that I wanted to include an author somewhere
along the way. There are a lot of great authors out there, and I have several
favourites. I chose Jodi Picoult, because she is the one author who has never
let me down as a reader. I have read all of her books and I’ve truly loved
every one of them.
So, what
is it that makes her so great? I think it’s a combination of things, but for me
there are two main elements that keep me coming back.
1. Her books
are realistic. The first book of hers I read (My Sister’s Keeper) I actually
thought was a true story. She writes about what I think of as “normal people”
experiencing things that really happen.
2. Her characters.
The characters in her books are so well written. She has a knack for
understanding people of all ages and all walks of life and this really comes
out in her work. The characters are believable, and you can really imagine that
that is how they would react to the situations within the books.
It’s hard
to pick a favourite book and I can’t choose just one. My two favourites are My
Sister’s Keeper and The Pact. I won’t spoil them for you if you haven’t read
them yet (if you haven’t, you really should), but I found them both so moving,
and so utterly real.
My
Sister’s Keeper is a truly sad story. It centres around a family with 2 young
girls, one of whom has leukemia, and the other who is a match for being a
donor. The story is told from several viewpoints within the family, all of
which have very different voices and all feel so real. It is a true moral
dilemma story. As the parents, which child’s quality of life would you put
first? Who would you sacrifice to save the other? As the healthy child, how far
would you endanger yourself to save your sister? It truly makes you question
how you would react in this situation.
The Pact
is another sad story. It centres around Chris and Emily, two teenagers who have
known each other all their lives. Emily dies from a gun shot wound to the head
and Chris is found with the gun with one remaining bullet, and tells of a
suicide pact the two had made. Chris finds himself on trial for murder. How
would you feel if Chris was your son? How would Chris himself feel?
I think
this is what sets Jodi Picoult apart as an author. Her writing makes you
question everything you thought you knew about how you would react in a
situation. She has an uncanny knack for making you wonder how you would really
react, and the consequences of your decision, and makes you experience the emotions that go
with it. And those thoughts don’t end when you finish reading the book. They
will stay with you. I love thought provoking fiction, and Jodi Picoult is the
queen of thought provoking.
If you
haven’t read any of her books yet, I can’t recommend them highly enough.
What do
you think? Do you find her books stay with you? Who is your favourite author?
As an aside, I would just like to point out that this isn’t a
commissioned post, and I am in no way affiliated with Jodi Picoult or her
publishers. I just genuinely believe that she is brilliant at what she does and
deserves recognition for it.
Follow me
on Twitter @randommusings29 and feel free to comment :)
