Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Jodi Picoult books

I just read Jodi Picoult’s newest book, Handle with Care. As with most of her books, this one concerns family, relationships with friends, the law, and medical matters. True to form, this book alternates the narration among the main characters.

One of the characters in Handle with Care is a young girl, who was born with a rare, devastating disorder that causes her to suffer broken bones with the slightest wrong movement. Without giving anything away, her condition causes heartache for everyone, and families and friendships are severely tested. What if you experienced these stresses? How would you handle it?

I love reading Jodi’s books, because they treat contemporary issues that real people experience. I get to understand her characters better, when I hear their individual perspectives on what is taking place. This book pulls strongly on one’s emotions, and the reader cares deeply about what happens to everyone.

The PTO purchased our school library copy in memory of Lauren Savino. I obtained Jodi Picoult’s autograph and a brief inscription about Lauren, so this book carries extra meaning.

Have you read this book yet? I hope you’ll give it a try, and let me know what you think of it!

Have you read other books by Jodi Picoult? I’d love you to post a comment with your thoughts about one or more of her books that you have read. Be careful not to spoil the plot for someone who might yet want to read the book. If you need to say something that might give away an important part, please write “Spoiler alert” before you write that part.

Check out and vote in the poll I placed on my blog about Jodi Picoult books.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Reading over spring break

Spring break gave me a chance to do a lot of things, including reading. I did read Born Confused, our recent BookChat! selection. Although it was not my all-time favorite book, I really liked it. I think a lot of people at our school could relate to the main character, Dimple Lala -- isn't that a great name? -- as she tries to live as an American teenager while also retaining her Indian heritage. It's a challenge for her, as I believe it is for anyone living a multicultural life.

Are you bridging cultures? Please write your comments about it on my blog. Let me know what the challenges are, and how you try to overcome them. Are there advantages to the multicultural life? Tell me about those. Through sharing, we can learn from each other and have a greater understanding of cultures!

Back to the books I read over vacation... I read Identical by Ellen Hopkins. This is not a book for everyone!! However, it was amazing - from the content to the format - and, there is definitely a twist at the end. If you want to know more about it, feel free to ask me.


I finally read Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. I can't wait to read Breaking Dawn, but I have some other books I want to read first. If you haven't read the Twilight series, you might just want to give it a try. Although vampires are not really my thing, I have definitely fallen for these suspenseful (at times), romance novels! Edward, Bella, Jacob - memorable characters! Ok, it will be hard to put off reading Breaking Dawn. I may have to read it next!