Books : Change of Heart: A Novel

Rating: - Complex question in Picoult's novel
Author Picout always produces page turners, usually with critical societal and psychological issues being explored.
In Change of Heart she may have attempted more than was possible in this novel, but nonetheless, the book is readable, and makes one address the issues of capital punishment (and types of capital punishment); the realities of someone dying because of heart failure and the inabiity to find a suitable donor; and the passions that drive all of Ms. picoult's major characters. Also the enigmas of caprice and chance. I kept thinking, "Oh, if only. If only." But there are no 'if onlies' in her work.
This is not a great book stylistically and probably attempts too much in terms of plot. But I read it quickly, easily, and know more of each issue than I did before and was white knuckling it to the end to see what would happen to the supposed villain and real victims. Worth reading if you are a Picout fan and not a bad first novel to read if you haven't tried the author before.
I admire her blunt courage in making herself and us face unpeasant but very real parts of our everyday life which we usually manage to avoid.
I'm glad Jodi Picout is young and has years to write. I look forward to more reading treats. Claire Holcomb

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Rating: - wonderful book
I so loved this book,i just finished reading it a few days ago, i recommend this book to everyone, Jodi Picoult is a wonderful writer, i absolutely love all her books, thanks Jodi.

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Rating: - Interesting story, not that great as an audiobook
Many other reviewers (Bethany & Jessica in particular) have given terrific reviews that flesh out the strengths and weaknesses of the story. I'm one of the few people who loved "The Tenth Circle" - in fact, it was my first Picoult book, and I'm now a dedicated fan.

This review isn't about the plot of the book - as I mentioned, the other reviewers have done a far better job than I ever could - but of the audiobook version.

I listen to quite a few audiobooks as they allow me to indulge in my favorite pastime (reading) while working on my not-so-favorite pastimes (laundry, errands, bills) - it really does make the tub scrubbing go a lot faster! I was looking forward to hearing the Change of Heart audiobook, and was sorely disappointed.

First of all, this is a multi-cast audiobook, meaning you'll hear several readers instead of one. Multi-casting is a bit tricky, because you need a group of readers who will mesh well while capturing the voice of the narrator. Picoult books are easy to multi-cast, as her narration is typically multi-casted as well.

The cast of "Change of Heart" meshed well with one exception: Danielle Ferland's rendition of Maggie Bloom, an overweight, stressed-out, single female ACLU lawyer with strong principles and a weak self-image who finds love in the most unexpected place. Ferland reads her like a petulant 17-year-old, particularly during scenes where Maggie interacts with her mother. The intonation is often what I would best describe as bordering on hostility, with a touch of snottiness. I very much preferred Poole's reading of Maggie's lines in her narration.

Stafford Clark-Price, as Michael, is very good, but James Frangione as Lucius provides the best narration of the audiobook.

I plan to read the book in print, as I missed much of Maggie's story in frustration.

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Rating: - Good, but not her best
After reading the synopsis for Change of Heart, I had to read it because I wondered if the law would allow for such a thing. With Piccoult, you never know how the book is going to end, and I am glad that it ended the way it did. To not spoil it for others, I would say that this is a good read, however it was a little slow in the middle, and brought into play some religious information, which, while it was pertainent to the storyline, bored me with some details that I didn't really feel added much value to the story.

Now, I am off to read 19 minutes, which I hear is her best book, aside from My Sister's Keeper (WOW on this one!)

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Rating: - From an Agnostic's Perspective
Pros: I've always been wishy washy about the death penalty. While I wouldn't blink at the idea of the murderers of Emmett Till, Dr. King, Megan Williams, or President Kennedy being executed, there's still a little bit of me (from an Agnostic's perspective) who wonders, "If God is really real, then who are we to play the role of God and kill a person before their time?" This book was intelligently written and fair. Picoult took the perspective of a rabbi, Catholics, an Agnostic, and an Atheist to talk about different views on religion. Maggie, the lawyer, pretty much snatched most of my thoughts out of my mind and said them aloud (I got the audio book instead of the real book; I've grown addicted to listening to audio books on my MP3 player).

The way this book was written, I started believing in Shay Bourne's questionable powers (ex. healing an inmate from HIV/AIDS, giving a bird a second life, etc.). If this happened in real life, I'd probably be one of those people outside of the courthouse saying let him live. I think the most intelligent question asked in the whole book is why can't a death row inmate die and contribute to someone else's life? In this case, Shay Bourne wanted to be hung instead of lethally injected so he could donate his heart to the sister of the girl he allegedly killed. I'd never considered the idea of physical donations for inmates, and now that it's in my mind, it makes for great conversation.

I like to finish a book and continue the conversation or at least read something that's memorable. I'd put this book in my top five best books ever. I loved Shay's secret about the alleged murder for my own personal reasons, but I won't give that part away. I will say this though; I was not remotely surprised at how/why the murder really went down. Great job, Jodi Picoult. I really enjoyed this one.

Cons: I REALLY wanted to get rid of Maggie's whining through half of this book. Call me insensitive, but I got so tired of her whining about her weight. We get it. You're overweight. Your waist is wide. Let it go. Exercise. New subject. Every third sentence (and I don't think I'm exaggerating here) when she wasn't talking about Shay, she was complaining about her weight. It was irritating.

Strange things: I had some strange things go on while reading this book. While rolling my eyes in B&N about Maggie's excessive complaining, I happened to see popular comedian Monique smiling at me from a magazine cover. While listening to an outcry about a bird being caught, a real bird flew directly at me at stomach level. I jumped out of the way so it wouldn't fly into me because the thing would not go around me. When listening to a debate about rabbis and Gnostics, some guy walked past me with a sweatshirt on that said "Resurrection." It was just weird listening to this audio book because my surroundings kept fitting in perfectly with whatever chapter I was on.