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What if saving the life of that sole remaining love required you not only to forgive the man you hate most in the world but also grant him his dying wish. Although its ending was rather over-the-top and contrived, "Change of Heart" still has me thinking, squirming and talking two full weeks after I finished it. There's a line three-quarters of the way through "Change of Heart' that goes like this: "How could I not have known that you see God every time you look at the face of the person you love." An on-the-edge-of your-seat, riveting page-turner, the novel turns that query upside-down posing the questions of a mother no human being would ever dare ask of her. What if, from that point forward, looking into the eyes of the one you loved might mean you'd see the Devil instead of God. It was my first Jodi Picoult novel, but I have a feeling it won't be my last. What if there were only one person left in your life whom you truly loved. What if all the others were murdered.
However it was a bit of a disappointment to me. I felt very uneasy of the ending of this book and how certain issues were resolved among the victim and information she found out.What I do love about jodi and her books is that she really seems to research a lot of the things involved in her book. I wanted to love this book.
The book seemed to be mainly focused on the preist and on Maggie Bloom, with a bit of a mixture on Shayne (the character sentenced to death for the murder of the victim's husband and daughter)and an inmate of his. So much so that I feel as though I've learned some new things, medically, legally, or otherwise from them. Though the information and troubled minds that the preist and Maggir had are/were very benefical for the book I feel like they left out a lot of Shayne's perspectives.
After reading My Sister's Keeper I was really excited to get into the next Jodi Picoult book. I struggled to get through the rest of the book (however I am one of those people that once I start a book or a movie, no matter how bad it is, I have to finish it). I won't let this book deter me from some of her other books though and do look forward to reading some more of them.
I really did. I enjoyed the beginning of the story but about halfway through the plot seemed to have slowed down.
To try to give them some sort of credibility is what every author is reaching for and it is getting ridiculous.I will continue to read Jodi's books because I loved her other books and I want to give her the benefit of the doubt. I was bored to tears. It's overdone, predictable and in poor taste. The cliche is extremely old by now.
I recently read a few of Jodi's books and fell in love with her character building and the journey that she takes you on. She is truly skilled but this one felt contrived and plagiarized. Bringing in the Gnostic books was laughable at best. Unfortunately, I spent the first half of this book mad that I was reading the Green Mile and the 2nd half wondering how the Da Vinci Code crept in.
The other characters in the book were an atheist, agnostic and a Rabbi but the only one to suffer any tiny bit of a crisis of faith was the priest. Leave the theology to the theologians and continue to do wonderful character development. The book was almost perfectly coupled with the Green Mile - the characters, the premise surrounding the prisoner on death row, the supernatural, etc. The 2nd half took the tired and overdone "Catholic priest has a crisis of faith".
I agree with another reviewer who wrote that there was not enough focus on the victim's family and the events leading up to the murders. I had to push myself to finish the book. Too much debate and too little action if you ask me. I also wanted to like this book because I thought "My Sister's Keeper" was excellent. The premise was a good one but I think Jodi could have done more with it. It starts out with a bang but quickly becomes mired in theological debate. However, "Change of Heart" does not live up to "My Sister's Keeper". Halfway through the book, I began skipping the theological rhetoric dosed out by the priest, the rabbi, and the atheist turned believer.
I found most of the book predictable, but was slightly surprised in the end to discover Shay might have planned it all. I've always been intrigued by the history of religion and the subject of the Gnostic books of the Bible. Before to long I felt like I was reading a very bad version of Stephen King's "The Green Mile" mixed with any one of John Grisham's books. Made me wonder if there was any truth to his story about what really happened the night of the murders. It got better about half way through and I was able to finish the book. I really wanted to like this book.
I was very disappointed. I learned some things I didn't already know and was pleased to read about a few things most people probably don't realize. A friend recommended Jodi Picoult and said this book was her favorite. Strangely when I felt the book got better is when the subject of religion actually came into play. I didn't like ending the book with doubts of one of the main characters true motives. The description sounded good and I thought it would be an easy read.
I actually almost stopped reading.
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