Change of Heart

Change of Heart

by Jodi Picoult

Published in 2008. 464 pages.

Amazon link

Author's website

Genre: Fiction

My Overall Score: 4.5/5

What its about (taken from amazon.com): Freelance carpenter Shay Bourne was sentenced to death for killing a little girl, Elizabeth Nealon, and her cop stepfather. Eleven years after the murders, Elizabeth's sister, Claire, needs a heart transplant, and Shay volunteers, which complicates the state's execution plans. Meanwhile, death row has been the scene of some odd events since Shay's arrival—an AIDS victim goes into remission, an inmate's pet bird dies and is brought back to life, wine flows from the water faucets. The author brings other compelling elements to an already complex plot line: the priest who serves as Shay's spiritual adviser was on the jury that sentenced him; Shay's ACLU representative, Maggie Bloom, balances her professional moxie with her negative self-image and difficult relationship with her mother. Picoult moves the story along with lively debates about prisoner rights and religion, while plumbing the depths of mother-daughter relationships and examining the literal and metaphorical meanings of having heart.

What I thought: This is a book that will definitely make you think. And keep you thinking well after you've finished reading. Which is exactly the kind of book I like. The main two components of the storyline were religion and the death penalty. Also a third thought-provoking topic was how far would you go to save your child's life. There were a few aspects of the story that were a bit distracting, but in the end it does all come together for the most part. I wish Picoult had built the characters of mother & daughter (June & Clair) more because I found it difficult to relate with them. Otherwise very nice character development.

One (of the many) quotes from the book that really touched me:
page 399 the Judge speaking:
"I am not a religious man. I have not attended a service for many years. But I do believe in God. My own practice of religion, you could say, is a nonpractice. I personally feel that it's just as worthy on a weekend to rake the lawn of an elderly neighbor or to climb a mountain and marvel at the beauty of this land we live in as it is to sing hosannas or go to Mass. In other words, I think every man finds his own church-and not all of them have four walls."
huh...

Why I read it & where I got it: I have been a Picoult fan for awhile now (my fave so far was My Sister's Keeper) & I got this book from my mom for Christmas.

Date finished: February 15, 2009

Currently reading: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink