Handle With Care

Handle With Care

by Jodi Picoult

Published in 2009. 496 pages.

Amazon link

Genre: Fiction

My Overall Score: 4/5

What its about (taken from amazon.com): Picoult delivers another engrossing family drama, spiced with her trademark blend of medicine, law and love. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe's daughter, Willow, was born with brittle bone disease, a condition that requires Charlotte to act as full-time caregiver and has strained their emotional and financial limits. Willow's teenaged half-sister, Amelia, suffers as well, overshadowed by Willow's needs and lost in her own adolescent turmoil. When Charlotte decides to sue for wrongful birth in order to obtain a settlement to ensure Willow's future, the already strained family begins to implode. Not only is the defendant Charlotte's longtime friend, but the case requires Charlotte and Sean to claim that had they known of Willow's condition, they would have terminated the pregnancy, a statement that strikes at the core of their faith and family. Picoult individualizes the alternating voices of the narrators more believably than she has previously, and weaves in subplots to underscore the themes of hope, regret, identity and family, leading up to her signature closing twists.

What I thought: This was like an emotional roller coaster that did not end until the very last page - well the emotions continue even after you're finished reading. I like how Picoult tells the story from each character's perspective. Also included throughout the book are some of Charlotte's recipes (she's an award winning baker in the book) ... I'd like to try some of them out, they sound delicious!

A few quotes stuck with me from the book - two of which are:
page 262: Charlotte & Marin speaking about the difference between a dutiful mother and a good mother -- "A dutiful mother is someone who follows every step her child makes. A good mother is someone whose child wants to follow her."

page 445: Sean speaking in court to Charlotte -- paraphrased... "Maybe you expected marriage to be perfect, I guess that's where you and I are different. I thought it would be all about making mistakes, but doing it with someone who's there to remind you what you learned along the way. People always say that, when you love someone, nothing in the world matters. We know that when you love someone, everything in the world matters a little bit more."

Why I read it & where I got it: I like Picoult's novels and when I read about this one it definitely sounded interesting. I got it at Target just after it's release with a gift card from my good friend Jenn (thanks Jenn!)... and was chomping at the bit to read it!

Date finished: May 12, 2009

Currently reading: The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan