Handle with Care (Jodi Picoult)

I recently finished reading Jodi Picoult's novel "Handle with Care."  This novel was about a young girl, Willow, who was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), a rare genetic bone disorder that results in many bone breaks and fractures.  This disorder affects an individual for their entire lives and there is currently no cure.

Willow, though she is a very smart young girl, will always be small, will always have an unusually high risk of breaking bones, and will always require care or help from someone else.  Since Willow's mother, Charlotte, has been unable to work since Willow was born, her family is having a hard time covering the living costs for Willow, who constantly requires hospitalization, wheelchairs, and accessible vehicles.  After an incident while on vacation, a lawyer brings up the fact that, perhaps, Charlotte's doctor, Piper, should have been able to see early detection signs of OI in the fetus.  This early detection could have led to the termination of the pregnancy before any of these problems or costs became a problem for the family.  The book discusses the ups and downs of what occurs during this lawsuit.
 

When I was reading this book during my lunch break one day, another teacher walked in and asked what I was reading.  When she saw "Jodi Picoult," she said, "Those are always sad ones."  I must say that this book is no exception, since it does deal with such a serious subject.  Willow, though young, is smart enough to know that her mother is involved in a lawsuit where she is continuously saying that she wishes Willow hadn't been born.  I can only imagine how this would affect the home life in the O'Keefe's residence.  Charlotte's marriage is falling apart since her husband can't understand why his wife is putting their children and family through this experience, her friendships are ruined since she's suing her best friend (who also happened to be the doctor), and her other daughter, Amelia is also suffering as part of this torn household.  I always find that these kind of books require you to be in the mood to read something "deep." 

As with many of Jodi Picoult's novels, each chapter was written from the point of view of a different person.  One chapter would be from the point of view of the lawyer, whereas another chapter could be from the point of view of Willow's sister.  I find this helps the reader to get "in the heads" of the various characters in the book.  It's not centered on just the people directly involved in the lawsuit, but also on other people who are affected by it. 

Another thing I liked about this book was how it informs us about OI.  I always find books interesting when they are dealing with a medical condition that I know nothing about (kind of like how I enjoyed Left Neglected by Lisa Genova, and felt like I had learned a lot about Left Neglect while reading the book).  It's a great way to look into the lives of people who are dealing with different health challenges and raise awareness on these issues.  In this case, I had never heard of OI before reading the book, and I feel like I understand more about the challenges that face an individual with OI after having read it. 

I enjoyed reading this Jodi Picoult book.  It dealt with serious, real issues, and though I'm not sure that I would have handled things the same way as the characters in the book, it's fiction.  If you're a fan of Jodi Picoult books, this one won't let you down.

Willing Spirits (Phyllis Schieber)

I picked up Willing Spirits by Phyllis Schieber when I saw it for sale in the Bargain Books section at Chapters.  I'd never really heard of Schieber, but Jodi Picoult gave her words of praise on the front cover, so I decided to try it. 

The book was about the friendship between two teachers, Jane and Gwen.  Jane discovers her husband with another woman, so Jane goes to her longtime friend, Gwen, for help.  Gwen's husband left her and now she is romantically involved with a married man. 

I've been thinking about my blog lately, thinking that I've never really given a book a "bad" review.  I'm the kind of person who, even though Phyllis Schieber will likely never read this, I will feel bad if I give it a bad review.

I will say that not much happened in the book.  You get snapshots into the lives of Gwen and Jane, but the story focuses mainly on relationships and friendships, with very little other plot.  I went quite a few nights there without opening the book before bed, showing that I really wasn't completely into this book.  I will also add that maybe I am too young to fully appreciate the friendship that is described in the novel. 

I may have just chosen the wrong Phyllis Schieber novel to try - she does have a few other novels that look promising.  This novel probably won't be on my list of recommendations.  (Sorry, y'all...)

The Help (Kathryn Stockett)

I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett during the summer and LOVED it! It had me laughing at many points and also had me in tears today as I was sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. I loved the rollercoaster of emotions I felt as I was reading this book.

For those of you who haven't heard about the book (which, I guess, is probably a low percentage considering the amount of publicity the new movie "The Help" was getting), it's a book about a town in Mississippi, where the coloured maids, alongside a friendly white lady, secretly write a book about their experiences working in white households. I loved how the chapters in the book were written from different points of view - it reminded me of how Jodi Picoult's "My Sister's Keeper" was written.

Here are some of my favourite (and most memorable) quotes from the book:

"Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, 'We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought.'" (The Help, Kathryn Stockett, p. 492)

"'I guess I got to go,' I say, even though I'd rather spend the rest of my life right here in Aibileen's cozy little kitchen, having her explain the world to me. That's what I love about Aibileen, she can take the most complicated things in life and wrap them up so small and simple, they'll fit right in your pocket." (The Help, Kathryn Stockett, p. 369)

"Skeeter look away from me, try to smile. 'I don't care about any of that ole stuff, anyway.' She kind a laugh and it hurts my heart. Cause everybody care. Black, white, deep down we all do." (The Help, Kathryn Stockett, p. 346)

I highly recommend this book. I loved it so much that I rushed out to see the movie. While the movie was decent, in this case I definitely thought that the details provided in the book provided for an even better story than what was shown on the big screen...