Sing You Home

As I was preparing to write my review for this book, I realized that this is the first Jodi Picoult book that I've reviewed on my blog. Clearly, at some point I've neglected to blog a book (or two or three) that I've read, because this is certainly not the first book of hers that I've read in the past two years. And while I don't remember the exact titles of the other books of hers that I've read (although I'm sure I could take the time to look online to refresh my memory), I can pretty easily sum up all the reviews in one fell swoop--the books are great. I have been absolutely captivated by every Jodi Picoult novel that I've read, and even in spite of my incessant efforts to try to predict the ending, Picoult always manages to throw some final twist in there to catch me off guard.

I also love that her books deal with "hot topic" issues in a generally unbiased way. I have found that as I get older I most enjoy books that deal with real issues (as opposed to say, talking animals), and it's always a relief to not feel like the author is trying to push his or her own personal agenda onto me. Sadly enough, I get enough of that from media sites and even places like Facebook, so it's nice to just be able to read something (even if it is literature) that presents information from both sides of the issue without condemning you for having a belief one way or the other.

Sing Me Home, in particular, deals with homosexuality and, to some degree, scientific advancements in procreation. In just the first few chapters there's a failed pregnancy, a failed marriage, and failed sobriety. But, as the book progresses, the former spouses are able to piece their lives back together, even as the journey takes them places they never thought they would go, including into a courtroom in an unprecedented legal battle.

Despite my general praise for Jodi Picoult novels, I do have one complaint with the ending of this book. There is a final chapter that serves more or less as an epilogue, although I found that it raised more questions than it answered. I'm not opposed to books that don't have nice, clean, totally wrapped up endings, but if there is going to be some ambiguity in the ending I prefer not to be limited in how I imagine the next six months/years of book will play out. However, I found that the information included in the "epilogue", short though it was, gave so many partial details that I was actually more confused how the book got from the ending to the epilogue than I would have been if the book had just ended without the epilogue. But, that's just my opinion; I'm sure many people appreciated the extra details/wrap-up that the final chapter contained.

Overall, it should come as no surprise that I would recommend not only this book but any novel by Jodi Picoult!