loribonesscaswell

This book sat on my To-Be-Read shelf way too long and I am kicking myself. What a fantastic story! Picoult again shines as she takes on several hot topics, gay rights, alcoholism, Evangelical Christian beliefs, divorce, troubled teens and more. Same-sex marriage/definition of family was the main issue and the author showed all sides. This book came out in early 2011 and people's views on the main premise of the story continue to evolve and had the outcome of the election been different this evolution may have stopped and took a giant step backward.

Zoe Baxter battle with infertility was heartbreaking and after 10 years of in vitro fertilization, several miscarriages, and a stillborn baby, her marriage just crumbles. Her husband, Max, is ready to give up on having a child and Zoe just can't.

This story took me on a emotional roller coaster which is what this author's stories always do. I become heavily invested in these character's lives. I really wanted to hate Max but couldn't. I hated the bigotry of the people around him and the way they used him to promote their own agenda at a time in his life when he was weak and needing guidance. Zoe's life from her music therapy clients to her life with Vanessa warmed by heart. After all she had been through to be strong enough to still put other people's needs first was so inspiring.

Sadly the accompanying CD did not come with my copy but it was not necessary to have music for me to be moved by this story. I devoured the almost 500 pages very quickly. I am sure many excellent book club discussions have taken place about this book as people's feeling on these issues will run the gambit.