Vanishing Acts - Jodi Picoult [July/06]

This is my third novel by Jodi Picoult, having read Mercy and My Sister's Keeper earlier. I still have Picture Perfect, Salem Falls, and Plain Truth in my to be read pile by her.

From the back of the book:

How do you recover the past when it was never yours to lose?

Delia Hopkins has led a charmed life. Raised in rural New Hampshire by her beloved, widowed father, she now has a young daughter, a handsome fiance, and her own search-and-rescue bloodhound, which she uses to find missing persons. But as Delia plans her wedding, she is plagued by flashbacks of a life she can't recall... until a policeman knocks on her door, revealing a secret about herself that changes the world as she knows it - and threatens to jeopardize the future. With Vanishing Acts, Jodi Picoult explores how life - as we know it - might not turn out the way we imagined; how the people we've loved and trusted can suddenly change before our very eyes; how the memory we thought had vanished could return as a threat. Once again, Picoult handles and astonishing and timely topic with understanding, insight, and compassion.

Of the three Picoult novels that I have read, I would have to say that this is my least favourite. It was still good, and took me no time at all to read, but I didn't like as much as the other two.

It is a hard review to write, because just by explaining the events of the novel I give away what the reader is meant to find out. Maybe you have it figured out already, but I do not be the one to flat out say what happened in the book and give it away for someone that intends to read it. I know that Picoult is widely-read, so it is too risky. So, I will tell you that while it was not my favourite, it is still a very worthwhile read. Jodi Picoult has slowly become one of my favourite authors because she dares to write about the unhappy sides of life in such a beautiful way. I think you can read any of her books and like them, some you will like better than others, but each time you are entering into a worthwhile read.

I think my main problem with this novel is how things were dealt with. I didn't always believe in how things played out, and thought that too much was going on that didn't really need to be happening. I understand that the events in the novel can be devastating, don't get me wrong, but at the same time I thought Picoult had too many punches for all the characters in the novel. Like with My Sister's Keeper, I was left a little unsure by the ending. I wish I could say more, but if I did, no one would read the book because they would already know what was happening.

3.5/5