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kgstuckinabook's review against another edition
4.0
I just started to read Jodi Picoult books again. I was tired of reading them because I felt that they were all the same when you read one after the next - there was always a case. But after reading Harvesting the Heart, I appreciate her books so much more than I used to. They have meaning and heartfelt complications, such is life. This one in particular threw so many emotions my way; there were many points in the story that made me angry, others that made me tear up and push through to the next page.
Paige, the main character in this story, was left by her mother when she was only 5; therefore, she has this emptiness, and this feeling that as fate will have it, she will always leave too. After running away the night of her high school graduation, she eventually finds Nicholas, an aspiring doctor that is everything she could have wished for and more, in a diner. They fall, or I should say he falls for her while she keeps him on a pedestal. They're married, and years down the road, when they're not ready, she becomes pregnant. She feels as if all of her dreams of becoming an artist, and going back to school are gone. While it was understandable to be shocked when something unexpected comes along, she takes it to heart. She becomes depressed, and one day she just picks up and leaves - following in her mother's footsteps, literally. She finds her mother, and stays with her for three months! This was the part that angered me, because I could never imagine leaving my child and just getting on with life as if nothing had ever happened. Even though I'm not a mother yet, I was so very angry with Paige, as was Nicholas. She can either stay with her mother or go back to life as she knew it... or she could change, for the better... change for her husband, change for her son, but most importantly change for herself. I thoroughly enjoyed the end, even if it leaves you wondering what ever happened... it allows you to fill in your own blanks, and just hope with all of your heart that there was a happy ending.
"You don't plan life, you just do it" (104).
"I was starting to see that the past might color the future, but it didn't determine it" (262).
Paige, the main character in this story, was left by her mother when she was only 5; therefore, she has this emptiness, and this feeling that as fate will have it, she will always leave too. After running away the night of her high school graduation, she eventually finds Nicholas, an aspiring doctor that is everything she could have wished for and more, in a diner. They fall, or I should say he falls for her while she keeps him on a pedestal. They're married, and years down the road, when they're not ready, she becomes pregnant. She feels as if all of her dreams of becoming an artist, and going back to school are gone. While it was understandable to be shocked when something unexpected comes along, she takes it to heart. She becomes depressed, and one day she just picks up and leaves - following in her mother's footsteps, literally. She finds her mother, and stays with her for three months! This was the part that angered me, because I could never imagine leaving my child and just getting on with life as if nothing had ever happened. Even though I'm not a mother yet, I was so very angry with Paige, as was Nicholas. She can either stay with her mother or go back to life as she knew it... or she could change, for the better... change for her husband, change for her son, but most importantly change for herself. I thoroughly enjoyed the end, even if it leaves you wondering what ever happened... it allows you to fill in your own blanks, and just hope with all of your heart that there was a happy ending.
"You don't plan life, you just do it" (104).
"I was starting to see that the past might color the future, but it didn't determine it" (262).
maddyk16's review against another edition
1.0
So depressing and boring. Paige and Nicolas’s relationship was so toxic and just so boring to read.
llaverton's review
2.0
Definitely, not my cup of tea. At the end of each chapter I thought maybe the next chapter it will get better, as many people really like this author. By the end of this 453 page book I can say it did not win me over. This is the second book from this author I've read this year, and I don't think I will be trying for a third.
alwaysanna13's review against another edition
4.0
This was one of Picoult's first books, and while it lacks the "twist" that defines so many of her later books, the writing and character development are - as always with Picoult - brilliant.
librarian2010's review against another edition
2.0
I felt the characters in this book were not realistic at all with regard to how they handled the situations they were faced with. If it was not my book group selection this month, I would not have chosen to read it. That being said, I cared enough about the characters that I skipped to the end halfway through the book in order to find out how things were resolved. As my friend Felipa has said--the book is reminiscent of a Lifetime movie, so if you like those things, this is the book for you!
katysaurus's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jennyatesfoley's review against another edition
DNF'd at 31%
As much as I hated DNF-ing a Jodi Picoult book, I just could not make it through this one. The 10-year age gap weirded me out, the getting married after knowing each other for two months weirded me out (especially since the day he proposed, he was flaunting his girlfriend in front of her), describing her with her assumed virginity as "intact" weirded me out. The fact that she gave up her dream of art school, seemingly indefinitely, for a man she just met also rubbed me the wrong way. It just all felt very forced and misogynistic and I could not get excited about it.
As much as I hated DNF-ing a Jodi Picoult book, I just could not make it through this one. The 10-year age gap weirded me out, the getting married after knowing each other for two months weirded me out (especially since the day he proposed, he was flaunting his girlfriend in front of her), describing her with her assumed virginity as "intact" weirded me out. The fact that she gave up her dream of art school, seemingly indefinitely, for a man she just met also rubbed me the wrong way. It just all felt very forced and misogynistic and I could not get excited about it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion and Abandonment
gigisa's review against another edition
1.0
What a Train Wreck! I decide to read everything by Jodi Picoult since reading three other books from her and loving it. This one... it's tough to describe. Everybody is awful, the husband selfish and horrible, the wife selfish and awful.. so childish! I could understand with they were in high school but as adults!!! I came back some chapter to see I read their ages wrong. I felt for the child; he was an afterthought in their parent's life.
tisharehn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5