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emmahayes99's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I think the story developed nicely and that no information was given out too soon, especially with each chapter being a different member of the family, which for me kept it moving at a good pace. I love Luke’s chapters being in between each of the rest of the family’s chapters, and how even though we didn’t get to know him at all in the present time of the book, we got to know a lot about him just from his inner self talking about his past.
I also didn’t expect to learn so much about wolves, and I did like the way that it developed from Luke’s respect for and learning about their behaviour into showing that he really did give up on his family in a way, and consider the wolves his real family.
There was no right or wrong way for it to go, and as much as I found Cara’s character acted a bit young for her age and honestly a bit frustrating to read, I think the battle between her and Edward was realistic and felt it from both of their views.
Only 4 stars given though because I think there were some things added for shock value only, for example the information that Edward left because he found his dad having an affair - there was nothing in Luke’s chapters to make it seem like his mind was in any way leaning towards having affairs or seeing other women and I’m not actually sure why these details were added to the story other than to give some other reason for Edward having left.. it didn’t add anything to the story for me, and the behaviour just didn’t really add up with what we were reading in Luke’s chapters, who made it clear he wasn’t comfortable around humans anymore
Ultimately I liked that it wasn’t the happy ending or miracle that you’d expect, it was realistic and still gave them all reconciliation with each other as a ‘pack’. And finally, really loved the epilogue chapter of Barney, the recipient of the organ donation that saved his life - a really nice way to wrap it up and have part of Luke continue on in somebody who clearly looked for adventure too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death
fkshg8465's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I remember watching a documentary about someone like Luke. I was so distracted by this memory the whole time I was reading the book that I was less tapped into it than I might’ve been. So I found myself not really loving this one, but more could I find a lot of fault with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
kiwichill's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Blood, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Sexual content, Excrement, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
cultbyproxy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Jodi Picoult was sure to mention that each member of a pack has a role and in the role of author she is one of few who can hold my attention with multiple narrators. The meticulous detail with which she writes each characters perspective whilst integrating all the research she has done on wolves and zoology is heavily deserving of this 5-star rating.
Jodi had my eyes, heart and mind glued to every word and this has been a worthy reread.
Jodi had my eyes, heart and mind glued to every word and this has been a worthy reread.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death and Infidelity
hannahmcd94's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I’ve read a lot of Jodi Picoult and usually enjoy them but this one just fell a bit flat. She really tried to ramp up her typical moral dilemma but it didn’t feel as unusual or really stuck in the middle as some - it was either let someone die or let them exist without living. And usually she has big dramatic court cases but again, the case was just a bit meh - if the first one hadn’t got thrown out I think the moral dilemma would have been ramped up and this would have been a way more interesting story. I also felt there were quite a lot of stereotypical gay characteristics attributed to Edward that really weren’t necessary - but they seemed to stop towards the latter stages of the book. Overall, a quick read, well researched information on the wolves, but just a bit “meh”.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Death
Minor: Animal death