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tsundokutsunami's review against another edition
4.0
Not gonna lie, this was a tough read because of the subject matter and I had to skip over some of the more graphic descriptions, but the story and the way the characters interacted and the twists were actually very good. Really liked the author's note at the end.
debbiekc's review against another edition
5.0
I just finished the audiobook of this. It was even more moving to read after the overturn of Roe V. Wade. And especially since it was written only a few years ago when it was unthinkable that Roe V. Wade would be overturned.
The format of each hour is a chapter, but in reverse order was very interesting and I think a great choice. It made the various stories even more poignant when you don't know what truly brought them to be at the clinic that day.
I wasn't sure I wanted to read it at first, especially now, but I took a chance and I'm glad I did.
I would really like to hear from Jodi Picoult about this book, now, after Row V. Wade has been overturned.
The format of each hour is a chapter, but in reverse order was very interesting and I think a great choice. It made the various stories even more poignant when you don't know what truly brought them to be at the clinic that day.
I wasn't sure I wanted to read it at first, especially now, but I took a chance and I'm glad I did.
I would really like to hear from Jodi Picoult about this book, now, after Row V. Wade has been overturned.
bethanygladhill's review against another edition
2.0
Normally a big fan of Picoult for escape reading, but not this one.
jennitarheelreader's review against another edition
4.0
4 fiery stars to A Spark of Light! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
As a fan of her writing, I have noticed Jodi Picoult’s topics have gotten more fiery as the years have passed, and they continue to be thought-provoking.
The Center is a women’s clinic serving all their health needs. Everything changes when a man with a gun enters the building, begins shooting, and takes everyone hostage. My first questions are who is this man and why is he so distraught? I knew there would be more to his story.
Hugh McElroy is a hostage negotiator for the police. He arrives on scene and completes all the typical first steps in a grim and terrifying situation like this only to have his phone buzz with the news that his teen daughter, Wren, is one of the hostages.
Wren shares her story inside the building, while also shedding light on the other hostages, including clinic workers among others. There is Catholic Dr. Louie who believes he exercises his faith in his daily work. A nurse hero is also there. Also inside is a pro-life protestor who disguised herself as a patient that day only to find herself on the other side of the rage she herself was feeling. The characters in this novel are what make it a cut above. I felt empathy for each complex character; it was easy to with the way they were written.
The structure of the book is interesting. It goes backward through the day of the stand-off. I enjoyed it because it was different, but I had to remind myself a few times the story moves backward retracing how everyone arrives at the clinic that day.
As with all her books, it seems as if Spark of Light is meant to ignite a dialogue about an important topic to many. The storytelling is second to none, all the varied emotions are checked off, the research is firmly present, and the exploration of both sides is offered. Fans of Picoult should find much to love here.
I’m ecstatically grateful I had the opportunity to read an early of this book. Thank you to Random House/Ballantine. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
As a fan of her writing, I have noticed Jodi Picoult’s topics have gotten more fiery as the years have passed, and they continue to be thought-provoking.
The Center is a women’s clinic serving all their health needs. Everything changes when a man with a gun enters the building, begins shooting, and takes everyone hostage. My first questions are who is this man and why is he so distraught? I knew there would be more to his story.
Hugh McElroy is a hostage negotiator for the police. He arrives on scene and completes all the typical first steps in a grim and terrifying situation like this only to have his phone buzz with the news that his teen daughter, Wren, is one of the hostages.
Wren shares her story inside the building, while also shedding light on the other hostages, including clinic workers among others. There is Catholic Dr. Louie who believes he exercises his faith in his daily work. A nurse hero is also there. Also inside is a pro-life protestor who disguised herself as a patient that day only to find herself on the other side of the rage she herself was feeling. The characters in this novel are what make it a cut above. I felt empathy for each complex character; it was easy to with the way they were written.
The structure of the book is interesting. It goes backward through the day of the stand-off. I enjoyed it because it was different, but I had to remind myself a few times the story moves backward retracing how everyone arrives at the clinic that day.
As with all her books, it seems as if Spark of Light is meant to ignite a dialogue about an important topic to many. The storytelling is second to none, all the varied emotions are checked off, the research is firmly present, and the exploration of both sides is offered. Fans of Picoult should find much to love here.
I’m ecstatically grateful I had the opportunity to read an early of this book. Thank you to Random House/Ballantine. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
sarzneddo's review against another edition
4.0
I have always loved Jodi Picoults books, I've read every single one. This one was really really good, however I rated it 4 stars bc for 1. I found it predictable and obvious that Beth from the hospital was George's daughter even though he was just referring to her as Lil I had a feeling it was short for Elizabeth 2. I wasnt a fan of the way it seemed she was telling the story backwards, it got confusing at times but I do understand why she wrote it this way and 3. I dont like that there wasnt much of an ending. We dont find out what happened to the other characters Izzy, Louie, Janine, Joy and Olive and even Beth. We never find out what happened to them or what ended up happening to Beth's case?
I really enjoyed Jodi Picoults new book. I think Abortion can be a very touchy and conflicting subject for a lot of people. I personally had a choice to make and considered abortion at one point a few years ago and ultimately decided not to have an abortion for my own reasons. However, I think there is so many different sides to the debate and I like how she presented it in this story.
Hate giving 4 stars to a great book but those 3 things really bothered me enough to take off a star :(
I really enjoyed Jodi Picoults new book. I think Abortion can be a very touchy and conflicting subject for a lot of people. I personally had a choice to make and considered abortion at one point a few years ago and ultimately decided not to have an abortion for my own reasons. However, I think there is so many different sides to the debate and I like how she presented it in this story.
Hate giving 4 stars to a great book but those 3 things really bothered me enough to take off a star :(
josie1999's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion and Pregnancy
cass_mcginty's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sonadora9's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent, as Jodi Picoult's books typically are. It was a bit difficult for me at times for personal reasons, but it was still great. The only negative I can say is that I wasn't really a fan of the fully-backward chronology of the story. I get that it was necessary for her to have the reveal at the end that , but she typically has some sort of reveal like that in the end of her stories without running the chronology in that way, and I wished she had been able to do so in this novel as well.
Lines I liked:
Coal, with time and heat and pressure, will always become a diamond. But if you were freezing to death, which would you consider the gem?
Some stories, he knew, just don't have happy endings. Better for Lil to understand that love was about sacrifice. That what looked like carnage, from a different angle, might be a crusade.
And even though it was grief he poured into her, it was better than being empty.
This is what it means to be human, Bex thought. We are all just canvases for our scars.
Once, when her brothers had been fighting over who got more spaghetti for dinner, her mother had said, You don't look at another person's plate to see if they have more than you. You look to see if they have enough.
Violence, from one angle, looked like mercy from another.
The reason you hold on to someone too tightly isn't always to protect them - sometimes it's to protect yourself.
Whether or not you believed a fetus was a human being, there was no question in anyone's mind that a grown woman was one. Even if you placed moral value on that fetus, you couldn't give it rights unless they were stripped away from the woman carrying it. Perhaps the question wasn't When does a fetus become a person? but When does a woman stop being one?
Could you stand for something if there wasn't an opposition?
She had come to the clinic because she didn't want to be a little girl anymore. But it wasn't having sex that made you a woman. It was having to make decisions, sometimes terrible ones. Children were told what to do. Adults made up their own minds, even when the options tore them apart.
Laws are black and white. The lives of women are a thousand shades of gray.
Spoiler
the shooter was the father of the girl who is going to trialLines I liked:
Coal, with time and heat and pressure, will always become a diamond. But if you were freezing to death, which would you consider the gem?
Some stories, he knew, just don't have happy endings. Better for Lil to understand that love was about sacrifice. That what looked like carnage, from a different angle, might be a crusade.
And even though it was grief he poured into her, it was better than being empty.
This is what it means to be human, Bex thought. We are all just canvases for our scars.
Once, when her brothers had been fighting over who got more spaghetti for dinner, her mother had said, You don't look at another person's plate to see if they have more than you. You look to see if they have enough.
Violence, from one angle, looked like mercy from another.
The reason you hold on to someone too tightly isn't always to protect them - sometimes it's to protect yourself.
Whether or not you believed a fetus was a human being, there was no question in anyone's mind that a grown woman was one. Even if you placed moral value on that fetus, you couldn't give it rights unless they were stripped away from the woman carrying it. Perhaps the question wasn't When does a fetus become a person? but When does a woman stop being one?
Could you stand for something if there wasn't an opposition?
She had come to the clinic because she didn't want to be a little girl anymore. But it wasn't having sex that made you a woman. It was having to make decisions, sometimes terrible ones. Children were told what to do. Adults made up their own minds, even when the options tore them apart.
Laws are black and white. The lives of women are a thousand shades of gray.
dioniziah's review against another edition
3.0
3.5! I wanna start this by saying that this was really good. My own opinion on abortion is very solid. (I even hate calling it an “opinion” since I don’t think the right to choose should be up for discussion and a matter of “opinion but I digress)... this book does present you with both sides and even makes you examine the situation more closely but ultimately this read like a pamphlet. A really long and sometimes tedious pamphlet. The characters are all very interesting and yet I didn’t really get that emotion that I crave from every book I read (except from Beth) I would’ve loved a lot more from her. Anyway If you wanna find out how absolutely fucked American laws on abortions are; read this book!
mcclure92127's review against another edition
5.0
Does an excellent job of illustrating all individuals involved surrounding abortion. It’s never a simple issue.