Book Review

I have always been a fan of Jodi Picoult as a writer.  It started when I read My Sister's Keeper back when I was in college.  I was home on summer break and I remember sitting in my living room, staying up until late to finish the book.  Once I finished it, I had an ugly cry.  I had tears and snot dripping down my face.  From that moment I was hooked on Jodi.  I have read many more of her books.  I have a large collection in my library, but on Monday while going through them I discovered I had a couple that I had yet to read.  One was Handle With Care  and the other Change of Heart.  I had decided to read Handle With Care.


Handle With Care is about a young girl who has what most may know as brittle bone disease.  By the time she was five years old, she had somewhere around 58 broken bones.  While on a family vacation, Willow (the young girl) had fallen at Disney World and had broken her two femurs.  Because they were in a different state, the doctors were curious about all the breaks and ended up contacting DCS and placing Willow and her older sister Amelia in protective care.  After the situation eventually got sorted out, the family returned home and contacted a lawyer to see if they could sue Disney, the local police department as well as DCS.  The lawyers said they had no case, but upon further investigation of their case, the lawyers concluded that they did have a case for a wrongful birth suit against the obstetrician.  The obstetrician turned out to be the mother's best friend.  The book chronicles how friendships and families are torn apart and how the disease effects the older sister.  It also follows the lawyer's back story of her adoption and how the case of wrongful birth effected her own life.


I would say all in all the book was a good, fast read.  I had started it Monday afternoon and was finished by Tuesday early evening.  The problem for me that after thinking about it further, the book almost mimicked My Sister's Keeper.  There was a young sibling who had health problems and an older sibling who was rebelling against the world in order to cope with being pushed aside all the time.  There was also a lawyer who had their own issues as a back story that would end up effecting their stance on the case.  Furthermore, without giving too much away, the ending of Handle With Care had an ending that I felt was uncalled for.


Like I said, I have always loved Jodi Picoult books, but she really needs to work on her endings.  A lot of times I feel empty and disappointed after completing the book, which after reading such a great story, is a big let down.  Overall, I would recommend the book, just don't be surprised when you too are disappointed after reading the last chapter.