Insomnia Meets the Jodi Picoult Project

UGH! Waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to fall back asleep is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves. I loooove sleeping- one of my greater values in life, if you will.

So, imagine my surprise (not to mention, general annoyance) when I awoke last night and grabbed my phone to check the time. I normally awaken before my alarm goes off anyway (ever the morning person, that I am), but it's usually around the 5:30/5:45 AM range. Not... the 2:45 AM range.

Sigh. I had been EXHAUSTED the evening before, so I figured falling asleep would be no problem. I guess I was right- because falling asleep WAS no problem. It was more that whole STAYING asleep component...

I lay around for a bit, hoping sleep would come, but, well, that clearly wasn't going to be the case. Seriously, I arose at 2:45 AM like I would have at 6:30 AM anyway... all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Might as well seize the moment, and all that. I guess.


Good thing I have my Jodi Picoult project to keep me entertained, even in the wee hours of the morning! Yup, that's right. I just hopped right outta bed, turned on my light and...


Started reading. I was SO close to the end, so can you really blame me? Come on, now.


Unfortunately, I didn't have the same love for Picture Perfect as I had for House Rules . I actually went into reading Picture Perfect thinking I would fall in LOVE with it right away- it's all about a Hollywood celebrity couple! Hello!

So, without further ado, I present to you my review for...

Picture Perfect

Length: 384 pages

Synopsis: The book starts out with this new LAPD officer, Will, finding this young woman, Cassie, on the streets suffering from amnesia. He takes her in and adores her for a few days, until her husband realizes she has been found and comes to "get" her from the police station, all relieved and happy to have her back. The story basically turns into Cassie mapping back her memory, beginning with how she met her husband. She was working on an anthropology project in Tanzania when her location happened to coincide with the set for a Hollywood film starring none other than the king of Hollywood, Alex Rivers. They quickly fall in love and get married and she moves back to his Bel-Air castle with him. (Eee!! Bel-Air! This book totally won points for being located in Bel-Air, solely because it reminded me of... sigh, Will Smith. And The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Hearts and flowerslkjfslkj!) And that's pretty much where the fairytale ends. Without giving too much away (read: Alex Rivers is a D-bag with an extra capital D), you ultimately get glimpses of each individual character's family history to see how/why they ended up playing the life roles that they do.

My favorite part of the book: How Jodi Picoult presents the awful cycle of abuse/repentance that defines Alex and Cassie's marriage. Depressing, sure. Necessary, yes. Even if you've never been the victim of abuse, you find yourself totally empathizing with Cassie (while simultaneously getting frustrated with her at points!). Picoult's well-developed characters really highlight the feelings and issues related to domestic violence, such that you can truly feel and understand the pain and misery involved (to an extent) in such a situation, even if you have never been a victim of such abuse yourself.

My least favorite part of the book: I thought the storyline was incredibly farfetched. First, they meet in Tanzania, which, sure, is far-fetched, but I can handle that since we're dealing with Hollywood here. But there comes a point where Cassie has to go to Will's family's Indian reservation and, quite frankly, while I found it interesting to learn more about Indian reservation lifestyles, I just didn't think it flowed all that well. I mean, there was some talk about Will's Indian roots in the beginning, but then it kind of fell to the wayside until MUCH later in the book when Cassie has to flee there. And then it's like Indian reservation overload.

What I learned: Just what it is like to be stuck in the shoes of a domestic violence victim. There were points in time that I grew SO frustrated with Cassie (hello! Just LEAVE him!). However, based on my very little education (read: Oprah) of the psyche of abuse victims, her actions were so realistic and necessary to bring to light, in order to understand the Godawful nature of domestic violence. Additionally, I learned a bit about the (pretty sad!) conditions of living on an Indian reservation, but I liked the focus on domestic violence much more.

How it ranks on my personal Jodi Picoult Project list...
1. Nineteen Minutes
2. House Rules
3. The Pact
4. My Sister's Keeper
5. Picture Perfect
6. Salem Falls

Oh well. Onto the next one!

The Jodi Picoult Project - Book #1: House Rules

Well. That was quick. I picked up House Rules on Sunday evening and, 539 pages and two and a half days later, I'm done! Not too shabby.

That just goes to show how good this book was. Or maybe I was just excited to be starting my Jodi Picoult Project. In any event, I loved this book. I couldn't put it down! And this project was doing exactly what I was hoping it would do- getting me to turn my darn television OFF and pick up a book INSTEAD.

Please see below for my Jodi Picoult Book Review Template. I'm going to try to use this self-created "template" as I review each Jodi Picoult book, so that something, for once, can be standardized on this blog. Please bear in mind that the template will likely continue to evolve, since, well, we're all continuing to evolve, right? Deep, I know.

House Rules

Length: 539 pages

Synopsis: The book centers around an eighteen-year-old boy named Jacob, who has Asperger's Syndrome. Jacob is fascinated by crime scene investigations and has historically put together his own faux crime scenes, in hopes that others can try to solve the crime- his inspiration for this practice is his religious viewing of Crimebusters every afternoon at 4:30 PM. Jacob has a social skills tutor named Jess who is found dead in her apartment fairly early on in the book. At first, her boyfriend (who, by the way, is a complete and total D-Bag) is the most plausible suspect. However, Jacob quickly steals THAT spotlight when his mother realizes that Jess' body was found wrapped in a handmade quilt... a handmade quilt that belongs to Jacob. And so, you have the makings of a fine little story. How did Jess die? Did Jacob kill her? If so, why? If not, well, why was his quilt wrapped around her?

My favorite part of the book: How each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character. There are five main characters in the story (Jacob, his brother Theo, his mom Emma, his lawyer Oliver and the police officer Rich), so I feel like I could have easily gotten lost in the story, since there is so much DETAIL. However, having each chapter told from a different perspective really made me grow that much more attached to each character. More than once did I tear up when reading about how Emma (the mom) deals with her life. Makes me never want to complain about my life again.

My least favorite part of the book: I don't think I appreciate the legal nature of things as much as other people do, so I found the last parts of the book (ie: the courtroom scenes) more boring than pivotal. But that's just me, because obviously other people drink this stuff UP.

What I learned: GOD, I learned so much about Asperger's Syndrome. I'd heard about it plenty, but couldn't really pinpoint how it differed from autism. I have to admit, I was already interested in the topic, but I'm pleased to say that I learned a LOT more from the story that was woven here.

How it ranks on my personal Jodi Picoult Project list...
1. Nineteen Minutes
2. House Rules
3. The Pact
4. My Sister's Keeper
5. Salem Falls

The Jodi Picoult Project

As I was running some errands way downtown this weekend (and by way downtown, I mean anywhere south of Lincoln Park), I stumbled upon the main branch of Chicago's public library (the Harold Washington Library). Now, if you know me at all, you know I love all things books. I've been an avid reader since I, well, learned how to read (circa 1987, age 4).

One of my favorite childhood routines would be going to our local public library every Saturday afternoon with my dad. He would read that week's Investor's Business Daily (among other things), while I would park it with the latest Sweet Valley or Babysitter's Club book. So peaceful, so relaxing, so all-in-all delightful.

I figured I'd check out Chicago's esteemed Harold Washington Library, since, well, I was walking right by it. So inside its hallowed halls I went.


And there goes that jaw, dropping away.

I was SHOCKED (not to mention slightly overwhelmed) with its grandeur, just upon initial entrance. I mean, TEN FLOORS of library goodness? Heaven.

Of course, not knowing exactly where to start, I just made myself at home at the front desk, interrogating, excuse me, politely inquiring the library staff about "how this place works". (Sadly, those were my exact words.) The staff gave me a little pamphlet detailing each floor, and off I went on my self-guided tour.

Who knew that a public library would house a mini-MUSEUM? Here, you could find the history of theater, if it so struck your fancy.


Or, heck, screw paying for the Internet at home! Check out the gargantuan nature of one of its computer labs!


Once I reached the seventh floor, I knew I'd quite literally died and gone to heaven. Shelf after shelf of all things Fiction greeted my eager little eyes.

Since I'd come here on a whim, I didn't really have a book in mind. I started out just aimlessly wandering the stacks, happy enough to be drinking in title after title after title. Then, I figured I might as well take a more strategic approach to this and try to focus on finding some book (any book, really!) that I've been thinking of checking out (no pun intended!).

The first author that came to mind was Jodi Picoult. Well, if we're being completely honest here, the first author that actually came to mind was Sophie Kinsella but, who are we kidding, I've already read all HER stuff. Multiple times.

Anyway, so off I trekked, to the P section of this glorious floor. I'd read a few Jodi Picoult books in the past, some of which I loved, some of which I couldn't stand. However, I plucked her name out of the clear blue because she is one of the most prolific authors of which I am aware (I swear, every month she has a new book coming out). Therefore, it didn't surprise me in the least when I finally found the P section and, upon a bit further investigating, stumbled upon...


And this...


Told you she was prolific. Granted, there were multiple copies of several of her works, but whatever. You get the picture. Upon reading the cover flaps of several of the books, I realized that I just couldn't choose! They all sounded so good!

And herein, my friends, is where the Jodi Picoult Project was born. The goal? To read every single Jodi Picoult book, over the course of three months. She has written 20 books total, of which I've read four (I think).

Sure, some of her books have been a total "miss" with me. But overall, I have to say her writing totally resonates with me. Each story is not only well-written, but so well-researched that it makes me want to hug the pages. I love thoroughness. I love feeling like I've actually learned something from her stories, whether it's historical, medical, social, etc.

Since I was a little overstimulated by the neverending array of Picoult books right at my disposal, I finally settled on three books to start my project off.


Sure, why not? Kick off the Project with a bang and all that.

I'm excited! And you KNOW that with each book I complete, YOU, my dear blog readers, will be getting a complete and total book review. You're welcome in advance.

All in all, I have to say, what a delightfully little surprising twist my Saturday afternoon took. I'd forgotten how much I loved the public library. I do hope they survive through the years- they are seriously one of God's finer gifts for the general public.