Review of Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

I just finished Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. I enjoyed this one better than her novel that was recently made into a movie, My Sister's Keeper. I liked My Sister's Keeper but thought the twist at the end was a little too "how can I make this ironic", which robbed it of some genuineness.

However, Plain Truth, while also having its "ironic twist", seemed more genuine and more resonance. Her presentation of the Amish community brought many of their values to the forefront while also showing them as real human beings. The main characters were interesting and provocative as was the plot.

Jodi Picoult does not quite hit the literary mark that I prefer and have gotten from other sources. However, I do generally like many of her descriptions, characters, and storylines. Particularly in this novel, I felt a connection to Ellie and Katie and I liked how human they were. These two characters were so different from each other demographically (age, culture), yet understood each other in a deep way and were spiritually similar.

The parallels and divergences in comparing them as characters really highlights what is universal about women and our feelings surrounding the ideas of "mother". On a bookmark scale from one (burn after reading) to ten (I'd read this book ten more times), I will give this novel a 7.5.