Second Glance

I discovered this great new writer and read her books Plain Truth and then My Sisters Keeper and I thought WOW! Can't wait to get into the next one. Maybe I read the best first and set the bar too high, but Second Glance did not hold a candle to those other two books. It was choppy, and I found my mind wandering over and over. I was very close to putting it down permanently, but I was sure it would pick up. It did in the last third, but that's not good enough for me.
The narrator George Guidall is remarkable. I listened to him reading "Night" and he was fabulous there too. So thanks to George this one gets two stars.

I had great hopes for this title because I enjoyed Picoult's "My Sister's Keeper" so much. I've not been able to finish listening because of the over use of figurative language that bogs down the story(memories that rise like mermaids from the ocean, fear like crows on a highline wire, etc.). The plot and characters seem interesting, but unless you're willing to hear every event and emotion related figuratively, pass on this title. I'm not kidding. Some sentences have 2 or 3 similes or metaphors to express a single thought or event. After the first 100 or so similes, each additional one felt like a firecracker exploding in my head and my jaw tightened like a vice and my teeth ground together like grindstones pulverizing the last of the season's wheat crop. Sorry. You get the point.

It was easy to get lost in this story. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed getting to know them. The reader did a great job with the various voices, which always adds to my enjoyment. Best of all, the story seemed to have a good grip of history of the area. I would like to visit Vermont so I could see the landscape for myself. The ending was really good. You'll enjoy this book.

My first experience with this author, and based on this read I would try her again. The characters in this book were interesting and ended up being connected in a way that I saw coming. But I liked these characters, so who cares that I figured it out. Their combination of oddities kept me listening. Moved well and was never dull.

This book is very hard to characterize. It is NOT My Sister's Keeper! It is also a challenge to listen to, especially in the beginning. Being inside the head of someone who is suicidal is not pleasant. Still, it is worth the trip. It is important not to go into it with any preconcieved notion based on other books by the same author.

Jodi Picoult always delights with densely constructed plots that pack a final ending punch, but Second Glance was as finely layered as an onion. No matter how many intertwining layers of storyline the listener peels away, more await beneath until the final surprise. The reader was not one of my favorites, but I did not find him as distracting as did some of the other reviewers here, and whatever flaws he might have were easily compensated for by this wonderful story.

The only reason why I still prefer Picoult's work in written form is that you miss the opportunity once the final plot is revealed to flip back through and revisit key pieces of the intricate story from the perspective of your newfound knowledge of how it all really fits together. But that drawback could also be a plus, because it means a total relisten will be just that much more interesting.

If you're teetering on the edge of buying this one, you won't regret taking the plunge.

I really enjoyed this book - it was so not the usual formula Picoult. I did get a sense of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen while reading it, but that's a good thing. I don't care who you write like, as long as I like it! I will listen to this one again, trust me!

I found the multiple story lines very well entwined as the impact of eugenics on our underprivileged and minorities was addressed from the characters' viewpoints. I really knew very little of this movement and have been appalled to find out it was still in practice up into the 1970s! In fact there was something in the news two days ago about sterilized persons in NC possibly being paid back by the state.
There is a touch of magic in the story as well with the love stories. Its mysteriousness will keep you guessing at what will be happening next. If you like learning about historical events as well as watching love stories and families evolve it will be very satisfying to you.

I bought this as part of a collection that included My Sister's Keeper. I wasn't thinking I would enjoy it as much as I did! I liked the parts that were flashbacks to the 1930's in Vermont and also enjoyed how everyone was connected for the ending.

Jodi Picoult is usually so gripping, grabs ahold of you and doesn't let go. I can follow lots of characters in a book. Often I was like Huh? Who? Not a bad book, but Vanishing Act, Nineteen Minutes, Change of Heart, not even subjects I would have chosen but just awesome.