A Spark of Light

A Novel

De: Jodi Picoult

Narrado por: Bahni Turpin, Jodi Picoult

Number one New York Times best seller

The author author of Small Great Things returns with a powerful and provocative new novel about ordinary lives that intersect during a heart-stopping crisis.

"Picoult at her fearless best... Timely, balanced and certain to inspire debate." (The Washington Post)

The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center - a women’s reproductive health services clinic - its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage.

After rushing to the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, sets up a perimeter and begins making a plan to communicate with the gunman. As his phone vibrates with incoming text messages he glances at it and, to his horror, finds out that his 15-year-old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic.

But Wren is not alone. She will share the next and tensest few hours of her young life with a cast of unforgettable characters: A nurse who calms her own panic in order to save the life of a wounded woman. A doctor who does his work not in spite of his faith but because of it, and who will find that faith tested as never before. A pro-life protester, disguised as a patient, who now stands in the crosshairs of the same rage she herself has felt. A young woman who has come to terminate her pregnancy. And the disturbed individual himself, vowing to be heard.

Told in a daring and enthralling narrative structure that counts backward through the hours of the standoff, this is a story that traces its way back to what brought each of these very different individuals to the same place on this fateful day.

One of the most fearless writers of our time, Jodi Picoult tackles a complicated issue in this gripping and nuanced novel. How do we balance the rights of pregnant women with the rights of the unborn they carry? What does it mean to be a good parent? A Spark of Light will inspire debate, conversation...and, hopefully, understanding.

Praise for A Spark of Light:

"This is Jodi Picoult at her best: tackling an emotional hot-button issue and putting a human face on it." (People)

"Told backward and hour by hour, Jodi Picoult's compelling narrative deftly explores controversial social issues." (Us Weekly)

©2018 Jodi Picoult (P)2018 Random House Audio

✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫

First let me start by saying I did enjoy this book and I finished it in one day! But this is not my favorite Jodi Picoult book, not because of the subject matter but because of the way the story line was written in reverse from ending to beginning and because of this it jumped all over the place from character to character and that made it very hard to keep them straight in the beginning and even harder to get attached to any of them.

The story itself was very good, the controversial subject matter I feel is something that will always be debated and I doubt people will ever agree on. I did enjoy seeing so many different women with so many different situations and also the people who are affected by the violence who aren't even at these places for anything to do with abortions. For me this just shows that violence is NEVER the way to get your point across and is usually irrational. The "shooter" in this book was completely irrational, he wasn't thinking clearly obviously, he was there as a result of an innocent life he felt was taken but he had no problem taking other innocent lives, for me this is proof he wasn't thinking clearly. The authors note in the end was what actually hit the most buttons for me. The biggest controversy for me on this topic is that violence will not force people to think the same way you do, for me it just makes you not credible and why would someone listen to you if you can't even express your thoughts maturely and sanely. But that is just my opinion ;)

The narration was perfect! Bahni Turpin is a phenomenal narrator in every book she performs and this book was no exception!

Tedious

It was too repetitive and moved one step forward two steps back. Happy happy new day enjoy I have loved all of her previous books but this one didn’t measure up. Disappointed

Read with Open Hearts and Minds

This book does an excellent job of telling the stories of many different types of people (which is Picoult’s forte). The narration was excellent, as expected by Ms. Turpin. Definitely recommend!

What could be more relevant than to understand?

What could be more relevant in this day than to understand the inner experience of all of the players in this novel: the nurses and doctors who provide abortion, the woman who chooses to have one, the man who shoots and murders people in a clinic?

Good topic, lacking plot development.

The slow backwards chronology of the book was unnecessary and annoying. The only piece that truly benefited from it was the 2nd of the two semi-surprising plot twists (the 1st one is figured out by any savvy reader less than halfway through). Was expecting and disappointed that the book didn’t explore more of the judicial case introduced.

Another good story

Excellent research and very instructive about both sides of abortion issues. The story itself is only fair. Told from almost the end backwards makes the narration jerky and erratic to the point that it’s irritating at times It skips from character to character so frequently that it’s hard to follow. I do recommend the book for a patient and loyal Picoult reader.

Not great

Most of Jodi’s books cause me to fall in love. Yet, for whatever reason, I didn’t love this story 🤷🏻‍♀️. There were a few good parts, and I wouldn’t say it was a waste of time or anything. I just didn’t dig it as much as some of her other stories, that’s all.

Awesome! Wow,

I had a little trouble following at first, but finally caught on. An incredibly moving story. A real thinker!!

Beautiful

Such a beautifully written book! It is a great representation of the struggles not just women have today, but the men in their lives too. I was deeply affected as well as educated by the compassionate story telling and absolute graceful narration!

Interesting read

I thought the book had good intentions giving both sides of the opinion. I just felt the way she did her story line going back-and-forth in time was a little too much.
But the author did try to give pro and against abortions and is worth the read.