A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult #bookreview #contemporary

Title: A Spark of Light

Author: Jodi Picoult

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Publication Date: October 2, 2018

Page Count: 384

My rating: 3 1/2 stars

About the book:

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things returns with a powerful and provocative new novel about ordinary lives that intersect during a heart-stopping crisis.

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 fifteen-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 cross hairs 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.

Jodi Picoult—one of the most fearless writers of our time—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.

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult is a fictional title that tackles the very tough subject of abortion so it may not be for everyone. The story is one that doesn’t take sides but instead tries to shed light all around in a suspenseful setting. The format is also a bit different and unusual in the fact that the author chose to start at the end and go backward from there counting back the hours and one horrific day in the small community clinic.

Now, for me I very much appreciate what the author tried to do with bringing this subject matter to light in a truly thought provoking read. However I’m not sure I was a fan of the format of this story when all was said in done. To be honest the first chapter or the first “hour” of the story beginning in the late afternoon was like being dropped into a warzone and a bit hard to follow when you know nothing about the characters or story and are just trying to grasp the plot.

On the other hand after the first couple of hours of the day counted backward and I began to get to know the situation and characters the author’s wonderful writing really shined through. The entire middle of the book is where the meat of the story lies that will make one think and care about what is going on and the characters themselves shine through. At this point i shows why I like to give each book a chance and not give up early because at that point my rating obviously went up.

When all was said and done with the book however I began to question again how I felt about where the story had gone, the format, the subject overall etc. I have to admit the end was a bit of a let down and felt it sort of fizzled after the fiery beginning and I wasn’t quite sure I found everything believable at that point. So weighing all of my feelings throughout this books I decided to go with a 3.5 rating on this one with the ups and downs but a solid story altogether.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online: 

Goodreads  /   Amazon

About the author:

JODI PICOULT is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five novels, including Small Great Things, Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart,
Nineteen Minutes, My Sister’s Keeper, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.