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Sing You Homeby Jodi Picoult |
Arlene Almas: Judy and Debbie have thoroughly covered
the material in "Sing You Home" in their dueling reviews, so there's only one thing left for
me to do: give the book a rating of 5!
Rating: *****
Debbie Weiss: I, like Judy, have read most of Jodi Picoult's books, but I was disappointed
with "Sing You Home." The story line was interesting, covering as Judy indicated, sexuality,
gay marriage and the rights to embryos, but I found the narrative flat and all the characters stereotyped. I didn't particularly
connect with any of the individuals in the story. Zoe Baxter is the main character who is divorced from Max and
is now married to Vanessa. Zoe's mother particularly rubbed me the wrong way. None-the-less, there are important 21st century issues
discussed and the reader does have to consider all sides and create opinions. I guess I was just expecting more
from the author whose earlier books were so rich and intriguing. This book is formulaic and disappointing, in my opinion.
Rating: ***
Judy Stanton: I've read most of Jodi Picoult's books and
this one rates up there with my favorites. Again, she takes on a few controversial issues -- homosexuality,
gay marriage and the rights to embryos. She does her homework, simply explaining things like music therapy,
invitro fertilization, research on the homosexuality nature/nuture issue, what gay couples have to do to get
"marital" rights. She tells a compelling story, with readable dialog, in a format that gives voice to the
leading characters, taking one scene and seeing it from their varied perspectives. The book was made
more interesting because I heard her talk in Atlanta recently, about her interviews with the
fundamentalist Christian Church that sees homosexuality as a sin, about her son "coming out"
to her & her husband, and we also got to hear the songs she wrote and included in a CD in the book.
A good read, highly recommended.
Rating: ****
