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 enlarge | Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Atria
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy New: $8.99
You Save: $17.96 (67%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  175 reviews
Sales Rank: 935
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 0743496744
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780743496742
ASIN: 0743496744
Publication Date: March 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Mint!!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Predictable and Disappointing March 12, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
My Sister's Keeper is one of my favorite books...this one, however, doesn't work. I had the "twist" figured out immediately so the rest of the book bored me. Ms. Picoult does need to slow down and as one reviewer said, concentrate on quality, not quantity, because she's a great writer. Falling into that marketing ruse of producing a book a year only dilutes her product. I won't automatically buy her next book - will wait for the reviews and get it at the library. No sale here!
 It was.....ok March 12, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Jodi Picoult is a master storyteller, but CHANGE OF HEART was not her best work at all. I have read MY SISTER'S KEEPER (the best by far), PLAIN TRUTH, VANISHING ACTS, NINETEEN MINUTES, and THE TENTH CIRCLE, so I was really expecting the same style of writing, just with a touch of Picoult-ness. (Excuse my phrase)
I highly anticipated this book, but to me this felt rushed, not at all as in depth as many of her books.
I think Jodi needs to spend some time, not necessarily researching (because she does that very well), but more time writing, expressing her ideas thoughtfully.
I will see what her next book has to hold. I hope she bangs out a winner.
 Best Yet March 12, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
I've read all of Jodi Picoult's books and loved them! This is her best yet! Covers every imaginable topic and really makes you think about the issues.
 At Last ... March 11, 2008
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
Finally, Picoult returns to her earlier roots. In spite of the heavy subject matter (death penalty and Biblical texts, murder), this book is a welcome change from her previous two books. This book reminds me of her earlier works like, "The Pact," "Keeping Faith," and "The Plain Truth." However, this book is not as good as the others simply because of two reasons, it was predictable and there was a feeling that this book was written in a haste.
Other than that, this is a fast-paced read and one that I wished didn't end. The characters were fascinating (even though most of them weren't fleshed out as much as her characters have been in the past). Their struggles, griefs, dreams and thoughts were all interesting and made this novel more real. There's June who suffered three tragedies in one lifetime, where she lost her first husband in a car accident, but their daughter is safe. Then she loses her second husband and daughter in the murder that Shay Bourne was accused of. Now she faces the ultimate question of all time: should she accept Shay's gift to her other daughter who desperately needs it? Then there's Shay Bourne, the man accused and convicted of murdering June's family. Did he or did he not? There are the inmates on his level at the prison, especially Lucius, the man dying of AIDS. Then there's Father Michael who was on the original jury that convicted Shay of the double murder and sentenced him to death. He ends up being the most interesting character of all of them simply because of his crisis of faith. Then there's Maggie, the ALCU lawyer who took on Shay's case at the eleventh hour.
If it wasn't for several reviewers in here, I would have never got the idea that this is similar to the Stephen King novel, "The Green Mile." In my reading experience, novelists borrow themes from other books/stories/movies that they've read and tried to flesh it out in their own way. This novel is interesting since it deals with capital punishment and different people dealing with it in different ways. Then there's the religious factor as well, which I find very interesting. The two themes tie together very nicely in this novel and wasn't disturbing to me at all.
This may not be the best novel that she has written, but in comparison to her last few, this is a better one. It definitely reminds me of her roots. It's been awhile since I have enjoyed Picoult's novels and this one, while rushed, definitely was enjoyable. It was definitely a good read and one I would recommend to everyone.
3/10/08
Typical Jodi, but very predictable March 10, 2008
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
I first became a fan of Picoult's after reading My Sister's Keeper on a friend's recommendation 3 years ago. Like most, I cried my eyes out reading the last 30 or so pages of the book and was hooked after that point. I've since read most of Picoult's 15-book library, most recently this book, Change of Heart. While I was excited for a new book of hers, I still haven't found another one that moved me like My Sister's Keeper yet. From reading the book jacket, I was hoping this one would come close. Unfortunately, it didn't even compare. While the story was told in the same manner as My Sister's Keeper (each "chapter" was a different character's voice) and made it a quick read (460 pages that I finished over the course of a weekend), it was much too predictable. I guessed what the "twist" in the plot was about 25 pages into the book (and my guess was confirmed around page 400) and found it so closely mirroring the storyline of Stephen King's "The Green Mile" that I was almost embarrassed for Picoult's lack of originality). While this book's main character is supposedly a Messiah and King's death row inmate was just supposed to be supernatural, without any sort of religious affiliation, the similarities will be clearly apparent to anyone that's seen the movie or read the book (one of the glaring similarities includes bringing a fellow inmate's dead pet back to life; a bird in this book, a mouse in King's). Despite these things, I still couldn't put the book down since it was such a quick and easy read, it was entertaining enough, and Picoult is an extremely gifted writer, even if her originality is lacking. I must agree with some of the other reviews in that Picoult does not develop a few of the key characters enough, particularly the mother/wife of the victims, June Nealon, and I found that the story line suffered because of it. One of the things that draws me to her books is her intricate character development that takes the reader into the mind and body of that character and makes them a part of the story. I felt that Lucius' character didn't add much in the way of plot development and didn't need to be focused on as much as he was.
One thing that I always appreciate about Picoult's books is the extensive research she does as she's writing them. Because of this I can appreciate the laws, doctrines, gospels, etc. that she speaks of in her novels and know that she's done her fact-finding and not making up laws to suit her story. Her legal and religious research is apparent throughout the book and I found it to be a good learning experience.
A warning - this book heavily involves religious doctrine, the Bible (both Old and New Testaments), unpublished Gospels of the New Testament. While I am not at all religious and can't count on one hand the number of times I've been in church in my life so I found no issues reading this book and was not offended in any way as I'm quite open to other belief systems, others may be quite sensitive to the ideas presented. Picoult treads a very thin line with several characters including the Priest who is in the midst of a moral and religious crisis, a reformed atheist, an outlandish televangelist, and the ACLU lawyer who was raised Jewish, but considers herself Agnostic and is fighting on behalf of the death row inmate, Shay who many believe is the second coming of Christ.
Overall, it's an entertaining book, but don't bother spending the money on it. Borrow it from a library, wait until it's available on paperback, or borrow it from another Picoult fan that bought it with high hopes on the first day it was released (me!).
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