Oh Jodi!

So, it's been a great while since my last post and I am posting just to keep myself up to date on what I've been reading. I have been reading Jodi Piccoult lately and really enjoying it. I had read "My Sister's Keeper" a while back and really liked it. So, I picked up "The Pact" as my next adventure. She's a very accessible writer. I don't find anything she writes to be lofty or difficult to understand. I am usually instantly engrossed and carried through the story quickly and deftly. I've read 3 of her books now including the two I mentioned earlier and "Vanishing Acts". They are all high drama and well written. The last one I read, "the Pact" was all about teen suicide. Being a teacher, I took this book a little more seriously. After the story itself, there was a Q and A with the author. Apparently many parents, schools, teachers, and students have shown great interest in this book. Some of the parents, school administrators and teachers have been concerned with the subject matter and it's presentation. Students seem to gravitate towards it and I think there's fear in that interest. Many of my students, when I taught at the high school level, struggled with various stages of depression and suicide is something to take very seriously. If anything, I think this book really encourages honesty with those who care about you and the importance of taking suicide or suicidal talk seriously. I recommend Jodi Piccoult to anyone- she's an easy read in the sense that her stories are moving, fast paced, and easily understood. You will not get bogged down with words like vapid and pernicious. :) Not that those words are bad... and not that books that are filled with heavy descriptive language are bad- just sometimes you need something that carries you away and away quickly. Jodi Piccoult will do that. She's an excellent story-teller and an intuitive writer. I definitely recommend "My Sister's Keeper". It is the best of hers that I've read so far. Good Luck! My next post will be on "Water for Elephants" which I'm reading now... after that... "1000 Splendid Suns" by Khalid Husseini- I can't WAIT!