Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

WARNING: SPOILER I am going to quote from the interview above with Ms. Picoult: "Q: Why did you choose to end the book when you did, rather than going into what happens to the characters in the aftermath of the trial? A: Because at heart, this is Jacob's book. And remember, to Jacob, there was never any real mystery here, was there?" With all due respect to the author, there was never any real mystery here to US, either! I have read every single one of Jodi Picoult's novels. I have loved some more than others, but never have I disliked any, until now. I was intensely looking forward to buying and reading this book. I have a grandson who is on the autism spectrum, and to Ms. Picoult's credit, she explored the world of Asperger's Syndrome. Jacob is somebody I would like to befriend. That, for me, was the good side. The bad: - Her delivery of information about Asperger's bordered on a professorial lecture ... not just once, but over and over again, from his mother, his psychologists and even Jacob himself. - There was an unbelievable amount of repetition about Jacob's affect, his likes, his dislikes, his meltdowns, his compulsions. We must have heard at least 5 times about the food and clothing colors. Once was enough, we got it! - The "mystery", however, was the worst part of this novel. I knew from the moment Jacob came home that Tuesday and went into complete meltdown, exactly what had happened, and why. - Ms. Picoult's treatment of Jacob's defense sickened me. She attempted to present what would happen to an "Aspie" if they became involved in the legal system. Well, all I can say is God help anybody, neurotypical or not, if they were mothered, and represented by anybody, as Jacob had the misfortune to be. LEGALLY INSANE? Oliver and Emma, neither one, ever asked Jacob: DID YOU KILL HER? And yet they dared to present him as legally insane. Of course, we know why the question was never asked ... if it had been, and Jacob had told the truth as he "always" did, the book would have been over and done with at 250 pages. - Ms. Picoult, and all of us, would have been better served if the question HAD been asked. She could then have gone on to explore, side by side, the defense of an Asperger's man, and the defense of his neurotypical brother, to truly show any differences that might exist. As it is, we don't know about those defenses because the book ended, lazily on the part of the author, without us knowing anything!!! I don't devour novels just to find a happy ending, I read for the love of reading. Reading this book was an exercise in frustration and it left me angry on so many levels.