Jodi Picoult

Any fans? She writes about quite grim topics (school shootings, child abuse) but her books are fantastic. Recommend "Nineteen Minutes" to anyone.

Hi Dexter

I've read several of Jodi Picoult's books.

I enjoyed Plain Truth........it was very well researched and gave a fascinating insight into the Amish way of life.

It wasn't the cheeriest of reads from what I remember.

Jodi's books tend to be a bit formulaic but they never disappoint.

Solerina

They're not my usual kind of thing, but I read My Sister's Keeper and enjoyed it so much I read some others. Plain Truth and Salem Falls were great too. They have characters you care about, and fascinating situations and dilemmas. True, the situations aren't always 'cheery', but they do make you think about what you'd do if it were you.

My Sister's Keeper is told from several different viewpoints, and had me frequently changing my opinions and my sympathies back and forth! And Plain Truth was a fascinating look at Amish people and their culture, which I knew nothing about before.

But I did try a few that seemed more formulaic and held my attention much less, or that I just couldn't get into. So I guess her stuff is a bit of a mixed bag.

People think of them as "women's fiction", but I don't know that I'd agree. I'd definitely recommend the 3 mentioned above to anyone who likes an interesting story with believeable characters. Keeping Faith and The Pact were ok. But I thought Mercy was just awful. [i]