Friday, January 2, 2015

Leaving Time

Leaving Time
By Jodi Picoult
Ballantine Books, 2014. 416 pgs. Fiction.

The newest book of this bestselling author is completely unique from her other works. Picoult addresses family relationships, romantic relationships, and even human and animal relationships in this touching story of a girl looking for her mother. The story is told from the multiple view points of a 13 year old girl searching for a long gone mom, a psychic that has lost touch with her abilities, a detective that failed at being a cop, and the journal entries of Jenna's mother. The setting is mainly an elephant sanctuary in New England and is full of touching moments with the elephants and their handlers. The answers they get from their investigating aren't necessarily the ones any of them wanted, but it helps them heal in ways they had given up on.

The book is full of facts about elephants, accurate descriptions of research life in Africa and on a sanctuary, and emotional turmoil as all the characters face hard truths. I love elephants, so really enjoyed the author's descriptions of their behaviors and how they interacted with the people that cared for them. The diary entries combined with the present day search created a subtle mystery and I wanted things to turn out for everyone by the end. Picoult writes a fascinating book about motherhood, mourning, and loss. This was definitely one of my favorites from her.

EW

No comments: