Status
Available
Genres
Publication
Washington Square Press (2005), Edition: Reprint, 448 pages
Description
Life is going well for Delia Hopkins. She has a daughter and a fiancé, and with her search-and-rescue bloodhound, she helps find missing persons. But as she plans for her wedding, she is haunted by inexplicable flashbacks to a devastating time she cannot recall.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member vfranklyn
Bad writing! Annoying characters! Smarmy narrative! You can get all this and more with this book. I'm done with Jodi Picoult. She now officially annoys me.
19 Minutes and My Sisters Keeper were both good, except for the ridiculous twist endings, but this one was lame. Actually, I take that back, the
19 Minutes and My Sisters Keeper were both good, except for the ridiculous twist endings, but this one was lame. Actually, I take that back, the
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jail scenes were pretty good and I did actually read the entire book, and her love scenes are very tasteful. Show Less
LibraryThing member karima29
Rich, thoughtful, thought-provoking, compassionate, insightful, engaging....
How far would you actually go to protect someone you love?
This is the second book by Jodi Picoult that I have read so far. The first one, My Sister's Keeper, I enjoyed so much that I took a chance on this one, hoping that
This book deals with such an unusual situation, just like My Sister's Keeper, and it confronts what we think we know and trust, and how much we would sacrifice for love. The central story is about a woman who discovers that her father had kidnapped her when she was four. It has so many threads though, asks so many questions and then answers them. It's about alcoholism, about second chances, about the courts of law, about prison gangs, about faith, about falling in love, ....
Read it!
How far would you actually go to protect someone you love?
This is the second book by Jodi Picoult that I have read so far. The first one, My Sister's Keeper, I enjoyed so much that I took a chance on this one, hoping that
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I would get the same magic. I wasn't disappointed at all. This book deals with such an unusual situation, just like My Sister's Keeper, and it confronts what we think we know and trust, and how much we would sacrifice for love. The central story is about a woman who discovers that her father had kidnapped her when she was four. It has so many threads though, asks so many questions and then answers them. It's about alcoholism, about second chances, about the courts of law, about prison gangs, about faith, about falling in love, ....
Read it!
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LibraryThing member ndbarth
I don’t know what I would do if I woke up one day to find out that my entire life had been a lie. What if I woke up to find out that the name that I had gone by for as long as I could remember, wasn’t my real name at all. This has never happened to me, but it is exactly what happened to Delia
Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors because of her ability to write compelling novels on controversy subjects. This story involving the moral decision of kidnapping your own child from a dangerous environment is counterbalanced with the fact that Delia herself has a young daughter about the age that she was when her father took her. Picoult writes with such vivid language and descriptions that when Delia felt betrayed by her father, so did I. And then when she had to face what she would have done in his place with her own daughter, I was right there with her. There is irony to the story that just turns your insides and makes you think about the people all around you and what their story’s could be. Delia’s job was search and rescue. Her job was to find missing people, when in fact she was a missing person herself. I get goose bumps just thinking of all the people out there who are missing or lost, especially the ones who don’t even know it.
My favorite books are the ones that make you feel something true. The ones that make you laugh and make you cry. I read this book and I laughed and cried, making this book one of my favorites. I also enjoyed the mystery and suspense of it all. Jodi Picoult has a way of writing intrigue with twists so that you could think that you have it all figured out; but your wrong. She always changes the ending from where the book is going, so that it end s up being like nothing you could have guessed. It’s thrilling and I love it. This book made me realize, that there are some things in life that you think you know, but you find out you don’t. And it doesn’t matter the most the reason why there was a lie in the first place. What matters the most is that you find out what the truth is at the moment, because only then can you live what you believe and what you know.
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Hopkins, who believes that she was born and raised in New Hampshire by her single, widowed father. Part of her life was in fact a lie, told to her by her own father. She was actually born in Arizona and her mother is still alive. Her father kidnapped her, changed their names, and moved them as far away as possible for reasons Delia was only beginning to understand. Jodi Picoult weaves a beautiful story of self-discovering, family crisis, and how far love can take all of us. This book faces the reader with the fragile line between morally and legally right; which is something we all have to face.Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors because of her ability to write compelling novels on controversy subjects. This story involving the moral decision of kidnapping your own child from a dangerous environment is counterbalanced with the fact that Delia herself has a young daughter about the age that she was when her father took her. Picoult writes with such vivid language and descriptions that when Delia felt betrayed by her father, so did I. And then when she had to face what she would have done in his place with her own daughter, I was right there with her. There is irony to the story that just turns your insides and makes you think about the people all around you and what their story’s could be. Delia’s job was search and rescue. Her job was to find missing people, when in fact she was a missing person herself. I get goose bumps just thinking of all the people out there who are missing or lost, especially the ones who don’t even know it.
My favorite books are the ones that make you feel something true. The ones that make you laugh and make you cry. I read this book and I laughed and cried, making this book one of my favorites. I also enjoyed the mystery and suspense of it all. Jodi Picoult has a way of writing intrigue with twists so that you could think that you have it all figured out; but your wrong. She always changes the ending from where the book is going, so that it end s up being like nothing you could have guessed. It’s thrilling and I love it. This book made me realize, that there are some things in life that you think you know, but you find out you don’t. And it doesn’t matter the most the reason why there was a lie in the first place. What matters the most is that you find out what the truth is at the moment, because only then can you live what you believe and what you know.
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LibraryThing member stacyinthecity
I've never read Jodi Picoult before, and now having read this book, I can see why people love her: the book is very engaging and the topic is compelling. But I understand why people don't like her: the shifting viewpoints was difficult at times, some of the details in the book didn't drive the plot
The plot of the story is a 32 year old woman discovers that she was kidnapped by her father as a toddler so she would not grow up around her alcoholic and neglectful mother. The truth comes to light and over the course of the trial and unfolding of related events, the readers decide for themselves - was the father right in kidnapping her? The book leads in one direction, but even after the book was over, I was still left pondering the various possible outcomes and which was the "right" one.
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forward, and and the use of metaphors and coincidences was rather heavy-handed.The plot of the story is a 32 year old woman discovers that she was kidnapped by her father as a toddler so she would not grow up around her alcoholic and neglectful mother. The truth comes to light and over the course of the trial and unfolding of related events, the readers decide for themselves - was the father right in kidnapping her? The book leads in one direction, but even after the book was over, I was still left pondering the various possible outcomes and which was the "right" one.
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LibraryThing member ajewell
I did enjoy this one but it wasn't one of my favorites from Picoult. I was very unsure about the relationship between Delia and Ruth Ann (I believe that was her name) and why it was significant to the story. Otherwise, it was a very intriguiging story of deciding what is best, the truth or a lie.
LibraryThing member WomblingStar
Easy to read but I find the court cases not that believable and some of the characters annoying.
LibraryThing member tkanz79
This is my favorite to date of Jodi Picoult. The story line is captivating. There are so many twists and turns in the plot, that I finished the book in one sitting!
LibraryThing member zojo
How disappointing! To be fair I didn't know what to expect, but this was badly written with a plot so thin I could spit through it! I only finished it because I started it, and it hardly required much thought.
LibraryThing member carmarie
I love Jodi Picoult! And although this wasn't one of my favorite of hers, I still have to give it to her!
LibraryThing member kimusabrit
Great concept - how would you cope finding out your whole life was a lie. Plenty to discuss - will recommend to BG
LibraryThing member amanda_anderson
I enjoyed the multiple perspectives of this book. Each chapter is told from a different characters point of view which bothered me at first but gave insight throughout the novel.
The story is of Delia, a mother who is engaged to her childhood friend. She grew up with her father and the two boys next
The story unfolds with details from her childhood she had forgotten and lessons learned of her current life and relationships.
The fine line between right and wrong, good and evil is explored through several ways in this novel.
The ongoing complexities of relationships between Delia and her friends, her father and soon, her mother who she thought was dead add to the story.
The plot has several subplots including Ruthann's story, who could have been further developed, Andrew's time in jail, which was detailed and vivid, the love triangle between Fitz, Delia and Eric and of course the main plot - Delia's kidnapping 28 years prior.
I just finished this book and I enjoyed it, however, it was hard for me to keep reading and it was def. not the page-turner I'd expected from Picoult.
The story is of Delia, a mother who is engaged to her childhood friend. She grew up with her father and the two boys next
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door were, and to this day are her best friends. Her father kidnapped her when she was 4 years old and she learned her whole life is basically a lie.The story unfolds with details from her childhood she had forgotten and lessons learned of her current life and relationships.
The fine line between right and wrong, good and evil is explored through several ways in this novel.
The ongoing complexities of relationships between Delia and her friends, her father and soon, her mother who she thought was dead add to the story.
The plot has several subplots including Ruthann's story, who could have been further developed, Andrew's time in jail, which was detailed and vivid, the love triangle between Fitz, Delia and Eric and of course the main plot - Delia's kidnapping 28 years prior.
I just finished this book and I enjoyed it, however, it was hard for me to keep reading and it was def. not the page-turner I'd expected from Picoult.
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LibraryThing member cindyloumn
Love it. But I like all her books. I read it fairly quickly.
LibraryThing member Leeny182
So far I would have to say this one is my favorite of Jodi's. I really got sucked into it. I loved the story the whole way through. I was secretly wishing through whole thing that Fitz got the girl. Although I really wanted the family to stay intact. I felt for Andrew I knew from the beginning that
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he did it for the right reasons and was afraid for him when he was in jail. Definitely a good book and it made me cry. Show Less
LibraryThing member jepeters333
(BOCD) - Life could hardly be better for Delia Hopkins. She has a young daughter and a handsome fiance, and with her search-and--rescue bloodhound, she helps find missing persons. But as she plans for her wedding, she is haunted by inexplicable flashbacks to a time she cannot recall. Suddenly,
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Delia must confront devastating truths that could destroy her and everything she loves. Show Less
LibraryThing member neverlistless
I believe that this is the best Picoult book I've read yet! It's the story of a woman who finds out that she was kidnapped as a child by her own father! There are twists and turns in the story as we travel from cool, comfortable New Hampshire to hot, dusty Arizona for his trial. We see the ins and
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outs of being in jail, of battling alcoholism, meeting people who profoundly impact others in the story, and struggling with accepting that things aren't always as they seem. Show Less
LibraryThing member annekiwi
I liked this book, which surprised me. I liked MY SISTER'S KEEPER, but haven't really like anything else. And I've tried. I have bought KEEPING FAITH [?], NINETEEN MINUTES, PICTURE PERFECT, and CHANGE OF HEART and haven't been able to get through them. Seriously, I start them and then just read the
I liked the relationship between the 2 men and the heroine. I liked who won the heroine's heart in the end. The twist of the alcholism from the anti-hero and the mother were wonderful. What I didn't like was the whole part about the dad in prison. It was so unbelievable to me. Getting beaten up, yes. Participating in making drugs in order to survive, maybe but it was a long time since he had been a chemist. Would he really have remembered all that stuff? When I stop working for a few weeks it takes me a couple of days to get back on track [I do science stuff] and remember details. Would he have been able to go from librairan to drug lord? Even in prison. It just struck me as too convenient.
I also didn't like the whole tracking of the little old lady with cancer and watching her throw herself off the cliff. It was out of place. I get the whole "vanishing" thing, but it didn't really fit with the rest of the story.
I did like the trial parts and especially the heroine's turn on the witness stand.
The relationship between the mother and the returned daughter struck me as stilted. I don't mean that their relationship was [it was, but it was supposed to be], I meant the writing. There was something there that kept it from flowing with the rest of the novel. I think it needed to be fleshed out more, maybe a bit more time spent on it.
Better than the other's, a keeper, but not on the favorite shelf.
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end because getting through the whole book is excruciating. But I read all of this one and enjoyed it.I liked the relationship between the 2 men and the heroine. I liked who won the heroine's heart in the end. The twist of the alcholism from the anti-hero and the mother were wonderful. What I didn't like was the whole part about the dad in prison. It was so unbelievable to me. Getting beaten up, yes. Participating in making drugs in order to survive, maybe but it was a long time since he had been a chemist. Would he really have remembered all that stuff? When I stop working for a few weeks it takes me a couple of days to get back on track [I do science stuff] and remember details. Would he have been able to go from librairan to drug lord? Even in prison. It just struck me as too convenient.
I also didn't like the whole tracking of the little old lady with cancer and watching her throw herself off the cliff. It was out of place. I get the whole "vanishing" thing, but it didn't really fit with the rest of the story.
I did like the trial parts and especially the heroine's turn on the witness stand.
The relationship between the mother and the returned daughter struck me as stilted. I don't mean that their relationship was [it was, but it was supposed to be], I meant the writing. There was something there that kept it from flowing with the rest of the novel. I think it needed to be fleshed out more, maybe a bit more time spent on it.
Better than the other's, a keeper, but not on the favorite shelf.
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LibraryThing member Marcierr
Delia finds out through a series of random events that she isn't who she thinks she is at all. Her name isn't even Delia, but Bethany. Twenty-eight years earlier, at the age of 4, her non-custodial father never brought her back to her mother. He told her her mother died in a car accident. Her
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father is no extradited back to Arizona for the "crime' he committed 28 years earlier. Some of the chapters deal with his experience in prison and the relationships he has while in there. The plot thickens as her fiance, Eric is her father's lawyer...and Fitz the boy both Eric and her grew up with comes along as a reporter for the trial. A love triangle develops. A lot of what ifs, what could-have-beens and what-do-I-do-now moments. A really good read. Show Less
LibraryThing member Maggie_Rum
The first Jodi Picoult novel I read was My Sister's Keeper; it had been recommended to me by fellow teen oncology patients. Following MSK, I felt the need to snatch up any Picoult novels from my used books stores. None of them, however, have struck quite the same chord with me as MSK. These books
I enjoyed Vanishing Acts because it moved out from the normal New England setting. The characters in Arizona were interesting and I wish there were more of them. The novel as a whole, however, followed along the rest of Picoult's novels and did not stand out very much.
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are, however, easy to read, fairly interesting and something good to have laying around in case of illness or long car trips. I consider Jodi Picoult my guilty pleasure because her books are not very deep, but they are entertaining.I enjoyed Vanishing Acts because it moved out from the normal New England setting. The characters in Arizona were interesting and I wish there were more of them. The novel as a whole, however, followed along the rest of Picoult's novels and did not stand out very much.
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LibraryThing member msmalnick
Standard engrossing, tough-to-put-down fare from Jodi Picoult. One plot line (Hopi) doesn't add much, and of course it ends up in court, as Picoult loves her novels to do. But the main characters are interesting and endearing, the jail scenes harrowing. Not a "must read" but likely a "will enjoy."
LibraryThing member LSTEPH1967
I have read a couple of Jodi Picoult books now, and this one was good. A well written story by an author who does her research and is not afraid to handle some touchy issues.
LibraryThing member carissa8402
This was a great story about a father's love.
LibraryThing member Cecilturtle
Picoult has a formula, but it works: taking a story and presenting through the different characters' point of view, she is able to demonstrate that no situation is black and white even if the themes are alcoholism and abduction. Of particular interest to me were the Native American narratives and
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the prison descriptions which were both fascinating and eye opening. Well worth reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member turtelina
A typical Jodie Picoult book. All the main character get their say in the book. The matter is interesting and plausible. You feel for all of them until the last 50 pages when she starts dropping bombs. "False" memories come into play and the love triangle continues. A good book, an average book, at
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times I was glued, but now I am grateful that I am done an can continue on to a new world all waiting for me to drop into it. :) Show Less
LibraryThing member ladybug74
I enjoyed this book. The recorded version had different voices to represent the different characters, so it was easy to keep track of who was telling the story. I did find the way the love triangle situation ended between Delia, Eric, and Fitz to be a bit unbelievable, but otherwise liked the way
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that this particular book ended. Show Less
LibraryThing member melydia
(unabridged audiobook, multiple readers): Delia Hopkins has a pretty ordinary life in Wexton, New Hampshire, that gets turned upside down overnight when her father is arrested for having kidnapped her during a custody visit 28 years ago. The twisty plot and complex character relationships are
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revealed slowly and deliberately, hooking me from the first chapter. This is my second Picoult book, and like the other (My Sister's Keeper), it is told in a series of first-person narratives, including Delia, her father, her mother, her fiancee, and her best friend. Each character is read by a different person, all of whom were quite good with the exception of Delia, who was almost painful to listen to. Luckily, the story was good enough that I still got sucked in despite her awkward reading. If the two I've read are at all representative of quality, I will definitely be picking up more of Picoult's books in the future. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2005
Physical description
448 p.; 8.25 inches
ISBN
0743454553 / 9780743454551