Leaving Time

by Jodi Picoult

Paperback, 2015

Call number

FIC PIC

Collection

Publication

Ballantine Books (2015), Edition: Reprint, 496 pages

Description

"Alice Metcalf was a devoted mother, loving wife, and accomplished scientist who studied grief among elephants. Yet it's been a decade since she disappeared under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind her small daughter, husband, and the animals to which she devoted her life. All signs point to abandonment . . . or worse. Still Jenna--now thirteen years old and truly orphaned by a father maddened by grief--steadfastly refuses to believe in her mother's desertion. So she decides to approach the two people who might still be able to help her find Alice: a disgraced psychic named Serenity Jones, and Virgil Stanhope, the cynical detective who first investigated her mother's disappearance and the death of one of her mother's co-workers. Together these three lonely souls will discover truths destined to forever change their lives. Deeply moving and suspenseful, Leaving Time is a radiant exploration of the enduring love between mothers and daughters"--… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member nicx27
I was really looking forward to reading this book. The story sounded fab but also the addition of the elephants really sold it to me. Right from the beginning I was completely into it and loved every bit of it. Jenna Metcalf is looking for her mother, Alice, who disappeared 10 years ago when Jenna
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was 3. Alice was an elephant behaviour expert and one night, following a trampling at the sanctuary where she worked, she disappeared, never to be seen again. Enlisting the help of Serenity Jones, a once successful but now failed psychic and Virgil Stanhope, the detective who investigated the incident at the sanctuary, she tries to find out what happened to her mother.

Jenna is a great character. Maybe a bit old for her years but it worked and I loved how the story was told from the different viewpoints. I couldn't put it down and as the story unfolded I was left wondering how it would all end until the most amazing twist occurred. Writing a twist like that successfully is no mean feat. I also really liked all the information about elephants and their behaviour - fascinating stuff! I loved loved loved this book.
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LibraryThing member blueheronlanding
This book was pretty dreadful. I usually really like Jodi Picoult books. The information about elephants was very interesting but to wrap up the story with characters just being nonexistent is pretty sad. Should have just ended it with, "and then I woke up".
LibraryThing member MHanover10
I have two words for this book…Wait what?? I might need to repeat the two words because I said it a few times while reading this book. True to Jodi Picoult, there was a big shock at the end and also I kept thinking I knew what happened and then it would change. Then I would think I had it solved
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and it would change again. Then she would break my heart. Jodi is such a wonderful story teller and she did it again.

This is about Jenna who is looking for her Mom who has been missing for 10 years. Jenna hasn’t seen her since she was three when one of the caretakers at the elephant sanctuary is trampled and Jenna’s Mom Alice is injured and taken to the hospital. It’s also about Serenity, a psychic that Jenna approaches to help her find Alice. I remember Serenity from another book but can’t remember which one. I love that Jodi pulled her into another story. This is also about Virgil, one of the detectives who investigated what happened that night at the sanctuary and how the case has bothered him for 10 years. The story is told by different viewpoints throughout the book. Alice talks about the backstory and reveals to the reader what was happening leading up to that night. Virgil, Serenity and Jenna mainly reveal what is happening in the investigation. Jenna also has some memories about her first three years with her parents at the sanctuary.

I always recommend Jodi to anyone who wants to be sucked into a story and this one is no different. It will pull you in, shock you and make you sad. Read, read, read it. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. And if you think about it, read the little novella prequel Larger Than Life for this book. It adds more substance to Alice.
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LibraryThing member mzonderm
I was actually breathless when I finished this book, because I read so fast to find out how it ended. Also because my heart was in my throat from all the emotion that is packed into the end.

This book presents as a fairly straightforward missing-person-type mystery. Jenna is 13. Ten years ago, one
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of the caretakers died at the elephant sanctuary her parents ran. The same night, Jenna's mother disappeared and her father had a mental break that has had him in a psychiatric facility ever since. Now, Jenna wants to find her mother. She enlists the help of a lapsed psychic, and one of the detectives who was on the case 10 years ago, who is now a private investigator. So far, so normal. It's a good read, filled with sympathetic characters, and interesting facts about elephants.

Then, Picoult turns the story on its side, and we have to re-evaluate everything we thought we knew about what happened that tragic night at the elephant sanctuary. Then, she turns it completely upside-down, and you realize that you didn't know anything about anything. Throughout these twists and turns the emotion is being ratcheted up, until you can't possibly put the book down until you get to the very last page. Fortunately, while I wouldn't describe it as a happy ending, it's a satisfying ending, and one that is well worth being put through the emotional wringer.
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LibraryThing member cmeilink
The best way to read Jodi Picoult is to set aside an afternoon devoted entirely to her book, because once you begin, you won't stop reading until the very last page.

Leaving Time is such a treasure. Her writing is perfection flowing seamlessly from one page to the next. You are drawn into the story
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from the very first page.

Jenna Metcalf is a young girl who has spent most of her life seeking answers in the disappearance of her mother, Alice. Alice and Jenna's father, Thomas, ran an elephant sanctuary. On the night of Alice's disappearance, one woman was found trampled, Jenna's father landed in a medical institution, and, as a result, Jenna went to live with her grandmother.

Jenna connects with Virgil Stanhope, one of the original officers assigned to the case, and Serenity Jones, a psychic who seems to have lost her psychic abilities, to finally discover the truth--what happened to her mother?

This unusual trio of detectives lead the reader through a mesmerizing story with an unexpected ending.

I loved the story, loved the writing, applaud the creative ending, and enthusiastically recommend this book.

I received this book as an advance copy from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
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LibraryThing member AliciaClark23
I have been a huge fan of Jodi's for years so I anticipated that I would like this book. I am happy to say that I was not disappointed. I have especially enjoyed her books that involve animals. She has written about whales, wolves, and now elephants. I knew next to nothing about elephants going
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into this book so it was incredibly enlightening in that respect. One of my favorite Jodi books is Second Glance so I loved that she incorporated the paranormal in this book as well. This book is hard to put down. It is hard not to become invested in Jenna's search for her mother Alice. It is also hard not to love Serenity and Virgil, the characters that take that journey with Jenna. This book is an emotional roller coaster, but it is definitely a ride worth taking.
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LibraryThing member grumpydan
Jenna Metcalf’s mother disappeared ten years ago from the elephant sanctuary where she worked. And Jenna keeps wondering why she never came back. Now thirteen, she decides to search for her on her own. Reading her mother’s journals on elephant’s behavior,she enlists the help of Serenity, a
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psychic and Virgil Stanhope, a private detective and the former cop who brought Jenna’s mom, Alice to the hospital before she disappeared Does her disappearance have to with the death at the sanctuary by an elephant and will Jenna eventually get the answers she so seeks?

Although the characters weren’t lovable and had many problems, I certainly was intrigued by the plight of the elephant and the research done of them. Yes, I was also intrigued by Jenna’s search for her mother. I too wondered why a mother would leave her daughter. I believe death would be the answer. But Alice was alive through her journals, as the author tells each characters stories through individual chapters told from their point of view. The surprise ending (and it was certainly a surprise for me) made it all the more exciting for me. I enjoyed learning about elephants and the mystery of Alice’s disappearance.

On a different note, I have read other reader’s reviews and the complaints some had. I am not a regular reader of Jodi Picoult’s books so am an aware of her use of the individual character’s point of views and the surprise endings and could see why one would tire of that if that is all they read. And those who say that the surprise ending was done before. Guess what every story has been done before, it is the way that is portrayed that makes it different. And Picoult has written a stimulating story for this reader.
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LibraryThing member tammypanter
I really enjoy Jodi Picoult's writing style and always look forward to reading her latest book. In the past I have truly loved some of her work while others I found to be just "ok". For me, Leaving Time falls into the just-ok category. As in all of the author's stories these characters are very
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interesting and engaging and you become engrossed in their stories early in the book. The characters are well developed and each have a story you want to learn more about.

While I enjoyed reading about the elephants I really felt there was too much information and background on them. I understand the relationship between the elephants' stories and the story of Jenna and Alice but I found myself a little bored. I actually skimmed over a lot of the elephant stuff.
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LibraryThing member wareagle78
Loved this story of a daughter looking for the mother that abandoned her. Set amongst elephants, the story is not what you were expecting. I loved every minute.
LibraryThing member Dianekeenoy
This book made me miss my mother. She loved elephants and books that I had read. While Jodi Picoult's books may seem to be "familiar", I still look forward to each one and read them straight through.
LibraryThing member MEENIEREADS
I just fell in love with elephants thanks to the wonderful research done by Ms. Picoult for this book.
The story of Jenna,her mother,researcher and scientist,Alice,her father Tom,Serenity the psychic and
Virgil the retired cop is a very,very clever good one!
There is a very big aha surprise at the end
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of the book that I will not reveal. It really blew me away like a
certain movie I once saw.....................
This was an Early Reviewer book for me. Probably the best one I ever got!
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LibraryThing member MsGemini
I am a fan of Jodi Picoult and have read just about all of her books. I was happy to win this book to read and review. I thought Leaving Time had a slow start and I wasn't sure it was a book for me. I continued to read and as I became more involved with the story, I started to really appreciate the
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characters. The information on elephants just added to the story line. I am glad I did not give up as the ending was worth the time.
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LibraryThing member Sharn
I liked it. I love the way Jodi Picoult writes and tells a story, I love her words and phrases and research but I thought this one just too drawn out with some unnecessary information. There were some surprises along the way but they didn't really help hold up the story line for me (not enough to
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give it 4 or 5 stars) and the ending, there's much to be said about the ending, mainly that I SHOULD'VE HAVE KNOWN. Really. I read Larger Than Life, I read Where There's Smoke, I honestly don't know why it never crossed my mind except that it did and I still didn't put 2 and 2 together. Duh.
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LibraryThing member hammockqueen
Outstanding! Not only were the characters people I wanted to spend time with, the story line was compelling...a mystery most unusual. Plus, i felt I was getting a lesson about elephants which left me wanting to learn more. Thanks for the chance to early review...my pleasure
LibraryThing member mpmills
Jenna Metcalf's mother, Alice, disappeared ten years ago on the same night that a worker at the elephant sanctuary where Alice worked was killed. When Jenna starts looking for her Mom, Serenity, a psychic, is reluctantly drawn in to her search. She also seeks the help of Virgil, a retired
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detective, who originally worked on the case.
Like all of Jodi Picoult's books, this was a real page turner with some great twists. It was unusual for her in that it was a murder mystery that kept me guessing. And I loved all the information about elephants. Good book!
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LibraryThing member onionprincess
What starts out as a good story, has an incredible ending.....reminiscent of Gone Girl, where you are left wondering how that happened. Jodi Picoult never fails to deliver and this time, she does it....with memorable characters and a twist.
LibraryThing member bdouglas97
I love all of Jodi Picoult's novels...and this one did not fail. I loved the detail information regarding the elephants and the whole grieving process. And I loved the twist at the end. My only complaint was that it seemed to wrap up too quickly and in trying to wrap it up, I felt a little lost and
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had to go back and reread a few pages to make sure I wasn't missing anything. But, once I got it, I loved it! I passed the book on and have recommended it to many others.
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LibraryThing member MargaretdeBuhr
Probably my least favorite of her books perhaps because as the reader I was not involved in making some kind of a moral decision/side of the story which most of her book do. I did learn about elephants but it was very repetitive. Will not recommend for book club.
LibraryThing member libellule212
I was excited to receive this book from the LibraryThing Early Review because I've read many of Jodi Picoult's books and am a big fan. I have mixed feelings after reading this book because it is different from many of her others. The book spends a lot of time talking about elephants which I did
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find interesting, but at times I think it slowed down the pace. I found myself skimming quickly through Alice's chapters to move on to the voices of the other characters. While I appreciate this book as a quick and engaging read, I have to admit I did not like the ending. I knew there would be a twist as is true in many of Picoult's books but I did not like that the ending involved the supernatural. I found her other novels to be more thought- invoking because they typically involve a moral dilemma and this one did not. Overall I have to say I enjoyed the book but it definitely was not a favorite of mine by this author.
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LibraryThing member kdabra4
Me listening to the final hour of the audio book:
Huh? Wait. What? No way! OK... now it is all making sense... wow....

We are first introduced to the three female narrators, each in her own voice: 13 year old Jenna; her mother Alice, who ten years ago checked herself out of a hospital never to be
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seen again; and the down-on-her-luck psychic, Serenity, who Jenna hires to help find Alice. They have alternating turns at advancing the story.

I liked Alice's chapters least of all, and there were a lot of them. We are not yet to know whether she is alive, dead, or where she is, so Alice's voice speaks of her past work with elephants, repeating some of the same facts that we learned from her in the prequel Larger than Life. That was fine as I do find it pretty fascinating stuff, but these chapters went by slowly; I was very distracted by Alice's voice sounding more like an extremely sleepy, bored teenager than a woman in her 20's or 30's. The book at first felt very Young Adult-ish to me.

Then my boyfriend Mark Deakins came on the scene and gave his voice to Virgil, the detective who was one of the last to see Alice before she became a missing person. I will actively seek out his books, so he was a wonderful surprise. Virgil was just the pick-me-up the book needed, and Jenna helped him to pick himself up out of his drunken stupor too. Unfortunately, Mark Deakins' chapters were few and far between.

But what an ending; one I will not soon forget. I recommend if you like animals and huge plot twists.
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LibraryThing member SugarCreekRanch
I didn't like this book as much as I expected to. I have loved many of Jodi Picoult's books, and this one has elephants, so it should have been right up my alley. But for me, it was just "meh". I think the part of the problem is that I had also read the related short story, "Where There's Smoke",
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which introduces one of the main characters of this novel. I did not like that story at all, and disliked that character. That feeling bled over to "Leaving Time".

Anyway. Leaving Time is about thirteen year old Jenna's search for the truth of what happened to her mother. Her mother has been missing since an accident at an elephant sanctuary, where she was a researcher. Jenna is helped by a retired/fired police detective and a psychic.

I loved the parts of the book that were from the perspective of Jenna's mother, starting from before Jenna was even conceived. She is a researcher in Africa, and falls in love with a visiting man who runs an elephant sanctuary. It is a difficult relationship, but a well-told story. And there are lots of great details about elephants in the wild and in sanctuaries.
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LibraryThing member MarlaAMadison
Wow, really felt like my mind had been messed with at the end of this book! For me, although it was tragic and informative, there was way too
much about elephants, definitely more than needed for the storyline.the book would have been cut by about a third if it was taken out, even some of it. I'm an
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animal lover myself, but Picoult got a little carried away with her topic.
The story itself was great, the characters engaging as usual, but i hated the ending.
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LibraryThing member susiesharp
Here is the easiest way to say what I thought of the book.
Reading Progress
12/03 marked as: currently-reading
12/04 20.0% "I may not like elephants as much as I thought. This may end up being a DNF."
12/04 50.0% "still not sure what I think of this book."
12/05 80.0% "the narration is keeping me
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listening."
12/18 marked as: read
I finished it, which is saying something and I think the only thing that kept me listening was the narration which was very well done. But the book itself was just Meh.

The big “reveal” was dumb, and reminiscent of a certain movie that I cannot name because it will give it away, has been done and it threw out anything I thought I might like about this book.

2 Stars

I received this book from Librarything Early Reviewers but couldn’t get into it so ended up listening on audio.
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LibraryThing member indygo88
Somehow Jodi Picoult always manages to come up with interesting &/or controversial storylines, easy-to-read but enjoyable formats, and endings that are not usually predictable. This one was no exception. In Leaving Time, she manages to combine two storylines -- one of 13-year-old Jenna who is
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trying to find answers as to what happened to her mother who disappeared 10 years earlier, and the other as a flashback to her mother's journal writings of her work with elephants. While these two storylines don't initially seem to quite fit together, they really do mesh well once the reader gets into the story. Some readers have noted being put off by the elephant portions -- that they seem to slow the story down. I disagree. I enjoyed and learned quite a bit from these chapters, and Picoult did a nice job drawing parallels between mother/child relationships, both human and elephant. As with most all of Picoult's novels, there's some mystery thrown in, as well as an ending that the reader doesn't expect. While I had to stretch my imagination & belief a little bit with this particular story, I still found it extremely enjoyable.
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LibraryThing member julyso
Leaving Time is about a daughter who is looking for her mother. Jenna is trying to figure why her mother mysteriously disappeared after a tragedy at the elephant sanctuary she owns. Jenna's mother is a research scientist who studied the grief of elephants. Jenna lives with her grandmother and her
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father is confined to a psychiatric hospital. She has no one to tell her what happened that fateful day. Jenna won't give up on finding out what really happened to her mother...

I found this book confusing and frustrating. There was a lot going on with different characters and different times so it interrupted the flow of the story for me. I liked Jenna and she was my favorite character...she was a fighter. Definitely not my favorite Picoult book, but she is a favorite author of mine.
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Pages

496

ISBN

0345544943 / 9780345544940
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