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Fiction. Literature. HTML:This breathtaking novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult asks: Do we love across time, or in spite of it? "Sometimes I wonder....Can a ghost find you, if she wants to?" An intricate tale of love, haunting memories, and renewal, Second Glance begins in current-day Vermont, where an old man puts a piece of land up for sale and unintentionally raises protest from the local Abenaki Indian tribe, who insist it's a burial ground. When odd, supernatural events plague the town of Comtosook, a ghost hunter is hired by the developer to help convince the residents that there's nothing spiritual about the property. Enter Ross Wakeman, a suicidal drifter who has put himself in mortal danger time and again. He's driven his car off a bridge into a lake. He's been mugged in New York City and struck by lightning in a calm country field. Yet despite his best efforts, life clings to him and pulls him ever deeper into the empty existence he cannot bear since his fianc�e's death in a car crash eight years ago. Ross now lives only for the moment he might once again encounter the woman he loves. But in Comtosook, the only discovery Ross can lay claim to is that of Lia Beaumont, a skittish, mysterious woman who, like Ross, is on a search for something beyond the boundary separating life and death. Thus begins Jodi Picoult's enthralling and ultimately astonishing story of love, fate, and a crime of passion. Hailed by critics as a "master" storyteller (The Washington Post), Picoult once again "pushes herself, and consequently the reader, to think about the unthinkable" (Denver Post). Second Glance, her eeriest and most engrossing work yet, delves into a virtually unknown chapter of American history�Vermont's eugenics project of the 1920s and 30s�to provide a compelling study of the things that come back to haunt us�literally and figuratively. Do we love across time, or in spite of it?… (more)
User reviews
Quote: “Just as Ross knew that in eight hours the sun would come up- just as he knew he’d have to go through the motions of another day- he also knew he couldn’t die, in spite of the fact that it was what he wanted, more than anything.”
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would- paranormal ghost hunting . . . eh. But the story line was interesting and enjoyable. To be sure, the level of suspended disbelief necessary to read it is huge (and I’m not just talking about buying into the ghost part, it is the degree to which the characters intertwine at every turn. While I am used to this in Jodi Picoult novels, sometimes I wanted to say ‘Oh, come on!’ But I got over it). If you can take it all, even if just for the sake of the story, it’s a good read.
Ms. Picoult's use of simple language to express profound thoughts never ceases to amaze me. Yes, you have to suspend your disbelief in the paranormal, and travel along to an "all tied together ending", but what a joy getting there.
So what is it that makes me repeatedly pick up Picoult's books? I think it is that she includes fascinating topics in her stories, topics that have no easy answers. Her novels touch on subjects that include mercy killing and sibling organ donors, to name a couple. In Second Glance, the field of Eugenics is the topic that is explored. The forced sterilization of Native Americans in the 1930's to rid society of traits like "mental feebleness" was horrific and likened to the subsequent policies of Hitler. Genetic manipulation to ensure that genes carrying diseases such as Sickle Cell or Hemophelia die out is not as clear cut an issue. The inclusion of the character Ethan, who has the rare XP disorder adds to the contraversy. Had his mother undergone genetic testing and decided to abort her imperfect fetus, this wonderful child would never have existed. Jodi Picoult includes some important and thought provoking themes in her novels; I always feel that her books have the potential to be great, but just don't make it.
I was really
I think this will be a book where the more I look back on it, the more I appreciate it. I suspect the characters will have much more staying power than many others.
The plot as well, was cunningly crafted, coming together in the end in a way that tied everyone together in a manner that, by then, wasn't completely unexpected but that had been cleverly worked pu to instead of seeming to be pre-determined from page one.
In this novel, Picoult took many lives of ordinary people and intertwined them to conect to one another. Throughout the novel, little pieces start to fall in to place as you try to figure out this murder mystery and the connection with all the characters. Trust me, it will give you the chills as dramatic irony continues to pile on top of you.
There isn't just one main character. You have Ross, who lost his loved one and now is a ghost hunter searching for her. There's Ethan, the boy with XP who wishes he could be a normal kid and get to play outside and go to school like all the other kids on his block. Then there's Cecilia, who died in 1932 but is searching for something that has been missing her whole life, with the help of Ross Wakeman. This story draws you in to a life you didn't think was possible, with suspense and puzzlement that only makes you want to finish the book.
Review:
Written in three parts, present-past-present, Picoult works her magic in
A wonderfully human cast
Excellent!
Even though there are ghosts peeking around every corner, they're not there to scare - neither the other characters nor the reader - so don't let that put you off. This is perfect for a relaxing summer read, so definitely check it out!
At the center of the
The developer turns to a local ghost hunter who is driven by his desire to reunite with his tragically lost love. The search leads to a presumed murder on the property in the 1930s and a connection to a local eugenics movement that existed around the same time.
What makes the story more fascinating is that the eugenics movement is based on an actual movement in Vermont during that time period which had been forgotten and rediscovered in the form of state records which includes genealogy charts of degenerate families. Picoult compares and contrasts eugenics with modern day genetic diagnostician’s work in helping parents who have trouble conceiving healthy children.
Second Glance is as much of a love story as it is a ghost story, murder suspense or a history lesson. Just when you think you have the story figured out you are hit with unexpected and unpredictable turn of events.