Helpful Score: 14
The beginning of this book is a little hard to follow, but once you get past the first 50 or so pages, wow! This is an amazing tale. It definitely has a lot of twists and turns.
Helpful Score: 10
It's a slow starter but once it gets going (whew) you can't put it down. If your into the paranormal it's an amazing ride. I was up till 3am determined to finish this book. It was worth the lack of sleep!!
Picoult does an amazing job of threading the two story lines of past and present together. She dabbles in a bit of suspense/mystery while creating a wonderful love story. Very good read. :)
Helpful Score: 7
This in my opinion, is one of Picoult's best. She brings to the surface an important historical issue, (eugenics) and ties it in with today's issues. The language is poetic, and the story is very satisfying.
Helpful Score: 6
I found the story line hard to follow but it all comes together in the end. There are several small stories within the total story that jump around. It was hard to keep all of the characters straight. It might help to make a chart while reading this book to list the characters and who they are and in which time period they occur since some of them come and go as ghost. The book has a slow start while trying to develop the characters. You need to read this one without any other distractions.
Helpful Score: 5
I could not put this book down! I don't like ghost stories, but it is really more about relationshipd than the supernatural. Right when I thought I had it figured out, there were a couple more twists in the road. One of the best books I have ever read.
Helpful Score: 5
Even if you don't believe in ghosts, this story is interesting. Jodi has a way of weaving everything together in the end that makes you understand the reasons for the most obscure dialouge. This was the second book of her's that I read and I just ordered two more. I really like her writing style and find that no matter the subject, I am immediatly entranced.
Helpful Score: 4
I loved this one. It grabbed me right away. She introduces many characters at once, but it didn't take away at all from the book! Another Picoult Winner!
Helpful Score: 4
As good as Picoult gets. Some of her other books, I was a little disappointed in the ending (ie Keeping Faith). This one does not disappoint. Great characters, interesting although different topic matter - ghosts/spirits?? I must say, I did not find it to be as as quick a read as some of her other books. That's okay with me, though. I enjoyed it & really liked it. I will certainly pass this one along to some family members before swapping it.
Helpful Score: 4
This was a REALLY good book. My paperback doesnt have that picture, I like that one better. :( This was a great book. I really do enjoy the way she wrote this. It is a must read, but get ready to want all her books, since this was the first I read of her's I can't comment on the others. I have ordered most of the others :)
The only thing I didnt like about this book was it was over --> Before she finished it.
Perhaps she just did to much self editing?
Or she was running after the printers going.. WAIT ONE MORE THING.. ONE MORE THING..
I could SEE her doing this.. It was hard to read the end. I really felt the book was over far before.. she let it go.
It was still a great book.
I hope she has more like it.
The only thing I didnt like about this book was it was over --> Before she finished it.
Perhaps she just did to much self editing?
Or she was running after the printers going.. WAIT ONE MORE THING.. ONE MORE THING..
I could SEE her doing this.. It was hard to read the end. I really felt the book was over far before.. she let it go.
It was still a great book.
I hope she has more like it.
Helpful Score: 3
Picoult wins again with a book that involves the supernatural, history and the little known philisophy of eugenics. A great book!
Helpful Score: 3
This is a great ghost/romance story. I think this author writes with a lot of depth, b/c she has done her research.
Helpful Score: 2
My least favorite Picoult book. Normally love her books, but I didn't even finish this one.
Helpful Score: 2
I really enjoyed this book, could totally picture the characters in my mind, Once I got it all figured out, its a little confusing at first since she introduces so many people in the beginning, but once I got into it I liked trying to figure out what would happen, and then being surprised when something totally different did. I actually was talking to my husband and kids about it at the dinner table with them just looking at me like ok MOM:) This would make a cool movie!
Helpful Score: 2
Well-detailed, characters well developed. Enjoyed the book.
Helpful Score: 2
It is August in Comtosook, Vt., yet suddenly the temperature fluctuates wildly, rose petals mysteriously fall like snow, patches of land are completely frozen and roiling garter snakes cover the ground. Suspense and the supernatural are artfully interwoven in this 10th novel by Picoult (Perfect Match, etc.), in which a man desperately seeks to join his fiancee in death, and a 1930s eugenics project comes back to haunt a small town in Vermont. Ever since his beloved Aimee was killed in a car accident, Ross Wakeman has deliberately put himself at risk, hoping to die. When nothing works, and a job with a paranormal investigator brings him no closer to Aimee, he moves in with his sister, Shelby, in Comtosook. As chance would have it, strange phenomena are plaguing the town, and Ross is drawn into an investigation of a piece of land that local Abenaki Indians claim is an old burial ground.
Great read.
Great read.
Helpful Score: 2
Easily my favorite Jodi Picoult book, and one of my favorite books overall. There are a lot of characters and a lot of dark aspects to the story, but the complexity and the twists make it a FANTASTIC book. Highly recommended
Helpful Score: 2
This is a pretty big departure for Picoult. Several times I had to remind myself that this was a Picoult book. That's not bad or good - it is just that this book is very much unlike her others. If you are a Picoult fan and not willing to delve into a different genre, then please don't read this - you will be disappointed. Picoult fans that have a wider reading base and non-Picoult fans interested in the occult and American Indian lore: This is a great story! Very interesting and very well researched. Enjoy~
Helpful Score: 2
It was slow getting into but definitely worth it to stick with it... I thought it was a really good book with an interesting complex story line. I'm a huge fan of Jodi Picoult and this was one of my favorite books from her.
Helpful Score: 1
Unputdownable!!!A must read!!
Helpful Score: 1
Aside from the quick introduction of many characters, this is a great read!
Helpful Score: 1
I have read a bunch of her books, this one very different. Deals with the paranormal. An interesting story.
Helpful Score: 1
I like Jodi Picoult as an auther very much but I just did not like this book very much. I found it very long--it seems like it took forever to finish it. Everytime I would try reading it I ended up falling asleep because it just wasn't interesting enough to keep me awake. The most interesting part was Lia's story in the 1930's. I found that I didn't really care for any of the characters either.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was so UN-predictable! You never knew what was going to happen next. A great book!
Helpful Score: 1
Loved it, loved it, LOVED IT!
Helpful Score: 1
A different type of novel for Picoult dealing with supernatural forces and love traveling through time.
Helpful Score: 1
One of her best...
Helpful Score: 1
It took me a bit to get into the book, but once I did I couldn't put it down. Not one of my favorite Jodi Picoult books but enjoyable none the less.
Helpful Score: 1
Take your time with this book. It is good and don't let the names changing let you stop reading-they will come together. Have the the time to get into the story. It is not a fast read. I liked it, but it is not the best I have read from this author.
Helpful Score: 1
Great book!
Helpful Score: 1
Although I enjoyed the writing style, and often read books with supernatural elements, I gave up about a fourth of the way through this. The author throws too many characters at you right away. It would have been helpful to include a Cast of Characters, as many Golden Age mysteries did, to help keep people straight in your mind. Plus she bounces around from person to person every few pages, or paragraphs. It was hard to feel connected with any of them.
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed Second Glance very much. The research on the eugenics project was very interesting. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the story was very much believable.
Helpful Score: 1
Hard to get into and follow in the beginning. First hundred or so pages are filled with a lot of characters being introduced and their part of a massive storyline, that doesn't seem to relate to the others stories. That being said the book takes off and moves at a faster pace. So far it's not my favorite Picoult book, but it is worthy of some time and concentration.
Helpful Score: 1
This is one of my favorite Jodi Picoult books. Hard to put down, easy to follow, and lots of twists.
Helpful Score: 1
It was okay. All her later books read the same.
Helpful Score: 1
Very good story. I loved it, just wish the print had been bigger, my eyes are not what they used to be. If you like stories of the supernatural, and having visits from those that have gone before, you will love this.
Helpful Score: 1
Jodi Picoult does it again!
Helpful Score: 1
My favorite Jodi Picoult book so far! I love the mixture of ghost story, family drama, undying love, and history that makes up this book. An excellent read!!!
Helpful Score: 1
Another great book from Jodi Picoult. A little different than the others but still very good.
Helpful Score: 1
Loved it!
didn't like this one
This one was okay... not one of her best.
I had a very hard time getting into this book and following the characters. I was pretty disappointed and the only reason that I didn't quit was because I just can't stop a book in the middle!!
Over all this was a good book, but it took a long time to get into the story. It was hard to figure out how all the pieces fit together.
I really liked this book . It has some ghostly overtones which i enjoy because one of my fave tv shows is ghost whisperer and it kind of reminded me of that and of course it has a surprise ending so hold on tight for the ending . I really liked this one .
probably one of my favorite Picoult novels. It is definitely a lot different than her other novels, in many of her other books, the controversial issue she is addresses is right upfront, whereas this one is more in the back seat to the narrative, but still very compelling. She definitely did her research with this one, I learned so much about the eugenics movement in the 1920's and 30s and the way she compares it with today's human genetic engineering with embryos is absolutely brilliant. The ending does make you go "oh come on really, you're going go with that?" But overall it is wonderful how she intertwines the stories between the two different decades. I do agree that it is a bit confusing at first, bouncing back and forth between time periods can do that, but stick with it! You won't regret it!
Sort of in the Nicholas Sparks vein: surviving loss, overcoming obstacles. Supernatural events. LOTS of unrelated threads as multigenerational aspects come together in a very satisfying read. Picoult's true talents shine when she weaves people personalities emotions mysteries families and events better than the most complex of finely woven tapestries. HIGHLY recommended.
This is my absolute favorite Jodi Picoult book. I could read it again and again and again and never get tired of it. It is simply amazing, and I think everyone should read it.
It was a decent read - not one of my favorite Picoult books but I got through it.
Can love survive across time? The author's first foray into the world of the paranormal is a stunning success. When a developer tries to develop an ancient Abenaki indian burial ground for a strip mall, strange things start happening in Comtosook, VT. This is a stunning novel that threads together several lives to a stunning climax. Something for everyone here...love, loss, mystery woven into the shameful history of the Vermont Eugenics Society. A good ghost story for the fall season.
Excellent book - would expect no less from Jodi Picoult. It was a bit slow in the beginning with many characters to introduce which makes sense later in the book. Worth the time to follow her lead. Enjoy!
In this book, Jodi Picoult forays into the fantastic. Love, family, ghosts and the transcendance of time all play into the tale.
Another one of Jodi's bestseller. This one has a man, pining after his dead wife, falling in love again with another woman, or is she a woman?
I LOVE ALL OF JODI PICOULT'S BOOKS. She is my favorite author
Ah, this book is definitely one of my favorites. This is a lovely ghost story and a book that does not in any way carry that court-room formula of the majority of her work.
I love the tie-in to American Eugenics - it adds a lot to have that history in there. Mostly, I love how neat the story is and how all the characters come back to each other and are just so interconnected.
It picks up on the ghost-hunting that is a sideline of _Plain Truth_ and the way "insane" women are treated like in _Keeping Faith_. Maybe this one is my favorite of hers...
I love the tie-in to American Eugenics - it adds a lot to have that history in there. Mostly, I love how neat the story is and how all the characters come back to each other and are just so interconnected.
It picks up on the ghost-hunting that is a sideline of _Plain Truth_ and the way "insane" women are treated like in _Keeping Faith_. Maybe this one is my favorite of hers...
Just an all around fabulous book.
I like to read books before bed and I could not get into this book b/c it is about ghosts. Also, it is really slow to start. I have read most all of her books and have loved them and read them very quickly because I could not put them down, but this one I just can't get into for some reason.
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 INSISTS IT'S A BURIAL GROUND.
This is possibly the best of Jodi Picoult's novels that I've read to date. Much different from the convention of different viewpoints used in My Sister's Keeper and Vanishing Acts, the book begins slowly - a bit too slowly, it seems, in the first part. Picoult introduces a vast range of characters, and it can be hard to keep track of who's who and who's related to who. Then the novel backpedals seventy years to the story of young 1930s wife Cecelia Beaumont Pike, whose husband is a cutthroat scientist intent on enacting a eugenics law in Vermont, and the story smashes ahead, quickly weaving the threads laid out in the first part. While the end of the book finishes up with a few too many coincidences to swallow all at once, the newly-formed bonds between the many characters are extremely satisfying, and no thread of plot is left untied.
I looked over this book many times at the bookstore and always passed over it because the plot description seemed a little thin. It's anything but. Highly worth a read.
I looked over this book many times at the bookstore and always passed over it because the plot description seemed a little thin. It's anything but. Highly worth a read.
This book is her best work by far! I LOVED it. It is a very well laid out tale about several different people that comes together beautifully in the end. Great read.
What a delight this book is! This is one of my favorite authors. She manages to entertain and educate at the same time. After the first 100 pages I couldn't put it down until I finished it.
This book was dynamite. A little fast pasted and confusing in the beginning. It is definately a favorite on my list and I will be rereading because I think I missed some of the subtle hints and details in the beginning. There are so many twists and turns in the book it keep you guessing until the end.
This is probably my favorite book by Jodi Picoult and I love most of her books!
I noticed this book had good reviews and so I ordered it. I have read some other of Jodi Picoults work and have like them. I did not like this book. It bounced around between characters a ton and it has a ton of little plots going on. It was hard to keep it all straight. I was bored and really had a hard time finishing this book.
This is the only the 2nd book in my life that I did not finish reading. I just couldn't get into it even after being a third of the way through. I finally gave up. I usually really like all of her books but this one was just boring and it jumped so much from character to character that it was impossible to remember who everyone was and follow along. Way too confusing! I also found it silly and found myself rolling my eyes.
The beginning was a little hard to get into. Keeping track of all the different characters was challenging at times but the all link up and apply to each other which was really neat. I loved the paranormal aspect of the novel and how it jumped into different times. I didn't care for some of the history of the Indian tribes/land but overall, I enjoyed this book. Took me a little longer to get through but I wanted to see how it would end. The scientific verbiage sometimes wasn't for me either. I would recommend to other readers. I love Jodi Picoult this was my second novel I read by her and will read her other books too.
I didn't like this book. I didn't like the way it was written thought it was hard to follow with starting to introduce too many characters at the very beginning.
Jodi Picoult a faqvorite of mine, all her books are excellent
Was a very good book...enjoy her writings very much.
One of the best books Jodi Picoult has written.
Do we love across time? Or in spite of it?
A developer has slated an ancient Abenaki Indian burial ground for a strip mall, and now strange happenings have the inhabitants of tiny Comtosook, Vermont, talking of supernatural forces at work. Ross Wakeman is a ghost hunter who's never seen a ghost all he's searching for is something to end the pain of losing his fiancée, Aimee, in a car accident. He tried suicide any number of times. Now Ross lives only for a way to connect with Aimee from beyond. Searching the site for signs of the paranormal, Ross meets the mysterious Lia, who sparks him to life for the first time in years. But the discoveries that await Ross are beyond anything he could dream of in this world or the next.
A developer has slated an ancient Abenaki Indian burial ground for a strip mall, and now strange happenings have the inhabitants of tiny Comtosook, Vermont, talking of supernatural forces at work. Ross Wakeman is a ghost hunter who's never seen a ghost all he's searching for is something to end the pain of losing his fiancée, Aimee, in a car accident. He tried suicide any number of times. Now Ross lives only for a way to connect with Aimee from beyond. Searching the site for signs of the paranormal, Ross meets the mysterious Lia, who sparks him to life for the first time in years. But the discoveries that await Ross are beyond anything he could dream of in this world or the next.
