Audio, 12 CD'sRelease Date: October 2, 2017Published by: Ballantine Books
Read from: October 1-25, 2018Stand-aloneSource: LibraryTW: Abortions
For fans of: Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Adult
The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center—a women’s reproductive health services clinic—its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage.
After rushing to the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, sets up a perimeter and begins making a plan to communicate with the gunman. As his phone vibrates with incoming text messages he glances at it and, to his horror, finds out that his fifteen-year-old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic.
But Wren is not alone. She will share the next and tensest few hours of her young life with a cast of unforgettable characters: A nurse who calms her own panic in order save the life of a wounded woman. A doctor who does his work not in spite of his faith but because of it, and who will find that faith tested as never before. A pro-life protester disguised as a patient, who now stands in the cross hairs of the same rage she herself has felt. A young woman who has come to terminate her pregnancy. And the disturbed individual himself, vowing to be heard.
Told in a daring and enthralling narrative structure that counts backward through the hours of the standoff, this is a story that traces its way back to what brought each of these very different individuals to the same place on this fateful day.
Jodi Picoult—one of the most fearless writers of our time—tackles a complicated issue in this gripping and nuanced novel. How do we balance the rights of pregnant women with the rights of the unborn they carry? What does it mean to be a good parent? A Spark of Light will inspire debate, conversation . . . and, hopefully, understanding.
*MY THOUGHTS*
When I first heard about this, I can't lie, the only thing that made me want to read it was the controversy I KNEW it would spark. (No pun intended) But for this to be my first Picoult book, I'm not at all disappointed. Of course there were some things that I would change, but for the most part, I really liked this one.
The Center is considered a safe space for women in Mississippi. On this particular morning everything begins the same, but as time goes on, things change very quickly. A shooter comes into the building without warning and keeps everyone hostage.
I think the main thing I liked about this was the many different sides that Picoult showed in the book. It was obvious that Picoult did her research on all the different sides of abortion because she depicted each side and in ways that I never would have thought about. It was really interesting to see how every character had a different way of looking at the situation. Whether good or bad, the characters took each obstacle in stride.
However, the biggest issue I had was the way the story was told. I did not care for it being told backwards. It starts with the shooter already in the building so the reader is already thrown into the drama. But the bad thing about this, is the story goes on and nothing else really happens. At the end there are a few loose ends that tie up that will make you say "OMG," but still, it wasn't enough for me to fall completely for it. Especially since it's also told from all the different POV's of the shooter and everyone that was there. Some of those stories overlap and it's literally the same thing over and over. I could have done without that.
I'm very interested in the conversations that will come from people reading this book. I'm interested in finding out which characters people will side with and which part they didn't agree with. This story wasn't perfect, but I'm definitely glad I gave this book that's out of my comfort zone a shot.
The Center is considered a safe space for women in Mississippi. On this particular morning everything begins the same, but as time goes on, things change very quickly. A shooter comes into the building without warning and keeps everyone hostage.
I think the main thing I liked about this was the many different sides that Picoult showed in the book. It was obvious that Picoult did her research on all the different sides of abortion because she depicted each side and in ways that I never would have thought about. It was really interesting to see how every character had a different way of looking at the situation. Whether good or bad, the characters took each obstacle in stride.
However, the biggest issue I had was the way the story was told. I did not care for it being told backwards. It starts with the shooter already in the building so the reader is already thrown into the drama. But the bad thing about this, is the story goes on and nothing else really happens. At the end there are a few loose ends that tie up that will make you say "OMG," but still, it wasn't enough for me to fall completely for it. Especially since it's also told from all the different POV's of the shooter and everyone that was there. Some of those stories overlap and it's literally the same thing over and over. I could have done without that.
I'm very interested in the conversations that will come from people reading this book. I'm interested in finding out which characters people will side with and which part they didn't agree with. This story wasn't perfect, but I'm definitely glad I gave this book that's out of my comfort zone a shot.
Overall, I give this
Real rating 3.5 but I rounded up.