Handle with Care

Book title: Handle with Care
Author: Jodi Picoult
Status: finished

Synopsis:
Yet another engrossing family drama of Picoult's, spiced with her trademark blend of medicine, law and love. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe's daughter, Willow, was born with brittle bone disease, a condition that requires Charlotte to act as full-time caregiver and has strained their emotional and financial limits. Willow's teenaged half-sister, Amelia, suffers as well, overshadowed by Willow's needs and lost in her own adolescent turmoil. When Charlotte decides to sue for wrongful birth in order to obtain a settlement to ensure Willow's future, the already strained family begins to implode. Not only is the defendant Charlotte's best friend, but the case requires Charlotte and Sean to claim that had they known of Willow's condition, they would have terminated the pregnancy, a statement that strikes at the core of their faith and family.

Review: (***WARNING: SPOILER ALERT***)

No hidden agenda, nothing unexpected, even Picoult's signature closing "twists", the death of Willow in this case, has become so formulaic that I could see that one coming half way through the book, and therefore can no longer call it a "twist". Having said that, I couldn't deny that it's a well-researched, domestic-and-legal-drama-told-through-multiple-viewpoints framework of Picoult's. Like all Picoult's books, this one is a page turner, though not as heart-wrenching and thought provoking as her other works. I still think Picoult's writing is captivating, that's what she does, to tackle tough subjects in a stimulating manner, yet this book is losing momentum, there's a lack of plot twists.

Maybe Picoult's focus is on underscoring the themes of hope, regret, identity and family, but there is no single one character whom I like in this book, which is a huge setback.