Books Read: Jodi Picoult - Sing You Home

Source - Received as a birthday present

After Zoe Baxter loses her baby, the only way she can find of coping is to try again.  But her husband Max disagrees - more than that, he wants a divorce.  When they separate, there is no mention of the unborn children they created together, still waiting at the clinic.

The Zoe falls in love again, out of the blue, and finds herself with an unexpected second chance to have a family.

But Max has found a new life too - one with no place in it for people like Zoe.  And he will stand up in court to say that her new choice of partner makes her an unfit mother.

Having read all of Jodi Picoult's previous books, I always eagerly await the release of her books in paperback so I was pleased to see that this book was being released around the time of my birthday.  This book was added to my wishlist and fortunately for me my friend took the hint ;0)

At first we hear about the stress that trying for a baby has had on Zoe and Max's relationship and how the loss of their longed-for son, instead of bringing them together at a time of grief, put the final nail in their relationship and they divorce.

Max, a recovering alcoholic, turns to drink to cope with his pain but after a near-miss accident he turns to support from his brother's church and religion. Can he pick up the pieces of his life and start again? 

Meanwhile Zoe, a music therapist, tries to cope with her own grief through her work where she meets her new partner.  After she collapses from an undiagnosed blood clot she is forced to accept the realisation that she will never be able to carry a child herself.  When she gets re-married she discovers that her chance at being a mother might not be over after all, it just wouldn't be the conventional way.

This book, like all her others, brings us personal, ethical and moral dilemmas to make us think about what would we do in the same position.  How would we cope with the struggles of IVF, the loss of a much longed-for child, divorce, finding religion and new love?  Can we understand why Max acted the way he did?  Is Zoe wrong to want to try and use the unused embryo's to have a child with her new partner?   

If I had to say anything negative about the book, and I'm being picky here, I do feel that maybe there were a few too many sub-plots  trying to be fitted into one book but saying that it didn't actually dilute the storyline too much for me.  

Jodi's next book, Lone Wolf, is due out in Hardback at the end of February but I'll have to wait a bit longer to read it as no date known yet for the it to be released in paperback format as finances don't permit me to buy HB books at the moment.