Harvesting the Heart

Rating:
Summary: Not my favorite, but I still love Picoult
Review: After reading "Keeping Faith" and "Second Glance" in record time, I was thrilled to find a copy of "Harvesting the Heart" in my library. Other fans of Picoult will attest that her books frequently fly off shelves in libraries and waiting lists for them are long.

I liked "Keeping Faith" and LOVED "Second Glance", so I was expecting another page-turner by Picoult. While I didn't dislike the book, I didn't find it interesting either. In my opinion, the characters weren't terribly likeable or even all that believable. Unlike the other two novels, I had to force myself to finish the book.

Picoult is still a master storyteller, so I recommend that you check out some of her other works, particularly "Second Glance". "The Pact", "Salem Falls" and "Keeping Faith" are also worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: AFter reading many of the reviews in here, I went to buy the book, excited to read it! Well, it only took me 3 months to finish it! I just couldn't pick it up! It was a chore to get thru this one. I so enjoyed the Plain Truth but Harvesting the Heart just didn't flow as well. Very tough to stay interested. However, the last 100 pages were very good and the only part of the book worth reading. I'm now a bit hesitant to read a third Judy Picoult book.

Rating:
Summary: Another enjoyable book by Jodi Picoult
Review: HARVESTING THE HEART by Jodi Picoult
November 13, 2004

Jodi Picoult loves to write about people who have problems that do not fit the average person. Often times she writes about people that would be found on the front page of a newspaper, such as THE PACT, or MY SISTER'S KEEPER. In HARVESTING THE HEART, one of her earlier novels, the main character is a woman who feels she is not worthy of the life she leads, and is afraid that she is just like her mother, who abandoned daughter and husband to start a new life. Paige feels she is following in her mother's footsteps.

The book's opening chapter places Paige outside the home that she shares with her husband and baby, and she is obviously not allowed inside. In the narrative, she describes her baby infant, Max, and her husband Nicholas. She also describes a drawing that she's just created. The drawing is of herself with her son Max, but the discerning eye will see that in the center of the drawing she depicts her mother running away, taking with her the child that Paige did not have. The reader is left in the dark as to why she's outside, who this other child is, and what her mother has to do with all this. For me, it was a great way to pull me into the story. It had me wanting to learn about Paige and the life she's had so far, from her early childhood and memories of her mother, to her meeting of her husband Nicholas up to her present life. The big mystery at the beginning of the novel is "why is Paige living outside?"

Paige and Nicholas come together as a pair of potentially star-crossed lovers, since both are from totally different worlds. Paige's life and family would never have crossed paths with the upper class world that Nicholas belonged to, yet somehow the two fall in love and marry.

I felt HARVESTING THE HEART was two stories in one. One is the story of Paige and her search for her mother and how her mother's disappearance affected her life. The other is the story of a woman and her relationship with her husband, trying to fit into his world as if she belonged. The two themes come together as one novel, explaining how Paige evolved into the person she becomes by the end of the book, and by then the reader will understand what makes Paige tick and why she did some of the questionable things that she did. Paige may come across as a very mentally unstable woman, but Picoult manages to create a character that one can somehow empathize with, or at least understand. As always, Picoult writes a book that has an ending that will make the reader think and ponder, and as always, this book by Jodi Picoult did not fail to keep me interested until the very end. This is yet another book by this author that I recommend.

Rating:
Summary: I am a huge Jodi Picoult fan.
Review: I have now read three novels by Jodi Picoult and have loved every one. This is a good book about relationships, motherhood and the choices we make. The book centers around Paige and Nicholas Prescott. Paige is a co-dependent mother who has recently given birth to a son, but who seriously doubts her abilities as a parent. So, she leaves her son with his father for a time and goes off in search of answers about herself, her mother and her life. As we as the reader travel with Paige throughout this journey of self discovery, we find out that Paige is indeed a strong woman in her own right. Nicholas Prescott is a Cardiologist at the top of his game, he is very stoic however and has a bit of a God complex. He goes through a transformation of his own and soon we are able to get a glimpse at what at his good qualities as well and also see what agood father he is. This is a good book to curl up with on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Ms. Picoult is a masterful writer who gets the reader involved in the lives of her characters and really makes you care about them. More than once since finishing this book, I have wondered how Nicholas and Paige are doing.

Rating:
Summary: The Pact
Review: I have read every single book Jodi Picoult has written. I am on my way to purchasing the eleventh, My SIster's Keeper. This woman is absolutely amazing. Well, The Pact is about two teenagers, a boy and a girl, who grow up living next door to eachother. Well, the lovestruck teens decide to make a pact and commit suicide together. The story unfolds the truth behind their 17 years together, from being infants in joint cribs to becoming highschool seniors! Picoult throws in a courtroom dramam that keeps you turning the pages!

Rating:
Summary: Published by Penguin?
Review: I think Jodi Picoult's "Harvesting the Heart" is at its best when describing the rigors of caring for a newborn. Her writing here is as close to immediate and powerful as she gets, putting us smack dab in her protagonist's scuffed slippers; colic, sore nipples and all.

Unfortunately, the rest of this ambitious, unwieldy story is bogged down by over-writing and tedious, stereotypical characters who, for all their clever idiosyncracies, remain flat and contrived. Picoult tries hard--too hard--to combine plot elements as diverse as heart surgery, horse shows, sketching, photography, Catholicism, even Navajo healing, and the result is a clunky, self-conscious narrative that educates but does not convince.

Because the book was a Penguin I kept with it, waiting for it to get better, but was disappointed that it didn't rise to the standard I expect from this (normally) excellent publisher. "Harvesting the Heart" would make a good supermarket paperback, something to read on the beach, perhaps; but if you are looking for a literary novel of young motherhood--something with fresh, vibrant writing--you won't find it here.

Rating:
Summary: Art, Science and Human Condition
Review: Miss Picoult developes a story that integrates art, science and genuine human condition. The narrator/main character grows from an eighteen year old run-a-way to a successful artist all while living her life to support her husband. The tale is unique and delves into the Catholic beliefs of a young Catholic girl without a mother. To rediscover herself, she must rediscover her mother. A good read with details a plenty.

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant novel by Picoult
Review: This is my absolute favorite novel by Jodi Picoult. The way she portrays each character in such an objective light whether or not they deserve it is absolute brilliance. Her writing is style is, as usual, perfect. And this story is one that I'll be thinking of for a long time to come.

Eighteen year old Paige, having left home after high school graduation, waits tables in Massachusetts and falls in love with Nicholas, a doctor headed up the surgical career ladder and the son of extremely wealthy parents. They marry, despite his parents' disapproval, and begin a new life together.

Nicholas is too busy at the hospital to pay much attention to Paige, who has worked multiple jobs at a time to pay for his medical school. A fabulous sketch artist with no means to get any training, her skills fall by the wayside. When she discovers that she's pregnant, she is forced to deal with the abandonment by her mother and the termination of her first pregnancy all at once.

The book is a tremendous page-turner, and with the narratives switching between Paige in first-person and Nicholas in third-person, there won't be a chance of losing interest. This book is well worth your investment of time and money!

Rating:
Summary: harvesting the heart
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read, and I read at least a couple a week. After reading this one, I went to the library and got all the others they had, and they are all great!! although this is the best.