Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful and captivating!
Review: I'm reading some of these reviews and feel compelled to disagree! I cannot remember when I was so impressed by an authors' ability to snag my attention so quickly when introducing so many characters. She had me wanting more after two paragraph intro's!
This is a rare, intricate, intelligent, and seriously beautiful read!
I can't remember the last time one book had me laughing out loud, biting my nails, and crying real tears. I'm leaving now so I can shop for more books by this wonderful author!
For those out there reading this and dismissing me as easily impressed.....This is the first review I have ever been compelled to submit.
Rating:
Summary: Brava, Jodi!
Review: I'm the biggest Jodi Picoult fan, but wow, am I impressed with this book. What a story! Some of the best plot twists she's ever done. If you are into the paranormal (like me--yes, I have had experience with ghosts), you're gonna love this book. If you are not, you will suspend your disbelief. She went on real live ghost hunts with pros to research this. The book introduced me to the pseudo-science of eugenics, which attempted in the 1920s and 1930s in this country to achieve "racial purity" and formed the model only a few years later for the Nazis'euthanasia and sterilization programs to weed out "inferior" traits. This was mentioned in the film Judgment at Nuremberg (based on real cases) but I'd never heard the term before and had no idea of the widespread movement in the U.S. Picoult ties all the characters and incidents together very well without making it seem pat or contrived, and there is no lack of action. I say it's one of her best novels.
Now for the nitpicking criticism. One thing I thought was inaccurate was people drinking openly in bars in 1932 when prohibition was not repealed until 1933. One man freely tells the police he tends bar for a living and gives the name and address of the place. Not that cops wouldnt have known where speakeasys were, but prohibition is never mentioned. The other thing that bothers me is not unique to this author, but is becoming a trend with many fiction writers today: the "screenplay" approach where scenes are sometimes two paragraphs, and we cut to another scene with different people in a different place. I wish she would cut this down a little, it is distracting and frustrating when you try to follow what is happening. At least make the "scenes" longer. After all, these are not lightweight books. I feel my train of thought being constantly interrupted. Let's hope this technique dies out.
Rating:
Summary: One of Picoult's finest
Review: I've read and enjoyed all of Jodi Picoult's books and I must say, this is one of her finest. Historical fiction based on fact, moving from present to past and back again; quirky, likeable characters; elements of magical realism (reminiscent of Alice Hoffman); and the serious and controversial topics of genocide and genetic selection, are all seamlessly woven into this story about love and second chances. Unlike several of her previous novels, Second Glance does not include courtroom drama, but Picoult fans will enjoy her usual plot twists and signature "wow" ending. And as expected, readers will find themselves thinking and questioning their views long after they've turned the last page. Highly recommended for book discussion groups.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow Start, Great Finish
Review: It took me nearly 200 pages to really get into this book, and if I didn't have faith that Jodi Picoult would take the story somewhere I might have given up. It begins with a lot of characters, many different stories, and a seeming lack of direction. However, she manages to tie all of the characters and plots together beautifully in a compelling and unique story. Although the last couple of Jodi Picoult's books have been let downs to me, this one lived up to my somewhat lowered expectations. Picoult delves into an unchartered territory of ghosts and Indians in Vermont, alternating from an unsolved mystery of the 1930's with present day Vermont. Despite somewhat predictable relationship dramas, the rest of this book, it's rich historical basis as well as compelling characters, make for a great read.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: It's weird that some people couldn't get into this book, because I was hooked from the first pages, and I tore through it so fast that I was depressed when it was over! I'm a big Picoult fan, and this might be my favorite. I love how the characters' stories came together, and it has an awesome ending. If you like this book, try Keeping Faith - another intricate and thought-provoking Picoult novel.
Rating:
Summary: past and present.......life and living
Review: Jodi Picoult brings the supernatural world of ghosts and other phenomena to life in an unusual tale of love that transcends time and death. Second Glance is a story about the difference between life and really living. It is also about love.
As the tale evolves the possibilities of loving and living beyond all time are gently unwrapped and placed before the reader.
There is the mother with a son who has a rare disease, and as she focuses all her energy on him, the child sees the importance of living a rich full life.
A young man who is a ghosthunter enters. He is haunted by past events in his life that grow more and more confusing to him as he delves into the lives of those surrounding him, both dead and alive.
A young girl who lives far away from all of this, is thought to be going mad when she claims to be haunted by visions that are unexplained....
The stage for this story is a building site that once disturbed, seems to trigger a series of unnatural occurrences in a small Vermont town. When these phenomena cause the construction crew to walk off the job until an explanation can be found the ghosthunter is called in. The existence of an Indian burial ground elicits an investigation into that possibility. Between the ghosthunting and the legal and historical investigation, the facts of the past are uncovered, and the events that link everyone together are laid bare,and the truth is revealed.
Each person in Second Glance questions the value of time as it relates to living and loving and Jodi Picoult brings them to a wondrous revelation that will change the very fabric of their lives.
Rating: 
Summary: A mélange of love, ghosts and schmaltz!
Review: Jodi Picoult is a good writer. Her "Second Glance" is a smattering of the history of eugenics in Vermont and she uses it as a launching pad for a series of questions about genetics counseling to prevent some of the diseases that have plagued families. In a capsulized form, any miraculous discovery...be it biological (DNA)...or otherwise...has its opportunities for good or for bad. Picoult posits many good arguments, as in the discussion between Ross and Meredith, the genetics counselor.
The story starts very slowly. Ross' personal difficulties, the loss of his great love, Aimee, his suicide attempts, his pre-occupation with ghosts make for slow reading. The story really begins to move once the element of eugenics as practiced in Vermont in the 1920s and 1930s, is introduced into the plot. The quotations from the proponents of sterilization are shocking when viewed from a modern day perspective. Further, to be informed that Hitler ultimately used some of the movements' faulty premises as a basis for his own destruction of others who were labeled inferiors, makes it all the more shocking. It was more comfortable to point to Hitler for such monstrous ideas!
Some of the dialogue is melodramatic and schmaltzy. Tobacco smoke curls in Ross' throat like a question mark. Ross wonders if his deceased beloved, Aimee, may have come back as Lia, the novel's central character. Murdered over 70 years ago, Ross is infatuated with Cecilia Pike, whose own husband was infatuated with her. Both Ross and Cissy Pike's husband switch their allegiances very quickly. Ross switches his allegiance from Aimee to Lia and Cissy's husband's estimation of his wife crashes when he mistakenly feels she is having an affair with an Indian and has given birth to his child of mixed race. How could this happen with the daughter of a fellow believer in eugenics? She, the daughter of such high quality?
The most interesting part of this novel is what actually occurred 70 years ago with the ill fated, Cissy Pike. What really happened to Cissy? Who murdered her? Did her baby really die? Who was supposed to have killed the baby? (This where modern-day DNA testing helps to solve mysteries.)
Twists and turns, with eugenics as the foundation. Gypsies and the feebleminded were undermining society. According to historical quotes, it was important that basic, solid Vermont stock be restored to its origins. The inferiors couldn't be allowed to procreate. And, like Hitler, anyone could be labeled inferior to suit the hypothesis. Native Americans, in this case the Abenaki, were considered Gypsies...shiftless...thieves...lazy. There were actual charts to substantiate the fact that the inferior begot societies ills. So why not restore order?
By skipping about from present day to the 1920s and 1930s, the author keeps us on our toes and waiting for more of the ultimate answers. However, what could have been a tightly woven story becomes schmaltzy because of some of the dialogue. It is of some interest, nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: Jodi Picoult does it again!
Review: Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors! Her books are so easy to read and are so great! This one is full of surprises, twists, and turns. I loved it!
Rating: 
Summary: "I see dead people!"
Review: Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors, so I recommended Second Glance, her newest novel, for my book club to review. Bad idea. First, The Sixth Sense has been done! Enough of the kids seeing dead people already! It's really getting tiresome. Second, two of the characters were called by three different names, which was confusing. Cecelia was also Cissy and Lia. Grey Wolf was also Az and John. (I think all those names are right--I gave my copy away as soon as I finished reading it). I really had to struggle to finish this book.
Rating:
Summary: Unusual novel about the mysteries of life and death.
Review: Jodi Picoult's original new novel, "Second Glance," is an ambitious undertaking. Picoult has created a large cast of characters, and for quite a while it is unclear how all of the characters interconnect. However, the reader's patience is rewarded when the author successfully weaves together all of the strands of her colorful and complex tapestry. Most of "Second Glance" takes place in Comtosook, Vermont, near Lake Champlain. Ross Wakeman is a young man who has wanted to die since his girlfriend died in a car crash. Despite his efforts to kill himself, he has remained alive, and he is now a ghost hunter who investigates paranormal phenomena. In Comtosook, an elderly man named Spencer Pike is dying, and he sells his land to a developer to build a strip mall. Members of the Abenaki tribe protest that since this land is a sacred burial ground, it should not be developed. Weird phenomena, such as rose petals falling from the sky and the land suddenly freezing solid, convince many residents of the town that the ghosts are showing their displeasure. The developer hires Ross to investigate the property in question to see if there are supernatural forces at work. Besides Pike and Wakeman, there are many fascinating characters in "Second Glance." Ross's sister, Shelby, is a courageous single mother whose son has a rare affliction that forces him to remain indoors except at night. Lucy Oliver is an eight-year-old who lives in terror, since she frequently sees ghosts. Az Thompson is a centenarian of the Abenaki tribe whose memories hold the key to many of the secrets of Comtosook. Picoult's lyrical and sensual writing bring her story to vivid life. Especially noteworthy are the author's fascinating historical flashbacks to the Vermont Eugenics Project of the 1930's, a true and shameful chapter in the history of the United States. "Second Glance" is at times fanciful, romantic, dramatic and mysterious. Picoult shows us that love, life and death can never be completely understood. Another theme in "Second Glance" is that loving someone leaves us vulnerable to hurt and pain. However, the act of loving is reward enough in itself to make the risk worthwhile.
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