Where There's Smoke by Jodi Picoult

Where There's Smoke
by Jodi Picoult
Free ebook

I went to my iPhone to look for something quick and easy to read while waiting for/getting a pedicure. This came up as a free download and being a Picoult fan, I downloaded it without even reading the synopsis.

It turned out to be an short story expanding the past of one of the characters in her latest novel, "Leaving Time."  As I am a real fan of Leaving Time and will tell everyone I meet to read it, I was thrilled to have found this short story. 

Where There's Smoke is a quick story about Serenity Jones' rise and fall from stardom as a psychic. It fleshes out her character a bit more and explains the beginning of her downfall.  The moral of this short story is simply, "be careful of what you wish for."

For Picoult fans and those that have read or plan to read Leaving Time, I wholeheartedly recommend this story.  

I give this short story five of five shots.

Leaving Time

Leaving Time
by Jodi Picoult

When your mother "disappears" and leaves you behind at age three, your entire life is a mystery.  The obvious one is, "where did she go?" followed by, "why didn't she take me with her?" and, "didn't she love me?"

These are the questions that haunt Jenna, the child left behind after a terrible "accident" at the elephant sanctuary her parents ran.  Her father fell from reality and was institutionalized at that same time. Jenna pretty much faces her future alone, living with her grandmother who is somewhat emotionally detached. By the age of 13 she has acquired the skills and ability to attempt searching for her mother on her own.

In the Jodi Picoult fashion this story is told by several voices.  First, the voice of Jenna which drives the search for her mother. Only three when her mother left, she relies on dim memories and her mother's journals to connect with her.  She desparately needs to find the truth of her disappearance. 

Next is the voice of Serenity, a has-been "psychic" that Jenna finds and enlists her help.  Serenity had once been very good at what she does, working with police departments to find missing individuals or elusive leads on stalled cases, putting her in the public eye and garnering her some fame.  Unfortunately, she hit hard times when her spirit guides leave her and she fails without their help. She is careful not to reveal that she is now a hack. 

Another voice is that of Virgil, the once police detective, now private investigator, that worked on the original case. What he believed to be murder was eventually ruled an accidental death and no attention was given to the missing person, Jenna's mother.  He blames himself for the poor investigation and is haunted by the disappearance of Jenna's mother.  When Jenna comes to him, his demons convince him to help her, although reluctantly.  

I was a bit surprised to have narrative by Alice, the mother who has gone missing.  An elephant researcher, much of her narrative involves elephant behavior, particularly grieving.  The research for this part of the book is very good and fascinating.  

Having just finished The Storyteller by Picoult before picking up this book, I was primed to look for the twist.  Jodi did not disappoint, and she caught me totally off guard.  This mystery doesn't slowly unfold as we investigate it.  There are some moments when I thought, "Oh.My.God - how did that happen?!?"  but the real mystery is solved very near the end of the book.  Despite where I was looking, it snuck up on me and slapped me across the back of the head.  

So satisfying!  

I wholeheartedly give this book a five shot rating! It called me back each time I had to put it down. Around 50 pages from the end I could not put it down.  And, very unexpectedly, tears rolled down my face.  The only disappointment was one tiny little section near the end, maybe a page or two in length.  I just didn't quite buy it.  But I will not tell you more than that, no spoilers from me today. 

The Storyteller

The Storyteller
by Jodi Picoult

I didn't really know what I was getting into when I started this book.  I just knew that it was time for me to start a book that I couldn't put down.  I don't know if it was karma or what, but this was that book. 

Jodi tells a holocaust story through several different voices.  The first is the voice of Sage, an emotionally damaged and scarred baker.  She's a young woman alive in the present day and full of insecurities and doubts about who she really is.  She comes by baking naturally, but takes the career as a way to work solo at night and seclude herself from the perceived stares of strangers.  She's aware that her grandmother is a holocaust survivor.  Because her grandmother never talked about it, that knowledge has never really impacted her. 

Another voice of the story is a man named Josef who befriends Sage.  He is in his 90's and ultimately wants Sage to help him die.  He is a Nazi war criminal who's past has never been discovered.  He feels he is cursed to live forever with his unfathomable past.  He needs Sage to assist in his death.  He tells her what he's done, but somewhat "gently" until she forces him to admit that his atrocities are greater and demanding specifics.  

Sage's grandmother adds the voice of a holocaust survivor to the story.  Not wanting to go back to that time, she is eventually persuaded to tell her story to Sage and the Nazi hunter that Sage has contacted.  The Storyteller is the grandmother.  Once an aspiring author in her pre-war youth, she used her stories as distraction in the concentration camp. 

Through these voices, and the voice of the Nazi hunter, the holocaust is brought to life for the reader, from the perspectives of holocaust victim and Nazi.   The subject of forgiveness is discussed as a Jew, who believe that only the person harmed can offer forgiveness, therefore, Sage cannot forgive Josef because she was never one of his victims.  His victims are dead so he cannot be forgiven. Forgiveness is discussed from a Christian perspective; forgiveness is given not to wipe away or deny the act, but to allow the forgiver to move on by leaving the negative feelings that destroy you behind. 

Closing the back cover of this book didn't take me away from the story.  It continues to swirl around in my mind, demanding that I revisit the issues and consider the outcome.  There is a twist to the tale (ha- I figured it out before I got there, will you?) that makes Sage's final decision perhaps a bit regretful. 

Five of five shots.  Long live Picoult!

The Pact, by Jodi Picoult

The Pact, by Jodi Picoult

I finished this book a week or two ago and I still don't know how to review it.

The pact refers to a suicide pact by two teens who have known each other literally all their lives. Emily was born shortly after Chris. Their families were neighbors and good friends. The two children were always together and essentially raised together. The families hoped they would fall in love and marry as adults.

The book starts with the suicide, which only takes the life of Emily and leaves Chris alive. The reader is taken through the horrible moments when the parents discover their children have been hurt or killed and the confusion that surrounds the situation. Soon Chris is charged with Emily's "murder" and goes to trial.

We move back and forth between the present and the past. In the past we glimpse bits and pieces of Emily and Chris's relationship, as carefree children growing into young adults. We learn of secrets that are never revealed to anyone, not even between the closest of friends. We also come to know what secrets or feelings are just too scary to share even with the person you love the most.

In the present we follow the anguish of the families and the torture Chris feels. It's not long before the reader realizes there was no suicide pact and begins to draw her/his own conclusions, or fear what may unbelievably be true.

There is no happy ending in this kind of book. How could there ever be unless the characters can be raised from the dead? Picoult is a good writer and takes the reader through all sorts of probable emotions that would be associated with this story. And through her telling of it, we see the best of people and the worst of people and find hope that eventually alludes us. It's a very sad story but worth reading.