I wanted so badly to love this book like I have so many of her other books. I think it was the timeline that was throwing me off. It went backwards in time instead of forwards and just didn't flow well for me. Aside from that, I did love this book. The story line was great, and I loved the characters.

One shooter in a women’s reproductive health services clinic called The Center, changes the lives of countless individuals. The day started out the same as any other day, with a line of protesters outside the building. Police were called and the hostage negotiator started his job of talking to the shooter. What the officer didn't realize at the time was.... his daughter and his sister were 2 of the hostages. This book tells the story backwards, so that you can see how the events unfolded &, how stories were intertwined.
I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult's books. They tackle hot topics, and always manage to make you see all sides of the situation... not just your own view. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. It kept me engrossed and I could not put it down. I highly recommend this book!

Wonderful plot. Well-drawn characters but oh my, why was it told in reverse time order. That was confusing. That's my only complaint.

Jodi Picoult has a way of drawing you into her novels with well developed characters, intriguing plots and well researched issues. A Spark of Light does just that. As the morning unfolds at a women's reproductive clinic, a woman has an abortion, a teenager and her aunt arrive for birth control...and a distraught gunman enters, firing shots and keeping several who couldn't escape hostage. Hug McElroy, a Jackson, Mississippi police officer and hostage negotiator rushes to the scene, only to find out that his sister and teenage daughter are among the hostages. He knows that he should immediately recuse himself from the investigation but he also knows he's the best man for the job. As the hours go by and the situation becomes more tense, has Hugh made the right decision? Will anyone else die?

Ms. Picoult has chosen an interesting, but somewhat confusing way to lay out the timeline of the story. Instead of doing it in a linear fashion, she starts later in the hostage situation, after some have already been killed. Then she jumps back and forth throughout the story to different times during the day and in the lives of the main characters, to discover their lives and motivations. As i read this, I found it very confusing initially to keep track of who was who, especially Joy and Janine. Even towards the end, I was still confusing some characters. I also thought it was unusual to know what had happened to some characters right from the beginning, before you even got to know anything about them. However, this did NOT in any way detract from my enjoyment of A Spark of Light, I couldn't put it down and read it over the course of a day and a half.

Aside from this, the book was a fascinating look into the world of abortion and abortion clinics. I learned a great deal due the the research that Ms Picoult did and appreciated her summing up statistics on abortion at the end of the novel. It was a fascinating read and I highly recommend it.

Expertly plotted, A Spark of Light, explores the range of emotion around a woman's right to choose. The setting in a womens health clinic in a conservative state in the deep south examines the difficulties faced by young and low income women in exercising their rights in those communities. And typical of Picoult's stories, the characters draw you in making it was hard to put down.

A Spark of Light is a unique novel about a group of hostages and the shooter who holds them captive in an abortion clinic in Mississippi. The story jumps back and forth in time throughout - starting with the current situation. The nurse, Izzy, trying to keep the wounded Doctor and Bex alive while Joy, Janine, and Wren struggle with the choices that led them to the clinic in the first place. Wren's father is also the hostage negotiator trying frantically to get his daughter and the other hostages released and his sister Bex and the injured doctor to the hospital. Jodi Picoult does an amazing job of presenting the viewpoints of all the characters, from the protesters outside, to the owner of the clinic, to the nurses who work there and the doctor who sacrificed family and lifestyle to insure that women have safe medical care. I kept waiting for the author to lean to one side or the other but she kept true to her characters throughout the story and gave me a lot to think about. She obviously researched the topic of pro-choice and pro-life, thoroughly investigating both sides and all the grey areas in between. Picoult has a knack for presenting the many different viewpoint in a way that makes it hard not to see where everyone is coming from. This will be an excellent reading club book for groups who value lively discussions and aren't afraid of stepping on a few toes.

In this latest Jodi Piccoult treasure, she tackles the issue of a woman’s right and abortion in her usual thoroughly engrossing manner.

There is a hostage crises at the only reproductive health clinic in Mississippi that performs abortions and the hostage negotiator’s sister and daughter are inside with the gunman who has already killed.

The book is well researched and Piccoult does an excellent job of presenting all sides of this issue. She tells the background stories of the main characters which gives insight into how each one has arrived at his/her views and actions.

Except for the epilogue, the story is revealed in reverse time order. This was an interesting technique, and I don’t know if it would have been more effective if revealed in chronological order.

As with Piccoult’s last novel, don’t forget to read the author’s notes at the back.

I received this ARC courtesy of NetGalley. Disappointed in this compared to Picoult's other works. The backwards gimmick didn't really work for me; I wonder if anyone hearing about the arrangement will choose to read it in reverse (minus the epilogue). Picoult is known for twists, but the ones in this were underwhelming at best. While it's obvious that she did her research, I didn't really learn anything new. I was a bit confused why it refers to Louie not hearing due to the shotgun blast when it's a pistol that George uses (maybe Louie thinks it was a shotgun). And although the heart tilts to the left, and people talk about putting their hand over the left side for the Pledge, the heart is somewhat centered.

I applaud Picoult for tackling tough topics. Even though she is pro-choice, I felt she attempted to share the thoughts and feelings of those who are pro-life.
However, the ending was anti-climatic. I think the reverse order didn't work well for this book. I liked the characters but I didn't love them. I didn't have a chance to connect with them.
I got to end and thought, okay. That's it. It's a good book. It just didn't move me like her others did.

Overall, it's worth the read because it's a reminder that people on both sides of an issue are still people. If we'd slow down enough to listen, we may learn something.

I received this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts are my own.

Jodi Picoult is an amazing writer who is not afraid to tackle extraordinarily controversial subjects and A Spark of Light is no exception. The story opens incredibly strong in a Women's Health Center where multiple health services are provided, including abortion. Picoult has obviously researched this topic and does an incredible job presenting a fair and balanced look at both sides of the pro-choice/right to life debate. The story is told through the eyes of characters with equally good reasons for their positions. The characters are all wonderfully drawn and through their lives, Picoult is able to present differing points of view on the topic of abortion without endorsing one or the other side. The thing that threw me in the book was the reverse chronological order in which it is told. The story starts with the ending and then proceeds to unwind backwards revealing each of the characters reasons for being at the Center. If found this a bit disorienting and think it actually weakened the intensity of the telling of the tale. It's a good book, excellent story-line, great characters, but I would have preferred that it be told in chronological order.

First full disclosure- Jodi Picoult is by far one of my favorite authors and I have read every book she’s written thus far and look forward to her future books. This book is about a women’s health clinic which services women’s health issues of various kinds. It is complete with protestors both pro life as well as pro choice and a very upset father who holds the clinic responsible for his daughter’s decision and comes in with a gun Killing and injuring several people and holding the rest hostage. The ending is fairly predictable but there is a surprise twist I didn’t see coming and I wish that had been played up more as the ending. This book had a few different story lines but pointed out what women’s clinics really do besides what uneducated people regard as abortion clinics only.
What I love about Jodi’s books is that they have a genre of its own. She always chooses a timely topic that is happening now-usually ripped from the headlines and her research is impeccable. She breaks the mold with her singular style of writing as well as the topics she chooses. I can’t wait for her next book!

I normally really like Picoult, but this one didn't work for me. Too many characters, with too little connection, too confusing, right out of the gate. I couldn't tell who was related to whom, and I gave up.

I should start by saying that I don't normally read Jodi Picoult. I got an advance copy from NetGalley, so I though I would give it a try. I can see why her books are popular with book clubs -- she chooses subjects that are definitely thought-provoking and would prompt interesting discussions. This one is no exception. The story centers around a shooter crisis at an abortion clinic in Mississippi. It is told from various points of view from inside and outside the clinic -- and from both pro-choice and pro-life perspectives. I thought it was very well-done. My main problem with the story was that it was told in reverse chronological order. I found it to be awkward and had trouble keeping some of the characters/storylines straight. Otherwise, I generally liked it.

I have always been a fan of Jodi Picoult books and have read every one. Her books always cover controversial subjects that make the reader think what they would do if they found themselves in difficult situations. A Spark of Light is about pro life verses pro choice and takes place in an abortion clinic. Picoult did an excellent job of giving both viewpoints. The book was extremely well researched. I found the authors note at the end to be very interesting filled with statistics and excellent facts about laws regarding abortion in different states today. The story was written backwards in time and had small paragraphs about each character throughout making it hard to remember who was who. By the end I had them all figured out and felt an attachment to the characters but would have liked to felt that attachment sooner. I felt the end was meant to have a few surprises but it really did not have that wow impact. All in all a good read, great for book club discussions. I will continue to read Jodi Picoult because I love the controversial subjects she writes about and she does make you think what you would do in difficult situations. Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the free ARC.

I love Jodi Picoult's books, because they make me evaluate my own perceptions of things and how I see the world and explain to me what other people see. In this book, the issue at hand this time is abortion. The setting reminded me very much of an incident we had a couple of year's ago at a Colorado Springs abortion clinic, where a gunman opened fire. Powerful!

Jodi doesn't disappoint with her newest. this novel is all you have come to expect from her. The author weaves a delicate story from both sides of the abortion issue. I like when a novel takes me out of my comfort zone. A sign of a good novel is being able to feel each persons plight. She convincingly shows both perspectives. winner winner!

"We are all drowning slowly in the tide of our opinions, oblivious that we are taking on water every time we open our mouths."

A Mississippi morning. Gunfire erupts in a health center that performs abortions. The women inside, along with a male doctor, are held hostage by a gunman who is seeking retribution because his daughter had been to the clinic and was counseled, he believes, to obtain an abortion. But the situation is more complicated than that. The hostage negotiator, Hugh McElroy, has a real crisis on his hands as he arrives at the center -- he's just found out that his daughter, Wren, and his sister, Bex, are inside. NO SPOILERS.

I must admit that I had some reservations about reading this book but, immediately after I downloaded it today, I started reading and just finished it a little while ago. I was totally glued to the pages of this story. Not only was it extremely even handed regarding its highly inflammatory subject matter of abortion, it was written in an unusual time structure going from present to past, in reverse order to the way I usually prefer my books to flow. So it ends with the beginning and follows with an epilogue that answers all the questions. At no time did I feel that I was being persuaded to take a side, nor were there subtle hints as to any author bias. It was obvious from the author's end note that she had done a tremendous amount of research, even to the point of spending time in a clinic and observing the termination procedures. The characters -- both those that were pro-choice and those who were anti-abortion (or pro-life) were all in the scenario and represented the various beliefs, wishes and desires with their reasons for doing and feeling as they did.

Jodi Picoult is not afraid of writing about controversial subjects and I believe that her purpose must surely be to open up dialogue about issues that tend to polarize people. In today's society, we seem to be bombarded by so many differences of opinion that result in responses that range from arguments to violence. What was once personal and private has become center stage. Activists on both sides of the abortion issue have various methods of rallying people to action or agreement. Lawmakers weigh in, deciding what is legal and what is not. Unfortunately, it's hard to remain objective in the face of it all as most of us no doubt feel pressures from different factions. At the end of the day, each person will have to come to their own perspective knowing, however, that it all boils down to the question of relevancy. And the fact that the way you feel one day may change depending on circumstances.

I am quite glad I was given an opportunity to read this and I'll be thinking of it for a long time. It would make an excellent choice for a book club, but I'm not sure everyone feels comfortable in this climate to share honest opinions without fear of judgement.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this e-book ARC to read and review. I look forward to reading and hearing what others think of it.

This book was different from many of the Jodi Picoult books I have read. It went into events that are very relatable to what is happening in the world today.

Again, Picoult presents a fascinating story of lives intertwined in an extremely controversial topic. The over lap of the characters and their lives is shockingly evident, but not fully realized because of the presentation.

I absolutely love how this book is set up. The opening chapter gives you background information on most of the main characters. They are all embroiled in an active-shooter / hostage situation in a women’s health center. From this point, 5:00 PM, each subsequent chapter is one hour earlier in the day.

I highly recommend this tile for purchase for all libraries.

Wow! I don’t read all of Picoult’s books, but this one is a winner. The cast of characters are from varied backgrounds, all in a medical building for women’s health, including abortions and birth control. Hugh, a hostage negotiator on the police force, learns his daughter Wren is on the clinic with the shooter. In addition to the unique method of telling the story in reverse, until the end, the subject matter, always controversial, takes a look at the human sides in the pro and anti arguments. Another page turner undertaking a key issue today, highly recommended.