This book is due out in October so be sure to add it to your Goodreads list or pre-order on Amazon. When I see a Jodi Picoult book, I get excited. Rarely has she written a novel that doesn’t glue me to the pages until I close the covers.

In A Spark of Light, she tackles a hugely controversial topic, abortion. I was slightly confused at first- the book begins presently then moves backwards in time. The setting is an abortion clinic where women there is a shooting. Some are dead, some are injured and some women are trapped inside with an unstable man.

The hostage negotiator brought in has a specific tie to the horror going on inside the clinic, his daughter is inside. As usual, Jodi has done amazing research and developed a tightly woven story.

Here’s the official synopsis:

The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center—a women’s reproductive health services clinic—its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage.

After rushing to the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, sets up a perimeter and begins making a plan to communicate with the gunman. As his phone vibrates with incoming text messages he glances at it and, to his horror, finds out that his fifteen-year-old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic.

But Wren is not alone. She will share the next and tensest few hours of her young life with a cast of unforgettable characters: A nurse who calms her own panic in order save the life of a wounded woman. A doctor who does his work not in spite of his faith but because of it, and who will find that faith tested as never before. A pro-life protester disguised as a patient, who now stands in the cross hairs of the same rage she herself has felt. A young woman who has come to terminate her pregnancy. And the disturbed individual himself, vowing to be heard.

Told in a daring and enthralling narrative structure that counts backward through the hours of the standoff, this is a story that traces its way back to what brought each of these very different individuals to the same place on this fateful day.

Jodi, Jodi, Jodi. Where do I begin? I love your writing. You have an incredible gift of character development. Your stories are riveting. They are personal. They are compelling. They are, in many instances, beautiful.

So why take this great story and tell it backwards? It goes from a full five stars to four because your experiment kind of failed. I hope you're not getting bored and branching out into experimentation with new ways of telling tales. I so wish you could re-work this and go from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM in chronological order. Such a pity.

That said, this is a really good story. I disagree vehemently with JP's liberal views on most things, but love the fact that she isn't shy about tackling tough topics. Sometimes the fairness gets fuzzy, but I digress.

"A Spark of Light" is a typical Jodi Picoult novel. It has strong, identifiable characters. It has a story that keeps you on the edge of your sofa (except she tells you the ending in chapter 1).

AnywayMs. Picoult, I beg you to keep writing great novels with rich characters and spellbinding drama. But please, please tell them from front to back and not vice versa.

Jodi Picoult always does an amazing job of presenting difficult subjects in a realistic way that reflects different points of view. Her writing is as usual strong and is very timely with what is happening right now in many parts of the U.S.. The only comment that I have personally is that the topic of abortion has been covered so much that it was hard to find anything "new." The back nonfiction facts were more impactful to me.

Jodi Picoult always writes such thought provoking books. I am always amazed at the depth of the research and the breadth of information and presented opinions in her books. Although I enjoyed the book very much, I expected a bit more insight into the opposing sides of the abortion debate and found the story to be a bit lacking in that aspect. In true, Picoult fashion, the last couple of chapters contained surprises and ah-ha moments that left me flipping back through the book to see how the pieces fit together.. Warning to the reader, the book takes place in reverse chronological order, with each chapter taking place an hour before the previous chapter, so pay close attention at the beginning. :)

Jodi Picoult tackles another hot-button topic in A SPARK OF LIGHT, abortion. I’m not sure why she upended the timeline and jumped back and forth so much, but it wasn’t too difficult to follow. I’m just not sure it added to the book in any significant manner. She did a good job of getting in multiple points of view, but probably won’t change anyone’s mind on the subject. As she stated in her notes at the end, she doesn’t think we will ever bring everyone together on this issue. She left us hanging on a couple of the characters, but that is pretty realistic. This country is in such a mess, we can’t tie everything up with a pretty little bow and have happy endings all around.

Big ol’ damn! Once again, absolutely floored by the content, the structure, the characterization...all of it! You do amazing things with words, Jodi Picoult. I have never finished one of your books without a sense of wonder for all that I learned and all that I FEEL! There’s a reason I have read every book you’ve written and it is just that. Perfectly researched and written stories which are important, heart-breaking, beautiful, sad, smart, and glorious! 🤓💜📚

Jody Picoult does it again. I was unable to put this book down (except at one point where I became so emotional I had to). A Spark of Light hits on the very sensitive subject of abortion, and does it without forcing any opinion on to the reader. I felt for all the characters and at the end was left wondering what the future holds for each. The relationship between fathers and daughters was portrayed wonderfully and honestly.

Everything seems normal enough at the Center. A women's reproductive health facility not affiliated with Planned Parenthood, but trying to give the best care to Mississippi's women. Whether that is birth control or abortions. When the bell rings and a man with a gun enters and begins killing people. 

The story is told from the moments after and then backwards in time. This is a sometimes risky way to tell a story and for this story I wasn't a fan of it. I would much rather have learned more about the women and girls. 

This is a touchy subject. And Jodi has done her research on it. There were the pro abortionists views, the anti abortionists views and the physician's views. Every person struggles with their decisions. All aspects of this subject are tackled and felt.

No matter your stance on the issue, this book will make you think long and hard about your position and what legislation means for the poorest of the poor in our country.

This was a hard read but the research she put into it was solid and I appreciated that.

Well Done!

Netgalley/October 2nd 2018 by Ballantine Books

I have read every one of Jodi Picoult's books,
I was excited and looking forward to reading this one.

The Center for Women and Reproductive Health; The Center for Women, to now The Center
keeps changing names to try to blend in and stay open. It is now barely open. It is attempting to serve women who have run out of choices and time.
This book shows the multiple viewpoints on women issues mainly abortion.

To be human- is to be a canvas for our scars

This book should be read and shared and discussed- Jodi has again written so deeply that she gets to the marrow of an issue like no other author can. This book puts into words what our society should understand.

In SPARK OF LIGHT, Picoult tackles the troubling issue of women's reproductive rights through the eyes of an anti-abortion gunman, nurses who work in the clinic, the doctor who performs abortions, a teenager who has gone to the clinic for birth control and the hostage negotiator trying to keep the people inside the clinic alive. As usual, Picoult creates realistic and relatable characters and a good strong plot. Although I enjoyed the book, I found it to be less though-provoking than some of Picoult's other novels. She just didn't seem to dig deep enough. The fact that she reaches such a wide audience, however, may provide people from opposing sides of the issues to carefully examine their positions and perhaps even appreciate those who do not think as they do. I can think of a few legislators on both sides who should read it!

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” but damn, you’re going to walk away from this one with much more than you bargained for.
In classic Picoult style, a timely, multifaceted story that hits home with the fact that one decision can have permanent and life altering effects. Told from each & every side imaginable, Picoult paints an in depth picture of one of the hardest and most controversial decisions a woman could ever face. Filled with compassion, violence, racism, politics, and intelligence, Picoult weaves the lives of her characters through one another in a plot that is full of wisdom and surprises that will leave you shaking your head and saying aloud,” Oh my God!”
The differences of head and heart, of truth and emotion, of religion and science, of belief and hypocrisy all have a place here in this masterpiece of modern times.
“.. both life and death began with a spark of light.” and this book is going to spark a whole lot more; conversation, passion, faith. People will be talking and arguing over every aspect and character belief, then calling into question and fact their own, because this book is just that all encompassing, it’s that important, it’s just that good. Wow.

"Violence from one angle looks like mercy from another."
This quote from the book easily presents the debate on abortion. Both sides feel strongly and act with great emotion and dedication for their beliefs.
Jodi Picoult describes quite well the painful doubt-filled thoughts of the women having abortions : was the decision the right one? Were her reasons questionable? Did punishment from God await her? These reflections elicit sympathy or at least understanding unless you are anti-abortion.
As the story begins as told in flashbacks, a shooter is in the abortion clinic and has already killed or wounded some. As the standoff continues we learn the stories of each of the hostages- very compelling.
Jodi Picoult very capably shows the dilemmas. "For some the fetus is a person, for others it is a potential."
There is no real answer, yet there is no doubt of the sincerity of both sides. Pregnancy brings about a strictly personal reaction. A joy or a problem?
Excellent novel!

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I had anticipated, but I still recommend it to both reading groups and to women’s study programs.

This is a novel wrapped around the thorny issue of abortion. I felt it was often too preachy, and too little novel and too much political treatise.

I found it contrived, looking for a starting point for the author to deliver her views. Those views will lead to rich discussions, but I would have preferred a more nuanced novel which was more interesting than political.

Women from different backgrounds and for different reasons come to an abortion clinic. Their stories are revealed as they are held hostage by a man on a personal vendetta. Picoult deals with social issues in her books and the subject matter in Spark of Light is very current. She presents both sides of the issue in a manner that makes you ponder your own personal beliefs. The main characters are beautifully developed and all worthy of validation regardless of their reasons for coming to the clinic. Love all of Picoult's books I've read and this one is no different. Great read.

It took me until almost the last chapter to realize why this book was written backwards. I struggled with it initially, especially because I had a digital copy and had trouble looking back on what I had read. While I enjoyed this book from the beginning, I wasn't especially attached to any of the characters and therefore wasn't in a hurry to pick it up after a long day.

There is a lot happening in our world today that makes me upset, and this book hit upon some of them. The men who are making decisions for girls and women is upsetting enough-but now that I have a daughter, I can not imagine her having to go through something as difficult as deciding to have an abortion-and then dealing with all of the insane laws, religious people pushing their beliefs, and judgement.

I read this book as someone who is generally open minded and entirely pro choice. It would be interesting to have a book club discussion on this book. I had Willie Parker's book on my to be read list already, and it sounds like something I need to read sooner than later.

When I go back to teaching, this book would be nice to have in a high school class. I was lucky enough to teach in a progressive school in Brooklyn-unfortunately this book won't be as readily available in the states that would benefit the most.

Very good, engrossing read as one would expect from Picoult. However, one of the aspects enjoyed about the author's works are the twist and I was able to figure them out easily early in. Too predictable from that perspective. Overall though recommended.

“There were eleven women in front of him: seven black, two white, two brown. He paid attention to the race of those who came to the Center because for him, the politics of abortion had so much in common with the politics of racism. As an African American male, he could imagine quite easily what it was like to not have jurisdiction over your body. White men had once owned black men’s bodies. Now, white men wanted to own women’s bodies.”

This book right here! As one can tell, abortion is the subject matter and it isn’t a black and white issue. What is morally right? Why doesn’t a woman have the final say over what happens to her body? If we are so pro-life then why aren’t we doing more to provide resources for all women in terms of adequate healthcare and a livable wage?

A Spark of Light will make you ponder, think, and it will make you feel uncomfortable. Jodi brilliantly weaves together the abortion debate with race issues. And, while this book made me feel uncomfortable at times, it’s gonna make white men feel even 100 times more uncomfortable.

One day. Everything that everyone believes can change within the course of one day. I could write so much more about this book but I don’t believe in spoilers and this is one I believe you should experience for yourself. I will end this by saying: A Spark of Light is another masterpiece by this author that I can easily see being made into a film.

Jodi Picoult has always been a favorite author of ours. We have pretty much devoured everyone of her books. However, we feel like the last couple books have been more of a "soap box" attempt to push her views on readers. Yes there is a story behind the world issues, but a lot of the story has personal feelings tied in as well (clearly from the author).

We will continue to try more books from Jodi, but this one wasn't for us.

Another beautifully written book. Ms Picoult always makes you see both of the story, but in this book I didn’t find that.

This was a great story, a little different than Jodi’s usual style, but another amazing tale that captivates the reader. I absolutely love her ability to grab a reader and immerse them in her stories. Highly recommend to anyone wanting a good read and gives one another perspective on social issues.