Loved this book, even when I was not reading it I kept thinking about it and couldn’t wait to pick it up again, hence I finished it in a day. Would definitely recommend to others and can’t wait to read other titles from this author.

A Spark of Light follows two storylines. The main story line is about a day at a women’s health clinic. All seems normal. The protestors are outside, nervous women are inside. Doctors and nurses shuffle around to help their patients in the best possible way. Then, the unexpected occurs. A gunman enters the clinic and starts shooting. Hugh is called. He is a police officer who is known for his skills of talking people down, talking them into surrendering. So, it is a normal job for him, until he finds out that his daughter and sister are inside. Then, all that matters to him in the entire world is on the line.

The minor story line is about Beth, a young woman who has been arrested for taking abortion drugs in an illegal manner. She desperately needs her father, but he is too ashamed, too angry.

The thing that makes this story unique is that Picoult tells this story backwards. Each chapter is an hour in real time. We start with the intruder dealing with Hugh after having shot some people. We work back to what brought the characters to the clinic that day. At first, I found this confusing. After all, it is very unusual, and something to which readers are not accustomed. After I became used to it, however, I could see that the surprises that Picoult withheld until the end had more impact.

As usual, Picoult’s characters are true-to-life, and as the reader reads, they become people about whom we care very much. This is a book that must be experienced!

The title of this book has a special meaning. I do not want to spoil that surprise.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Like every other Jodi Picoult book I've read, this one felt a bit over-the-top at times, but ultimately I enjoyed it. As usual, I flew through it, it made me think about an intense, controversial issue, and it will stick with me for a long time. Picoult does a great job portraying opposing viewpoints. I wasn't sure about the reverse-chronology format at first, but I think it was a unique and interesting way to tell the story. There are two big reveals at the end, one of which I thought was very obvious and had seen coming the whole time, and one that was a shocker to me. I thought the conclusion was a bit rushed, but overall I was satisfied with it. Jodi Picoult's fans will not be disappointed, but those who don't like her other books probably won't like this one either.

I enjoyed A Spark of Light, but it wasn’t my favorite of Picoult’s works. I think I wanted to know the characters a little better. I did select a few gems that I will quote here once the book is published. Note: Make sure you read the Author’s Note at the end. It makes the entire book better and the story so relevant to women today.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Jodi Picoult for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. As a big fan of Jodi Picoult's previous books, I was very excited to read this one. It tells the story of Wren, her hostage negotiator father Hugh, her Aunt Bex, and the other people who happen to be inside a women's reproductive center when a vengeful father comes in and starts shooting. The topic is very timely and controversial (both the topics of women's reproductive rights and gun control/mass shootings), but I did not become as emotionally invested in this book as I would have expected. I did not really care for the way the story was told in reverse chronological order - the story did not flow as well as it should for me and it did not allow me to be as engaged with the characters as I would have liked. I did ultimately enjoy reading the book despite the difficult topics it addressed - and think that it is important to discuss these topics, but this was not one of my favorite Jodi Picoult books.

I found some of the author's earlier books somewhat formulaic. However in her last book and in this one she confronts controversial social issues with an even hand. No matter where one stands on reproductive rights and gun control, this is a book which just may lead to some meaningful discussions and understanding. Thank you for this balanced view. And, I liked the time-line narrative.

I think I might have enjoyed this book more in chronological order. Definitely not what I anticipated.

3/5 stars
"There was no right way to do the wrong thing."

This book is about a girl named Wren who gets caught in the middle of a shooting at the only abortion clinic in Mississippi, her father, Hugh, who is the hostage negotiator, and the journeys of everyone else in that room on that day.

I LOVEEE Jodi Picoult. I have and have read all of her books, I go to all her book signings, obsessed. A Spark of Light was very good, but is nowhere near one of my favorite books of hers. Initially, I didn't see how the style of starting at 5pm that day and working backwards through each chapter would work, but by the 3rd chapter I was hooked. This book is incredibly well researched on both sides of the abortion fence and does not attempt to sway the reader in either direction. I think I would have given more stars had I enjoyed the ending more, since Jodi is known for twists at the end of her books that you wouldn't see coming. I figured out one of the twists before the end so the main thing that kept me going was the obvious "who lives and who dies" at the end of the book.

Overall, this book was a quick read, incredibly informative, and enjoyable. I would recommend it.

"Today, Wren McElroy thought, was not a good day to die."

This book begins with a hostage situation at the local Center. The Center is a place for women (and teens) to go and get birth control, have gynecological examinations, and obtain abortions. It is known as a woman's reproductive health services clinic. Naturally there are those who do not want such a clinic in their community and there are those who are thankful that it is there.

One day a man bursts into the clinic and begins firing. Another man, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator is called to the scene. He has been getting a flurry of texts from his daughter and learns that she is inside the health clinic and is one of the hostages. He also learns that his sister is with Wren and has been injured.

Wren and her aunt are not the only hostages. There are others and through the story we get to learn about each character, his/her past and why they are in the clinic that day. They either work at the Center or they are there for services. We are given each of their perspectives. This book is told in reverse. It starts with the hostage situation and goes back in time to the beginning of the day. For some this reverse story telling may work, for others, it may not. There is also a story-line being told in this book apart from the hostage, in a different location, but is connected to the hostage situation.

I requested this book without even knowing what the subject matter of this book would be, I didn't care as I enjoy Jodi Picoult. She never shy's away from controversial or uncomfortable subject matter and always does her homework. Some books I enjoy more than others. This was certainly the case with this book. What I appreciated the most was that this book was not preachy. The reader is never pushed to be pro-life or pro-choice. In the Author's note she gives statistics and cites laws. I also enjoyed how she gave back story on the characters and his/her reason's for being at the clinic that day.

I am teetering back and forth between a 3 and a 3.5 star rating for this book. I will admit, I wasn't a fan of how this book was told in reverse. I might have enjoyed it more if it was told from beginning to end instead of end to beginning. What worked for me in this book were the various voices as I stated above. Plus, there is a little secret revealed at the end which leads to an aha moment. I appreciate that she took on such important and timely subject matter. Regardless of where one stands on the issues, I think she did a very good job of telling the story.

Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballantine and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another masterpiece by Jodi Picoult. She is so talented at pulling the reader in immediately with the drama. Then she begins to artfully delve into each character's backstory. As a reader, I love discovering the hidden connections between the characters. The abortion clinic setting is pulled out of the headlines and did not disappoint. I will always read her books!! Thanks for granting access.

Favorite author ever!! Once again did not disappoint. Sucked this book down like water. The emotions that she can make me feel are incredible.

Just two years ago, in my review of Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things, I related that “when a friend and former library co-worker basically sniffed her disapproval when I told her I liked Jodi Picoult’s books, and our friendship was changed forever. I worked for several years in public libraries and tried not to be judgmental of people’s reading preferences, or to let the fact that someone thought Danielle Steel wrote great literature to negatively impact my opinion of them. But really, I don’t get it. I know JP is writing for a mass market – and sometimes her resolutions might be just a bit too neat for snooty readers. But I’ll admit right up front, I am a sucker for a well-plotted story that makes me think about a social issue or two along the way.

So once again, I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to read an advance copy of JP’s latest work. This time, it is A Spark of Light, and the social issue is the one that never goes away and is REALLY in the news these days: abortion. As was the case when I reviewed Small Great Things, I deliberately didn’t read anything about this book before diving in, and once again the book had a huge impact on me. I don’t believe in including spoilers in my reviews, but I want to just write “TRUST ME! YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!!” That’s not exactly how this works, so I will once again provide a synopsis that won’t spoil anything, then remind you again: YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK.

The story is set in The Center, a women’s reproductive health clinic in Mississippi. It happens to be the last clinic in the state that provides abortion services, and the women “…in need found it the lodestone for their navigation. Those who despised it could not look away.” Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, rushes to the clinic to negotiate with a desperate and agitated gunman who first burst into the clinic shooting wildly, then took over the clinic and is holding everyone inside hostage. As Hugh drives to the clinic, he “…was praying. Well, maybe not praying, but pleading to the universe. Praying was for people who hadn’t seen what Hugh had in his line of work. Praying was for people who still believed in God.”

So the story involves two hot-button social issues: abortion and guns. As one character puts it, “…this was indeed some crazy world, where the waiting period to get an abortion was longer than the waiting period to get a gun.” Things get really intense for Hugh when he gets a text from his fifteen-year-old daughter, Wren, and finds out that she, along with her aunt (Hugh’s sister) is inside the clinic.

Among the hostages whose stories are told are a panicked nurse who calms herself down and saves the life of a wounded woman, the medical doctor who finds his deep faith tested, and a “spy”: a woman pretending to be a clinic patient who is really a “pro-life” activist. The story has an interesting narrative structure that people who are only comfortable with stories told in a linear way will hate. It begins at 5 p.m. and counts backward through the hours of the day, tracing back to what brought each of the major characters to this particular place at the same time.

It’s a complicated way to tell the story – but, let’s face it, the issue of a woman’s right to choose is a complicated issue. The various points of view of the diverse characters address some of the strong feelings on both sides, trying to address the question of how to balance the rights of pregnant women with the rights of the unborn they carry?

Jodi Picoult fans, get ready for another deep dive into an issue that is a great topic for a book club. I was predisposed to love this book, and I was not disappointed. Five stars. And YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK.

Best-selling author Picoult has taken on many controversial issues: school shooter, transplants amongst family members, hidden Nazis, suicide, racism, etc. Using a unique timeline, the plot involves an abortion clinic shooting, unspooling backwards, beginning at the conclusion of the standoff and ending with the first hour of the terror. Each chapter is one hour, as we see into the minds of each occupant of the clinic during that hour: the traveling doctor, the nurse, the aunt with a young niece, the swat team cop who is the niece's father, the anti-abortion protester as well as a young woman having an abortion, the retired college professor, and the shooter himself. One might think repetition would occur, but instead it forces the reader to look at his/her own prejudices and assumptions. This is a powerful story, that shows that emotions run deep around the issues of choice. We see that one's past provokes action in one's today, that both right and wrong answers exist, that finding the grey area is the only way to open one's ears and listen, and that the past can give us many of the answers for the way forward. This would be a provocative bookclub choice, on whichever side of the issue one lands.

Jodi Picoult's new novel covers an eventful day in the life of a Mississippi women's health clinic, told backwards in time from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. This structure is very different from the author's established process of writing each chapter from a different character's point of view. It took me awhile to get into the story and to establish who is who, as there are many different characters, each with an important role in the overall story. I'm not sure I like the reverse chronological structure, although by the end of the book I understood why the author did it that way. In typical Picoult fashion, the abortion issue is presented from all viewpoints in very fair and acceptable ways. I enjoyed hearing from all the characters, but the doctor's story grabbed me the most. His comparison of the beginning of life showing a flash of light (shown in some scientific studies) with the end of life displaying a light in a tunnel, prompts him to express these words: "It stood to reason that both life and death began with a spark of light." Hence, the book's title. The ending, when the grieving father/shooter is finally identified, is a bit of a surprise. The entire book, with all its various characters and points of view, has caused me much contemplation, which is, I'm sure, the author's desire.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors and this one didn't disappoint. While I did not enjoy the reverse chronological order of this book, it was a great story. I love how Picoult gave both sides of the abortion issue without injecting any bias into the book.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to advance read this book. This is my first Jodi Picoult book to read. At first I didn’t like the technique of telling the story from present to past. After getting the character development, I understand why she wrote the story backwards. It was choppy at times but I was intrigued by the character development backgrounds. The book kept my attention till the last page. I loved the twist at the end. I will definitely be suggesting this for my book club to read this Fall.

This was a great book. The reverse chronology was very inventive. I liked how she was addressing hard topics without inserting her own opinion. The story showed both sides in a very human light.

Jodi Picoult's newest offering, A SPARK OF LIGHT is everything I thought it would be, even after such a long wait.l I was used to reading a new Picoult novel every year - this time I had to wait a while. But the wait was well worth it.

A SPARK OF LIGHT is about a familiar topic, but I haven't seen it as well addressed in a novel before. Are you pro-life or pro-choice? The topic is displayed via an interesting format; reverse chronological order. It begins smack dab in the middle of a dangerous situation - a shooter has entered Mississippi's only "abortion" clinic. He has shot and killed people and now holds the remaining people hostage. The clinic is surrounded by police and SWAT personnel. The hostage negotiator is a capable policeman, but he has a very personal stake in this outcome; his daughter Wren is one of the people being held hostage and his sister Bex was shot in the chest. Hour by hour (in reverse) Picoult shows us the thought processes of every character in the story.

Reproductive rights and abortion are an incendiary topic. A SPARK OF LIGHT (the meaning of the title is revealed in the book as well) is a well crafted, well developed story that doesn't tiptoe around the topic - no one is a villain, no one is a hero, As Picoult does so well, she explores the intricacies of this real, ethical dilemma, and makes sure to develop the characters fully so that they become so much more than two dimensional characters spouting rhetoric. This is such an important book. Picoult is unafraid and unapologetic about making the pro-choice vs. pro-life movements the central issue of the story. Nothing else matters. And that's what makes A SPARK OF LIGHT such a success.

Jodi Piccault wrote a thoughtful book dealing with one of the most divisive subjects in America. She presents both sides of the abortion debate with compassion—something that is much needed in our nation’s discourse.

This a great book. As with all Jodi Piccoult books, it deals with tough issues. This book deals with abortion and mass shootings. I liked how Piccoult dealt at these subjects in this book. I recommend it to all Piccoult fans.