I enjoyed this book although it was a little hard to follow from the start as it started in the present time and then followed with the events leading up to that time .
A very interesting and informative book .

Wow!
Absolutely blown away.
This book certainly did not disappoint, I could not put it down.

A very interesting and sensitive subject which causes debate amongst hundreds and thousands of people. The book was fast paced and very well researched.

I will be recommending this book to everyone. Another fabulous novel by Jodi Picoult!

An interesting,if somewhat repetitive read, that came to a rather unsatisfactory abrupt end. This book would make good reading for any woman considering an abortion.

I always loved Jodi Picoult for a holiday read, books that were quick and gripping and entertaining. Then I read Small Great Things last year and it totally changed the way I thought about her as an author, it was a much meatier read, touching on politically and socially charged topics. A Spark of Light is similar in that it looks to explore harder-to-discuss topics, in this case abortion. I think it's a really important conversation to be having and I admire her for writing it considering the current political climate. I liked that she explored the argument from both sides and tried to give understanding to each. I am pro-choice but I appreciated how she tried to portray both ideals fairly. I really enjoyed it and i felt compelled to read on, but I do think that the writing at times was a little contrived. I would still recommend it to others and I think it will open a platform for conversation on this abortion.

A Spark of Light was a very interesting book, from the concept to the execution and I really liked it. It tells the story of a hostage situation in an abortion clinic in Mississippi, and the abortion debate in America is an interesting subject in its own right but Picoult writes the book backwards, starting at 5pm and works back to the beginning of the day. It follows the stories of ten people: Wren, Hugh, Bex, George, Beth, Izzy, Joy, Janine, Olive and Louie who all contribute to the abortion debate in the USA.
Firstly, I loved the decision to tell the story backwards. You meet the characters at the end and as the day moves backwards, you learn more about who they are and how they ended up in the position they are in. It’s a very effective way of telling the story and a different one which makes it stand out. Telling the story from the end also leaves room for a couple of revelations, which I didn’t see coming. They were nice little twists which just tied everything together.
The thing I have always liked about Picoult’s writing is that she is not afraid to take on controversial topics. She’s covered a lot of them over the years, school shootings, paedophilia, underage sex are just a few of them and now abortion. I found it to be very sensitively handled, especially seeing as how controversial abortion is in America. I liked how she showed both sides of the argument, she took the time to explain why women chose abortions and she explained why people are opposed to abortion. It was a very balanced book, in my opinion, and I very much appreciated that Picoult didn’t try to push one agenda over another. I also liked that Picoult wrote at the end about her research for the novel, again it was very balanced, and the bibliography would be very useful for anyone who wants to read more about the subject.
The characters were also another strength. You can see all of their points of view and, although I am not opposed to women having abortions; it’s their choice, even the pro-life/anti-abortion characters were sympathetic. You can understand why they believe the things they do, even the shooter who holds the clinic hostage. They all felt like real people with real dilemmas and it just made the book feel like it was having an actual debate rather than just preaching.
A Spark of Light isn’t perfect, it ends very abruptly and I think I would have preferred to have the epilogue be a little bit longer, just to see what happened to the characters after the event. It all ended a little bit too quickly for me, especially since the end happened at the beginning so a wrap up would have been nicer. On the whole, I really enjoyed it.
I read A Spark of Light at the same time as The Poppy War, a book I really did not enjoy and this book actually stopped me from hitting a reading slump because I actually enjoyed it. I liked the opening up of a debate and I liked that it was not preachy towards one side to the other. I found it to be a sympathetic and though provoking piece with realistic characters you can empathise with. On the whole, I found A Spark of Light to be a very good book.

I received this superb first chapter sampler through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher Corvus in return for an honest review. Thank you most sincerely for my copy. I am and always have been a huge fan of Jodi Picoult’s novels and I could not resist taking this opportunity to read the first chapter of her latest novel, always knowing I would read the entire novel upon release. Wow, what a terrific story she has envisaged in this scenario of widely differing opinions about the controversial subject of abortion: the rights of women to make choices about their predicament and what happens to their bodies, balanced finely against the right to live. The statistics quoted are all verified by experts in their field. The emotions, opinions and ideology of the characters in this story are laid out and examined and what a fabulous, engrossing debate it is. Luckily I was later selected to read and review the entire novel. What an honour and a privilege. I am now ready to amend my review in the ‘spark of light’ I have gained from reading the entire novel, some parts twice over.
The controversial Centre for women's reproductive health is infiltrated by a protester with a gun. It is a hostage situation with the gunman barricading himself in. A negotiator works his way inside, professional, well balanced and calm, but inside boiling with concern for his daughter who is one of the hostages, along with his beloved sister. This is the point at which the ‘back’ story starts. From then on it tells the story backwards, counting down the time. It tells the reason why everyone is currently at the hospital and puts forward their reasons for their choices. Some characters are working in the centre; some are there for advice only, some for prescriptions and others supportive family or friends are patients. One is an infiltrator there only to gather information to use against the Centre. They are all taken hostage; only a few escape or are later released. Some are killed, others wounded. Jodi Picoult is neither judge nor jury, she just lays bare the facts in front of the reader and this is what I really love about her writing. It is involving, intriguing and very exciting. It is your job to decide for yourself which side of the debate you take. Jodi Picoult is an incredibly intelligent and talented wordsmith full of empathy, compassion and understanding about the subject she has chosen. You may change your opinion once you are fully acquainted with the statistics and ideology. Her meticulous research has used both primary and secondary sources and I truly believe she has presented a comprehensive and balanced précis of each side of the argument. The characters she has created are an eclectic mix, as in any hospital facility. You are bound to feel for them as you come to read more and more about them. This is one of the author’s greatest achievements. Her carefully crafted characters are appealing and you feel like you are involved in their story. I loved reading this poignant novel from every aspect. It’s a 4.5* review from me and a recommendation that this is an excellent read.

I know that this author is prolific and has a big following. I am afraid that I really disliked this book. While comfortable with flashbacks which enhance a story, this was mainly flashbacks. Almost every character had their memories recorded and it seems to me that there is no timeline. It is difficult to see which opinions are held when. I think that this is important given the debate which still goes on about abortion.
I certainly see that the topic is important but I don't like the way this is written.
I know that this author has many fans but I am not one of them - sorry.

I have read and loved all of Jodi Picoult's previous books. She isn't afraid to tackle any subject and this book being about abortion is no different. However I didn't enjoy it. There were too many characters to keep track of and I didn't like how the storyline was in reverse. This is definitely the worst book I have read by one of my favourite authors.

Picoult's A Spark of Light is a fantastic representation of the existing opposing views around pregnancy and termination. Tackling a challenging subject in a sensitive and tactful way, Picoult shines a light on both sides of the debate and gives heart and life to each character entrusted into her novel.

Picoult covers the struggles of young women fighting to reclaim their bodies, and the struggles of those fighting against it, but neither side are viewed as "bad". Instead, the worst character arguably is the rogue shooter determined to avenge his daughter.

A powerful read, A Spark of Light will pack an emotional punch and give a level, equal view of the arguments for and against abortion, but throughout there is an underlying tone that we shouldn't lose our humanity.

Back and forth time stories diminish, rather than heighten, involvement and tension

Jodi Picoult is a seasoned popular writer, and though on one level she writes good quality page turners she escapes being seen as airport or beach read because her books are about ‘stuff’, and the reader is given important issues to think about

Here, the issue is abortion. Which is certainly a highly charged one, particularly as the abortion laws, and the geographical ease of a woman having access to legal services, varies from state to state

Picoult sets this one in an or I should say, the abortion clinic in Mississippi.I discovered from the interesting factual afterword to the book in which Picoult explains context that indeed there is only one legal provider in the whole of the State. In 2018 that State passed a law banning abortions after 15 weeks. Exceptions may be made for severe foetal abnormalities – but not for rape or incest.

The high drama in this novel as well as the ideological debates, the individual stories of each woman in that clinic, and those who work there, comes from the violent clash with opposing, deeply held beliefs, and a society which gives people the right to bear arms. Conviction and guns don’t go well together. A shooter with a back story has planned a mass killing of people in the centre, as punishment and vengeance.

Inside the centre, a man with a gun. Outside the centre, the police team – and the police negotiator who wants to talk the shooter down, and prevent the kind of carnage which might result if the SWAT team storm the centre. And then it turns out that the negotiator has family members inside the clinic…

There were several challenges with this book, which prevented it from working, for me Firstly, Picoult’s decision not to tell the story in linear mode, nor even in a simple split time frame. She constantly bats backwards and forwards, in a fashion which seems almost random, with the major characters. So we have something that happened at the start of the day, then a flip to a character entering the clinic, then going back to that character at some earlier point thinking about setting up her appointment, then the moment when gunshots are heard, and so on. It rather diminishes, not heightens tension. And of course this similar device is being used on most of the characters. We also know, from the start, that certain people (whose flip back and forth part stories we continue to read as the book progresses) were killed by the shooter.

In the end, this meant that I had far less invested in the characters than was needed.

In fact, the most interesting part of the book for me was Picoult’s intelligent afterword.

There ARE of course also problems in that, though she does try, it is quite difficult to see any of the pro-lifer characters as having nuance and rationality in their make-up. There is one scene, near the end of the book, (one of the flip back and forth scenes) where the clinic doctor and a pro-lifer have a conversation in which they see each other as human beings, more than as ideological positions, but this was the only time I had a sense of that. It was always very clear that ‘our side’ had the nuanced, thoughtful people understanding and struggling with ambiguity, whereas the other side seemed naïve and blinkered at best – and, at worst, well, - there we have the shooter

I really struggled with this one. I found the reverse timeline hard to follow and just couldn’t keep track of all the characters.

This is a though-provoking read,like all of Jodi Picoult's books,dealing with the controversial topic of abortion in the southern states of the USA.It follows the usual pattern of her books,telling the story of a group of people caught up in a hostage crisis in a Women's Health Centre in Mississippi where ,among other things,abortions are carried out ,from various points of view.
The structure of the book takes time to get to grips with, as it's told in reverse,starting almost at the end and working back in time to the events which began with the gunman's arrival.Things don' t really fall into place till the end,so it's worth staying with the book till,then.
As always ,the issues are meticulously researched and presented in a very balanced way,with both pro-life and pro-choice viewpoints presented.
Maybe not the easiest of her books to read, but interesting and compassionate.

I thoroughly enjoyed this short story. I love Jodi Picoult’s books but this is the first short story of hers I e read. I did wish it were longer, though, to get the full force of her writing, characterisation etc.

I was disappointed with this book, didn't have the grab factor for me and it was a bit like plodding through mud.

I normally really enjoy books from this author but sorry this just wasn't for me.

I did really enjoy reading A Spark of Light - it was as well written as all of the author's other books and I finished it in a day. My major problem reading it was one which I think will be echoed by many other readers: the structure. Reverse chronology narratives very rarely work effectively, and I don't think this was one of those times. It was difficult to empathise with characters when you know they'll be dead by the end of the chapter. A good proportion of the book was dedicated to characters nursing other characters and convincing the shooter to take them to safety, but rather than being on tenterhooks as to whether they'll survive, I found myself disengaging entirely because I knew the answer.

The other issue I had with the book was its balancing of the arguments. Abortion is a sensitive topic, and I appreciated the author's attempts to display the arguments on both sides. Personally, I think it was no fault of hers that the pro-choice arguments came across as vastly superior compared to the weakness of the anti-abortion arguments, but I did find it unfortunate that the only anti-abortion narrative voice was from such a deeply hypocritical character. The author's books commonly revolve around these difficult moral choices, with both arguments presented, but in this case the balance seemed tipped from the start.

This is another gripping and thought provoking read from Jodi Picoult. Once I started, I just wanted to keep reading. I loved the way the story started in the present and worked its way backwards throughout the day giving an insight into each individual character and what had brought them all into the clinic that day. As a woman, I did find some parts very uncomfortable to read but it was brilliantly written and it is a real talent to invoke such emotions in your readers. I would highly recommend this book - 5 out of 5 stars *****

Thank you to NetGalley, Jodi Picoult and the publisher for the ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Spark of Light centres around an abortion clinic, where the staff and visitors have been taken hostage. The story is much about Wren and her father Hugh, the negotiator sent to diffuse the hostage situation. It is told largely in flashback, which is a little confusing at times because the story changes voice without warning. The writing as you would expect from Jodi Picoult is extremely well written and engaging, so I’m sure A Spark of Light will be a success.

I absolutely love Jodi Picoult and was very grateful to be given the option of reading this book before publication.

The subject matter is very personal to me, so much so that I wondered whether I would be ok reading this book or whether I would find it too upsetting. Knowing that a great many (if not all) of the Authors books are based around emotive subjects though, I knew that she would present the facts without any bias of opinion. She did this so brilliantly that I even found myself considering the 'other side of the argument' many times.

Abortion is, and always will be, a highly debated topic and I cannot imagine how tough it is to write about, but Ms. Picoult has done it with aplomb and a brilliant storyline. We start at the 'end' of the story and make our way back through time to the beginning of the day. There were a couple of twists at the end - one I saw coming and one that I didn't!

I throughly enjoyed the fiction aspect of the story and it didn't really seem like fiction at all to me, as I imagine this could easily happen. I don't want to say too much for fear of giving anything away, but the book centres on the story of a shooter in an abortion clinic.

If I had to give a negative comment at all, I would have liked to read more about Izzy's story as I felt that was slightly unexplained (what happened afterwards, etc) but all in all I would highly recommend this book and I am now going to go back and re-read all the other Picoult novels as it's got me back in the mood!

Author Jodi Picoult is no stranger to controversy, and it seems somehow fitting that she should tackle the contentious issue of a woman's right to abortion in this, her latest offering. Set in a women's reproductive health services clinic, now becoming a rare commodity, the story kick starts with a bang with a desperate gunman shooting at those within the clinic and holding them hostage. The narrative then proceeds to go back in time to the start of the day for the wide cast of characters present and the multiple reasons for their presence at the clinic. This includes clinic staff, pro life people, the desperate gunman's tale, and clinic clients. Outside, Hugh McElroy is the police hostage negotiator, alarmed to discover his 15 year old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic with her aunt, his sister.

Picoult takes an incredibly balanced approach, showcasing her impressive research skills on this incendiary topic of reproductive rights. She presents the science, the legal, religious, cultural norms, state differences, national and international angles, not to mention the issue of race, making this a novel that is thought provoking and prime material for book club discussions. She captures the intensity of the feelings people have on the topic, both pro life and those who uphold a woman's right to choose, exposing the misinformation peddled in the arguments. This is a story with plenty of tension and suspense, and the unexpected, which I found both gripping and timely, given what is happening in the world today. As such, this is a novel that I recommend highly. Many thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC.

Although the situation and context was of real interest, I felt that the broken timeline of the story meant at times that it lost the sense of urgency that it might have had otherwise.
It also really brought home the issue of abortion in the US - as UK reader, I didn't realise quite how unreasonable their laws were (such as requiring doctors to tell their patients things that aren't true).
The round-up at the end was to me the most enduring part.