Review: Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

Title: Lone Wolf
Author: Jodi Picoult
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Atria
Publish Date: February 28, 2012
Source: Library

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a fiction fan.
• You like books that make you think.
• You don't mind tough topics.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Edward Warren, twenty-four, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: His dad lies comatose, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara.

With her father’s chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father’s organs. Is he motivated by altruism, or revenge? And to what lengths will his sister go to stop him from making an irrevocable decision?

Lone Wolf explores the notion of family, and the love, protection and strength it’s meant to offer. But what if the hope that should sustain it, is the very thing that pulls it apart? Another tour de force from Jodi Picoult, Lone Wolf examines the wild and lonely terrain upon which love battles reason."

My Two Cents:

Let me preface this by saying that I love Jodi Picoult's books. She takes hard issues and turns them in to really good, page-turning situations that make you think. She also has a way of making the books not a chore to read even though they usually cover a pretty heavy topic (this one covers brain injuries and the medical decisions that families have to make in that situation). There's always a good story behind the issue that makes her books compulsively readable. I finished this book very quickly.

One thing that I really liked about this book is the multiple narrators. Throughout the book, Luke, the father of two of the other main characters, is on a ventilator in the hospital. We still get to hear him speak about his beloved wolves. He was a conservationist with a particular interest in wolves. At times, his children seem to think that he loves wolves more than he loves them. Through his chapters, we get to see that isn't really true but rather he uses wolves and their habits to make sense of his own life.

I liked most of the twists and turns in the book but there was one that really threw me. I don't want to give anything away because it plays a huge role in the book. I was mystified when it happened. Luke is a man that often times doesn't seem to understand human interaction and emotion. And then he goes and does what he does. It seemed out of character to me. Why would he do something like that? Was he just acting like a wolf (following an impulse) or what? Sorry to be vague but... it had to be said.

I really liked Picoult's treatment of the medical decision issue. Very, very few of us relish the idea of thinking about what will happen to us after we die. As this book points out, not deciding can prove hazardous in a way to our families. Those decisions are huge and hard to navigate.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book. This is a great book for those that want a little bit to think about when they're relaxing with a book.