This is the first book by Jodi Picoult that I have read. Needless to say it is a powerful subject with a lot of different opinions.
I personally cannot imagine what these women go through or making the decisions that they do. This book certainly tells it like it is.

Jodi Picoult is the master of weaving intricate stories surrounding issues that are morally grey with a roundhouse of characters, who represents various shades of the spectrum. I truly think that A Spark of Light is one of her best novels. While I greatly enjoyed Small Great Things, there were times where I felt the book was not evenly handled. However, A Spark of Light looks into the issues surrounding abortion without proclaiming, which side is morally sound, and therefore, humanizes both the pro-choice and pro-life perspectives.

So with that said, A Spark of Light examines the events of one at The Center, the only women's health care and reproductive center in Mississippi. Yes, the clinic performs abortions, but Picoult is careful to show that these centers also offer other services, such as contraceptives and routine checkouts. Anyways, on this day, a shooter comes into the clinic and everything unravels from there. George, the shooter, came to the clinic because his daughter received an abortion there and he wants to exact revenge for a multitude of reasons that are revealed throughout the story.

The heart of this story revolves around Wren and her father Hugh, who is a hostage negotiator. However when he arrives on the scene, Hugh does know not that his daughter is trapped in the center with the shooter. Unbeknownst to him, Wren asked her Aunt Bex to take her to the center to procure the pill. As the day slowly unravels, we learn about each individual, who happened to be there that day. There's Joy, who was fifteen weeks pregnant, Janine, an undercover anti, who went into the clinic to record incriminating evidence, and Olive, an older woman. There's also a nurse named Izzy, who is conflicted about her relationship with affluent Parker while desperately trying to keep the injured Dr. Ward and Aunt Bex alive.

Dr. Ward is one of my favorite characters. His mother growing up died after receiving an illegal abortion and decided that his Christian duty was to protect women's rights and help them choose their own future. He is based on the real life Dr. Willie Parker, which is also super awesome. There are also some quotes that resonated with me about how Dr. Ward understands what it feels like to be a woman since white men used to own black men's bodies and now that they can't - they're trying to control women's bodies. I just think that Picoult really evokes each perspective thoughtfully and each one is different than the other.

There's also Joy and Janine, who serve as a wonderful dichotomy between pro-life and pro-choice. After a torrid affair, Joy finds herself pregnant and unable to care for the baby, so she makes the difficult decision to get an abortion. On the other hand, we have Janine, who went into the center to record evidence that these types of clinics are forcing women to have abortions. Joy and Janine have some of the most wonderful debates. One of my favorite scenes is after the shooting when Joy goes home, Janine accompanies her and starts spewing hateful things about abortion. Joy looks her in the eye and tells Janine that her abortion will always follow her for the rest of her life. I think Picoult really captures what it feels like, for some women, to have an abortion; it was the right thing for them, but it doesn't mean they don't think about it.

Anyways, I could talk about this book for awhile but I do have a couple of critics. First off, I loved all the characters a lot and I wish there was more closure for each one. The format of the book is it goes backwards in time from 6 p.m. to the start of the day. So once it finishes, we don't really see what happens after that day. There's also another perspective dedicated to the shooter's daughter, who is charged with murder after inducing an abortion, and we don't see the resolution to that story.

The backwards timeline in this book just didn’t do it for me. I felt like the characters became flat. I loved the topic, but I just never felt “into” the book.

A Spark of Light is a thought provoking book no matter which side of the debate you are on. The subject matter and moral dilemmas of the characters are well defined. I am not a fan of books where the timeline is reversed, but Picoult has written another great book.

Awesome! There is no controversial issue that Jodi Picoult will not tackle. This book is about abortion and all facets are explored during the course of an attack on an abortion clinic. You are exposed to all sides of the issue - whether you are pro-life or pro-choice this book will make you dig deep inside yourself and think about things like when does life start? When does a cell dividing become a person? At what point does a fetus have rights? At what point does a mother lose her rights - or should she? What does our legal system do to people really? How could things be better? Why do other countries have a different view than the United States? What should legal decisions be based on - science or religion or social norms?

The story is told in a backward sequence of hours and goes through what the various characters were doing at the time and the events leading them to the clinic and leading up to the attack, what happened during the attack, and the extraneous bits of peoples lives intertwined with the event.

Kudos to Jodi Picoult for telling a good story, tackling a hot-button issued, and handling the subject matter with grace and sensitivity. I see a lot of research, as always, has gone into the writing of this book and never expect anything less from Picoult. Excellent read!l

Thanks to Jodi Picoult and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.

I received a galley if this title through NetGalley.

In this new novel, Picoult tells the story of women (and men) who’s lives are connected by an active shooter situation at an abortion clinic in the South.

Oh my goodness, as always Jodi Picoult has written a masterpiece. The ability of this author to make you feel, make you think, make you hurt, and make your heart sing... she’ll always ALWAYS be one of my favorites!

The inventive format of the story, told in reverse - one chapter per hour of the fated day, makes you think you know ‘the end’ but serves to prove that the ‘end’ is just a moment in time - and this story is about the journey as much as it is the destination.

Amazing, as usual, thoughtful and provocative look at another current topic. Sure to spark needed ongoing conversation.

Did not finish. I found myself unable to engage with the characters or the story. Just wasn't my cup of tea.

I have posted this review on ReaderToReader.com where it will remain on site indefinitely. If there are any questions or concerns, please contact Vickie Denney at: Vickie@ReaderToReader.com.



"A Spark of Light"
By Jodi Picoult
Random House

Contemporary Women's Fiction -- Release Date: October 2, 2018

Hugh McElroy, a hostage negotiator in Jackson, MS is raising his teenage daughter, Wren alone. She is uncomfortable talking to her father about sex so she asks her Aunt Bex, with whom she's close, to take her to the Center to get birth control. Not that she's having relations yet, she wants to be prepared if she chooses to go "all the way."

Wren insists Bex keep this is a secret, knowing her dad would go ballistic and lecture her. Needless to say, Wren and Bex arrive at the facility which is known for performing abortions. Protestors try to stop them, but they are ignored.

A madman unexpectedly decides this is his day to take vengeance on the clinic and brandishes his gun killing the owner and wounding others. After Bex is shot, not fatally, Olive, an older patient grabs Wren to escape to a supply closet.

Their luck is short lived as this man—George Goddard, with a score to settle—has an employee search the building for other occupants, thus, Olive and Wren are dragged into the waiting room with the others.

Hugh is on the scene to negotiate with George, not revealing to his colleagues that his sister and daughter are hostages. Wren texts him until her cell dies, but she believes her dad will rescue them.

The controversial topic of abortion is given profound insight with different characters offering their perspective. "A Spark of Light" commences with the conclusion of the crime relating to the day's beginning. This unusual concept of writing the novel backward in time allows the reader to attain a riveting, in-depth look into the characters' feelings, beliefs, and actions.

This is Jodi Picoult doing what she does best - timely issues, fully-fleshed characters, and an engrossing narrative. A must buy for all general collections.

Timely hot-button issues, alternating points of view, and a narrative from the legal perspective are all present in Jodi Picoult's newest book. What is different about her newest book is that the plot is revealed in reverse chronological order. Reading the story in this format is like watching breaking news of a tragedy and then later piecing together snipers from the news media cycle of the backstory and how it got to the boiling point. After completing the book, I didn't quite have closure and was left frustrated. Maybe that was the point?

I have always loved Jodi Piccoult"s books. I was really interested in this topic and seeing how each character was affected by the topic of abortions. I did find it a little confusing that there were so many characters and that the book was written from current time backward. I did feel a connection to each character and how they interacted.. I will buy this book for my branch library and will recommend it. I overall liked the book but did not love it. Can't wait to see what she writes about next.

Have you ever watched or read the news? Was drawn into the story, felt bad for the people involved but, maybe, three seconds after you turned off the tv, went on with your day and forgot about the news story? Unfortunately, that was me and this story.
From the first page I was drawn in but as time went on, my interest began to wane and I lost interest. I think it was because the story moves backwards and because of this I never really got a change to feel close to the characters. By moving backwards, the momentum and tension felt lessoned so when the last page was turned it was equal to turning off the news. An interesting story, but one that wasn’t going to stay with me because the characters never got a chance to find a place in me.

I could not put this book down (almost to the detriment of my family as I didn't want to make dinner to stop reading). The way this story is laid out grips you right from the beginning. I like how Jodi Picoult starts with the major incident (shooter with hostages in an abortion clinic in Mississippi) then works backward throughout the day, hour by hour, to see how everyone got to that place. Brilliant! Highly recommend reading this book, but be warned that you won't be able to put it down! :-)

Engrossing and Thought provoking; and tries to cover emotions and ideologies from both sides of the issue. . It will be a good book discussion book.

I really hate the format of this book and will be glad when the writing stories backwards phase is over. This author always writes thought provoking novels and this one is no different. Abortion, pro-choice and pro-life are all hot topics in today's society. I know research was done because of the author's note, but I feel the author had an agenda that shadowed over the story. Pro-choice readers will love this book.

At first I was disturbed by the weird reverse order of events, but ultimately this style works for the story. Picoult as usual tackles an important topic of the day; A Spark of Light is thought provoking, and would be a great book club selection.

Another timely novel by Jodi Picoult, tackling the issue of abortion, pro-life vs pro-choice. I'd say the ending was a bit abrupt, but the beginning was solid.

Jodi Picoult is hit or miss for me...sometimes I like her work, sometimes I really don't at all. This one was a hit. It's a timely subject, but Picoult looks at it from several points of view that you don't always get. Suspenseful, with a bit of a surprise at the end that kept me guessing throughout.

This novel really worked being written backwards in time! Ms Picoult takes the reader from an active hostage situation in a women’s reproductive clinic back, hour-by-hour, to explore what brought each character to that point. She effectively delves into the mindset of each person involved: doctor, nurse, patients, police, pro-life protestors, and shooter without judging their beliefs. I especially appreciated the Author’s Note and comments at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for sharing an ARC with me.

Jodi Picoult has written another thought provoking book, this time dealing with abortion. Two single dads, two teen daughters. Both dads raising their girls to the best of their abilities. Then separate actions taken by their daughters cause the dads to come into life threatening conflict with each other at an abortion center.
Picoult's characters are believable and fall on both sides of the abortion issue. Regardless if readers are pro-life or pro-choice, this book will give them some understanding of individuals on the other side of the the issue. I recommend A Spark of Light for book club discussions.