Change of Heart: A Novel

"Second Chances Can Change a Life" Title: Change of Heart, by Jodi Picoult General Subject Matter: Family Hardship, Religion, and Criminal/ Legal Issues Theme: Beliefs on different religions, sickness and death in families, validity of death penalty “In the beginning, I believed in second chances.” Jodi Picoult’s astounding novel, “Change of Heart”, is a very moving and emotional read. The quote above was the first sentence of the book. Just by this quote, a potential reader would be able to comprehend that this book will be a dramatic, but exciting book. The author starts the novel with background information. It becomes obvious to the reader that June Nealon is happily remarried after losing her first husband, and she is expecting an addition to their family. Life was good in the Nealon family right now. Picoult makes this an easy read by using contemporary dialogue and diction. Her use of point of view and detail makes this novel close to impossible to put down. This novel is fiction, and involves aspects of religion, and a family overcoming the daily struggles of losing everything, only to find that their days as a family could be few. This is an excellent book, even for a person not interested in reading. The opening presentation of this story is in 1996, but all of the occurrences in the book take place in the year 2007, in the state of New Hampshire. June Nealon is getting ready for another child, so she hires a local carpenter to come do some work on the house. Shay Bourne seemed to be a typical guy, and she needed help, so it didn’t take much contemplation to accept him into her home. As the novel progresses, the reader will see different characters develop, but will see a side of Shay Bourne that no one knew was possible. Picoult uses this book to display the struggles of watching a child overcome sickness and disease. Every family will have hard times, and Picoult uses this story to show that hard times will pass. Religion is presented in many different ways throughout the book. There are people of different religions, and some with no religion. However, religion in this novel can mean life or death, depending on what you believe. The main conflict in the story begins with June Nealon, the mother, losing her husband and oldest daughter Elizabeth. After their deaths she has to deal with the fact that her little girl is going to have to overcome a heart problem. She needs a heart transplant. Period. No other options. But there’s one problem; Claire Nealon is a ticking time bomb, and there are no donors available. Picoult uses imagery and dialogue to paint the picture for the reader, and put them into the situation. At points in the books, a reader can feel as if they are right there in the doctor’s offices, in the courtroom, or in the jail. After reading this book, Picoult would probably expect a sense of thankfulness, maybe, or a sense of realization that other people have problems too. A reader’s knowledge on religion will be expanded. But also, you might think more about if a criminal should really be punished by death in a crime. One thing that Picoult does very well is her switching points of view. Each section in the book is a different person’s view of what happened. This way, the reader receives all sides of the story. She also uses very good description and diction. One example of her breath-taking descriptions is demonstrated in the following quote in the book: “Elizabeth had been one of those little girls who seem to be made out of something lighter than flesh, with their filly legs and their moonlight hair; the ones you think would float off the jungle gym if not for the weight of their sneakers. But this photo had been taken after she was shot. Blood spattered her face and matted her hair; her eyes were still wide open.” Another example following this previous quote is as follows: “Elizabeth Nealon will never learn how to do long division, or how to ride a horse, or do a back handspring. She’ll never go to sleep away camp or

Boy oh boy, Picoult sure knows how to pick some hot buttons issues and put them into a story that you cannot stop reading, even when you know the outcome cannot be good. In her latest outing we have Shay Bourne, a convicted murderer on death row and facing imminent execution. When he learns that the sister of the young girl he is accused of killing needs a heart transplant, he tells his spiritual advisor Father Michael that he wants to donate his heart to her. Enter Maggie Bloom, ACLU attorney, who sees this case as a way to make a stand against the death penalty, and to stand up for Shay?s belief that his only way for salvation is to make this organ donation; despite the mother?s decision not to accept the heart. When miracles seem to be occurring around Shay, many people come to believe he is a Messiah. The media picks up the case and soon people are protesting and picketing outside the prison and the courtroom when Maggie gets an expedient trail for his case. Telling the story from the viewpoints of Maggie, Father Michael, another inmate and June, the mother of Claire the girl in need of a heart, we see the death penalty and religious beliefs in many different lights, always causing us to think about our own feelings to these subjects. This should be a hot book club book because there are so many things to talk about, not the least of which is the last sentence in the book.

Excellent read. I am always pulled in by Picoult's ability to make the demons in life seem so human a real. This book is thought-provoking cover to cover.