Play on Words in Picoult’s Handle With Care

Growing up, I always rolled my eyes when watching television with my mother. Not because she was hogging the remote or talking too loud on the phone but because she would find the opportunity during some program to shed a tear, or two. I, never being one to cry despite how shattering the storyline may be, found this simple act of being human annoying and mundane. As I grew older, however, I realized that this act, this simple betrayal of one’s inability to control one’s emotions, was an inevitable part of life and would one day happen to even the most stoic viewer.
Within the past couple of years, I have prided myself on adopting a reading compilation of more interesting materials; no more thrillers or mysteries, but novels that with even a sentence required me to momentarily put down the piece I was reading in order to really reflect on what my eyes had just scanned, what my brain had just absorbed. This is the feeling that I experienced while reading Jodi Picoult’s Handle With Care. This intricately and deeply moving novel takes place in Bankton, New Hampshire and revolves around a family named the O’Keefes. Charlotte, one of the novel’s main characters has a daughter, Amelia, from a previous relationship and after marrying Sean O’Keefe, becomes pregnant with a baby girl who they decide to name Willow, who is born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, otherwise known as Brittle Bone Disease.
While Picoult articulately illustrates for her readers the difficulties that plague the O’Keefe’s lives due to Willow’s disease, she quickly delves into the larger and more complex problem that ultimately becomes the novel’s focal point; a Wrongful Birth Lawsuit. After a catastrophic trip to Disney World and the threat of losing their children, the O’Keefe’s want to take action against those who have treated them badly but wind up with another option; an option that requires everyone involved to question whether or not Willow would have been better off not being born.
There are many aspects of Handle With Care that strike a chord with this reader. The title is the most poignant one. The title accurately summarizes not only the plot of the novel but the fragile state in which Willow is treated and how a disease such as Osteogenesis Imperfecta can drastically alter individuals’ lives. The title is also mentioned within the book itself; it being an inscription that Willow’s father, Sean puts on his daughter’s wheelchair.
Perhaps the most convoluted and misunderstood character is Charlotte O’Keefe. Many times, Picoult enables her audience to ask themselves if they hate Charlotte. Is it not every mother’s obligation to love her child despite what illness or difficulty has afflicted him/her? However, this specific reader often found herself having arguments in her head concerning Charlotte’s actions; couldn’t filing a wrongful birth lawsuit constitute or even be disguised as love? To create a character so complex that the reader is questioning what she/he would be doing if faced with a similar dilemma, is a rare gift and Picoult utilizes her talent in this heart-wrenching tale of a mother’s decision of what is best for her offspring.
The way the narrative is presented to the readers is another great facet of Picoult’s work and is representative of how she is able to draw her readers in. Instead of the normal, run-of-the-mill novel format, the author divulges the story through the eyes of several of her characters; truly allowing her audience to appreciate the development of each character. The way this story is told also permits the reader to get a sense of who Willow is and what she means to each character. The scene is set from the beginning, yet the characters are continuously being molded, defined by the different twists and turns that are incessantly unraveling.
In every novel, there is a point when the reader is riveted. When she or he is so impacted by what has been scanned, absorbed, that there is no other choice but to put down said novel and take a moment to reflect. In Handle With Care, Willow is depicted as a wise, older-than-her-years little girl who refuses to be classified by her illness. The most moving part of this novel occurs when Willow is leaving the hospital with her mother after yet another break and her mother accidentally bumps into a young girl who is also leaving the hospital. The little girl is completely bald and Willow reacts as any other child often does; she stares at the girl. This is ironic because as Charlotte states, “You did the one thing you hated most when it happened to you; you stared” (Picoult 112), this shows us that despite her wisdom and knowledge, Willow is still a child and she has the innocence that brands all young children. What happens next, however is Picoult’s pivotal moment. The little girl stares right back at Willow and as Charlotte notes, “But this was different; this was an equal match” (Picoult 112). There is a silent understanding between the two children that speaks volumes.
I still do not share my mother’s penchant for crying when watching made for TV movies (although that Hallmark movie channel can elicit tears from even the biggest cynic), however it is works like Picoult’s Handle With Care that makes me more reverent of my own emotions.


If you are interested in reading more about Osteogenesis Imperfecta, go to www.oif.org

Everlasting Friendship in Hannah’s Firefly Lane

I have read many a novel of friendships; friendships woven from lost innocence’s to shared intimacies, friendships that were practically born and others that took years to refine. Never before have I been able to relate to the characters on such a deep level as I have when reading Kristin Hannah’s Firefly Lane. This novel is an intricate journey into a relationship that is both complicated and simple, reserved yet youthful, surprising and satisfactorily predictable. Firefly Lane is full of rich characters who speak to Hannah’s audience and with whom this particular author found comfort.
The story opens with one of the main characters, Tully, short for Tallulah Hart. Just by her name, we assume that she is a different and spontaneous young woman with a fierce personality, but the picture of Tully that is immediately painted for us is one of a young girl who is quiet and who is in desperate need of her mother. While living with her grandmother, Tully yearns for her mother to come home, her thoughts becoming consumed with her. One year, Tully makes a macaroni and bead necklace for her mother in hopes that one day she will return to claim it and her daughter. One day, Tully thinks her dreams have come true when her mother returns and whisks her away much to her grandmother’s dismay. Tully is in her mother’s possession for no longer than a day when she loses her mother in a crowd and is eventually returned home to her grandmother. Tully’s heart breaks and Hannah enables her audience to feel her pain. The second time we, the audience are acquainted with “Cloud,” Tully’s mother, she has taken Tully away again and has moved into a house across from the Mularkeys on a street named Firefly Lane.
The second main character, Kate Mularkey is a young girl ostracized by her peers yet fiercely loved by her family – every teen’s nightmare! Kate is a plain girl and is not allowed to wear make-up and she feels as though her whole life is in shambles until she sees Tully at the bus stop one morning. Kate automatically thinks Tully is beautiful and she can only imagine how popular she is. She is too nervous to say anything to her and it isn’t until one night when Tully is stripped of her innocence that the two become fast friends.
Throughout the course of the novel, we are taken on a roller coaster ride of the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Kate and Tully’s relationship. Through various crushes, from professors to Kate’s boss, there is always this underlying tension between the two friends that is successfully quelled before it has a chance to evolve into the third world war; however one thoughtless decision forces Kate and Tully to really evaluate their friendship and what it means to each of them.
Both Kate and Tully are so well defined as characters but more importantly as women, daughters, and friends. Tully is able to elicit a sense of compassion and sympathy from Hannah’s readers, which is crucial when trying to understand and relate to a character; especially one as complex as she. However, for me, Kate was the character who I related to the best; not because we share the same name (although that helped!), but because she was an individual who seemed so sure of herself in her earlier years and who despite her love for her family, felt there was something missing from her life. Kate was a lovable character yet at times she could seem a little harsh and unforgiving, specifically with Tully. She was often overcome with emotion easily and was willing to give the shirt off her back for anybody she loved. Kate frequently put herself out there and was repeatedly hurt when she did not expect it and even when she did. Kate was a well-rounded character and even though she may not have been as full of mystery, success and instability as her best friend, she was an under-dog all her own.
Kristin Hannah’s portrayal of best friends is a beautiful story of two girls who weather thirty years together and who still manage to make each other a priority despite what obstacles come their way. The story is so intricately woven with essential detail that the reader has no choice but to envy the girls from Firefly Lane.

Edge-of-your-seat suspense in French’s The Likeness.

Throughout the years, my taste in reading material has vastly changed. I have always been a lover of suspense thrillers and murder mysteries, even subjecting myself to the often dry and monotonous prose of Agatha Christie just so I could cure my most recent case of the whodunits? However, recently, I have been reading books that are more diverse in their subject matter and that still result in me sitting biting my finger nails due to complicated love triangles rather than what the murder weapon was. It was not until I picked up Tana French’s The Likeness that I really got catapulted back into the realm of murder, suspense and intrigue and once more bit my nails down to the quick while waiting for the story to divulge its secrets to me.
As soon as I opened the cover and met the main character, Detective Cassie Maddox, I was hooked. Maddox started out her career on the Murder Squad as an undercover cop; training under a hardcore detective named Frank Mackey. Her first undercover assignment, Operation Vestal, went horribly wrong and she opted to transfer to DV or Domestic Violence. French gives her readers a little bit of information at a time regarding the botched case of Operation Vestal; just enough to keep them interested yet enable them to keep yearning for more.
One afternoon, Cassie gets a phone call from a Murder detective, Sam O’Neill. He tells her there has been a murder and asks her to come down to the crime scene immediately. Cassie hesitates, primarily because anything related to murder is no longer her responsibility. However, she can hear the urgency in his voice and decides to meet him and Mackey at the crime scene. When she arrives, she is prepared by both O’Neill and Mackey and she enters the room where the victim is laying. She gasps, not because scenes like this frazzle her anymore but because what she does find unnerving is the fact that the victim looks just like her. Cassie pulls out the victim’s identification and has to steady herself because not only is the victim a deadringer (no pun intended), but she is Lexie Madison, a fictitious person Mackey and Maddox erected to catch the perpetrators in Operation Vestal. French uses this information to her advantage and keeps her readers expecting more.
We, the readers think that French has thrown all there is to throw at us, but we are sadly mistaken. Frank Mackey, Cassie’s superior while an undercover, has what he considers a brilliant idea, contrary to Sam and Cassie’s belief. Mackey decides that due to the lack of evidence, a suspect and the obvious need to catch the culprit, there is a perfect opportunity for a carefully constructed plan for undercover. He approaches Cassie and Sam and pitches his idea to them. Frank schemes that the victim be believed to be in a coma rather than dead and that Cassie reprise her role as an undercover and become Lexie Madison once again in order to lure the killer to attack again; therefore providing a legitimate suspect. Both Cassie and Sam think this idea is ludicrous, but deep down inside, Cassie is unsatisfied with DV and she yearns to be back in the action. It could be argued that she says she will think about it just to assuage Sam’s fears of putting her in danger, but that she indeed wants to dive headfirst into what could be another chance to be successful.
Once Cassie agrees and everything is settled, Frank makes her endure a rigorous week of training; from making sure she knows all the information about Lexie’s roommates, the people she associates with down to her mannerisms and dress code. After everything has been thoroughly examined and Frank is satisfied with her knowledge, Cassie prepares herself to do her job and do it well. The day that Frank drives her “home” to Whitethorn House after recuperating in the hospital, the readers get a first glimpse of the five roommates. Daniel, a quiet and very smart young man, who inherited the house from his family, the Marches and who loves his friends even though at times it is hard for him to show it; Rafael, who goes by Rafe, attractive with a firecracker personality and a penchant to drink a lot and be promiscuous; Justin, an individual who despite his quick-to-surface anxiety, is full of compassion and love especially for his friends, and Abby, the glue that holds the group together, she is sensible which makes her a well-rounded character who balances all the others’ personalities. These five individuals are what make the story so rich in its plot and details. Each character has traits that the readers can identify with and this fact makes it hard to agree with Frank when he begins to entertain notions of them being viable suspects.
During the course of the novel, French slowly lets us into each person’s world and continues to feed us crucial information that could help us crack the mystery of who killed Lexie Madison. Perhaps, though, the true significance of this novel is the idea of belonging. The fact that even through the murder and mayhem that often ensues as a result of five very different people living together, the idea of feeling like one properly “fits” is very blatant within this book. This is evident by Cassie’s ability to so quickly fall into a life that is so unlike her own and one that welcomes her with open arms, ready to warmly embrace her. During a discussion between Cassie (as Lexie) and Daniel, Daniel describes for Cassie what it he felt like before meeting Abby, Justin and Rafe and it enables the readers to relate because the feeling of wanting to belong is universal. “…I had always felt that I was an observer, never a participant; that I was watching from behind a thick glass wall a people that went about the business of living – and did it with such ease, with a skill that they took for granted and that I had never known. Then Abby reached straight through the glass and caught my hand…I was smiling” (French 354).

A haunting love tale in Alan Drew’s Gardens of Water.

For those of us who yearn for the epic love story, yet find Shakespeare’s twisted plots and complex language too much to handle and few rom coms satisfying, we tend to fabricate puzzles of love in our minds so that we can control the outcome. However, in Alan Drew’s Gardens of Water, a hauntingly beautiful novel about first love amid other sub-plots that richly add to the storyline, we find what we have been looking for: a story that while eliciting tears from even the toughest critic, makes the quest for true love a little less difficult to bear.
We are introduced to the Basioglu family; Sinan and his wife Nilufer and their two children, Irem and Ismail. As Drew carefully and articulately unfolds the exposition to his readers, we see that life in this family is not easy for the oldest child, Irem. Ismail could be considered the golden child by his father and he can rarely do wrong in his father’s eyes. Irem is desperately searching for approval from both parents. It is interesting to witness the change in both parent’s personalities as the novel continues. In the beginning, Sinan is harsh with Irem and Nilufer scolds him and warns him that his abrasive behavior toward his only daughter will cost him her affection. However, as the novel goes on, we begin to see the shift in Nilufer’s attitude, specifically after the major earthquake, She fears she has lost her son and nothing Irem does is soothing to her mother. “Nilufer was going crazy and Irem couldn’t calm her” (Drew 33). As they grapple with losing everything they have in addition to assuming refugee status within their own country, Nilufer’s disdain for her daughter becomes discernibly more palpable.
Irem’s attraction to her neighbor, Dylan is briefly conveyed to the audience in the beginning of Drew’s jouney. Dylan is an American boy who lives with his parents in Turkey. The two of them fall in love quickly when Irem and her family move into the camp that American relief workers have set up for them. Their love soon turns into a battle as a result of the community’s strong opposition.
In addition to Irem fighting for her budding relationship with Dylan, she is also searching for acceptance from her family. As her bond with Dylan is revealed, she is yanked further and further out of her comfort zone and out of her family; in one encounter on the beach, her father, Sinan threatens to disown her if she continues to see Dylan even though his heart is breaking at the thought of it.
In Drew’s Gardens of Water, there is definitely more than one protagonist. Irem is the obvious protagonist; a young girl fighting for what she wants despite what her family believes and what her culture dictates. Yet, her father, Sinan is also a character who within himself harbors feelings of altruism; his gratitude toward the American whose wife sacrificed her life to save his son’s. The relationship between the audience and Sinan can very well be classified as a love to hate bond, Alan Drew confirms this by stating, “It sounds strange to say, but, despite the horrible things he contemplates doing, I love Sinan…His conflicted nature and his complexity are what I love most because I think we’re all like that” (Drew 349 A Reader’s Guide). Sinan is definitely a conflicted character yet some could say that the strain between his head and his heart make him human.
Throughout the novel, there is an underlying theme of faith and the importance it plays in each character’s lives, specifically for Sinan. One day while looking for food for his family, their hunger becoming more and more ravenous as a result of the earthquake, Sinan encounters a shepherd and he is allowed to take the sheep as food. While Sinan guts the sheep, he has a revelation. He sees the shepherd as a sign from God telling him that to become too attached to his time on Earth is futile because it is not until one is with God in eternity that one is really existing. He realizes that despite status, no one truly knows what it means to be with God until he or she is dead. For the people whose time had not come yet, they were haunted, therefore never really having complete lives (Drew 72).
“…because to be with your Father is the greatest-the only real existence...No matter who you were, no matter how weak and helpless, once you were dead you knew what it meant to be with God and the living did not know and the not knowing haunted the living and the haunting was the doubt that God existed at all” (Drew 72-73). This brief revelation eases Sinan’s conflictions and is perhaps the most moving part in the book; that God can bring solace and peace even in thought.

Lack of Balance in Lavender's Obedience

Individuals who decide to mark a post-secondary education as the next step in their educational career are host to many emotions. Said individuals are anxious, sad, nostalgic, excited and anticipate the very best that college life has to offer. These youth, the future generation, are eager to make their stamp on the world; zealous pupils ready to absorb whatever knowledge and experience they are given.
In Will Lavender’s Obedience, Professor Williams’ Reasoning and Logic 204 class is in for a roller coaster of a semester. They are given the hypothetical situation of Polly. She is missing and if she is not found within six weeks or the end of the semester, she will be murdered. If half of my classes in college were this interesting, I’d be on the Dean’s List. The main female protagonist, Mary Butler is immediately intrigued, more by Williams’ persona than the actual case itself. As the class gets underway, Mary and the rest of her class dive headfirst into solving the case and “rescuing” Polly.
The readers gasp as Mary opens an email with a picture of her roommate sent from her professor. We experience a tingling sensation down our spine when Mary encounters Troy Harding for the first time in the professor’s office. We question Williams’ motives in getting his class this involved in something that has become quite unnecessarily convoluted. Lavender enables his audience to sit on the edge of their seats. We become nervous yet want to turn the page for more because we, like Williams’ Reasoning and Logic 204 class have become pawns in Lavender’s thought-provoking narrative.
Through interesting twists and turns, clues and behavioral patterns that have you questioning the value of ethics, Lavender keeps you guessing the entire novel, only, unfortunately to let you down considerably with a mediocre conclusion. After experiencing the nerve wracking trip into Bell City and Cale and hoping for a “happy ending,” the reader is left unsatisfied with the ending; yearning for more and knowing that his/her reaction of “that’s it?” was slightly inevitable. All in all, Lavender knows how to draw his readers in while keeping their attention focused on all the subtle clues, yet when it comes to delivering the anticipated ending to a 287 page mystery, he exhibits characteristics that are similar to the ending itself; weak and void of suspense and intrigue.

First Book Review - Dream When You're Feeling Blue

Usually when an individual is upset and focusing on all the negative aspects of his or her life, the last thing we, as thoughtful and concerned relatives, friends, significant others, propose to them is to look at the dark side. We mention great memories to reflect upon, the ever annoying euphemism of the proverbial boat and the great opportunities that are sure to come. We never dare to suggest to dwell on the what-if’s, it won’t’s or I can’ts. We tell them to smile because life could invariably be worse and to dream; Dream When You’re Feeling Blue.
Elizabeth Berg’s Dream When You’re Feeling Blue is a novel that is fictitious in its characters, and literal plot, yet feels more real than the most non-fiction piece I have ever read. Berg’s ability to weave an intricate storyline while discovering and revealing in-depth characters is pure talent. The story primarily centers on Kitty Heaney. Kitty is what could be described as a firecracker; a dynamic personality with a sharp wit. Her interactions with her sisters, Louise and Tish, allows the reader to be transported to the kitchen where the sisters spend endless evenings writing letters to the troops serving in WWII; Kitty writing to her boyfriend, Julian, Louise to her boyfriend Michael and Tish to an assortment of young men serving their country whom she meets at the USO dances. The kitchen scene is where we see the priceless exchanges and intimate connections the sisters share along with the overall family dynamic.
Throughout the book, Kitty develops into a mature young woman with a different mentality and viewpoints while still managing to hold on to her identity as someone who cares for the troops serving her country and who wants to find true love one day. Kitty enables herself to change by quitting her job at Munson’s Jewelers and going to work at Douglas Aircraft; putting new parts on planes that are used in the war. She knows this is not respectable work for a woman and yet she has an insatiable urge to make herself part of the war effort. Kitty is setting an example for her family and it is this simple act that really defines her as an evolving young woman, enabling her to be perceived by the reader as a round character.
There are many characters within the book that demand significant attention; fickle Tish with her many interests whom she provides comfort to with her letters, serene and wise Louise, who devotes her life and heart to Michael, assuring him that he will return home to marry her. Margaret Heaney, from whom Kitty inherits her firecracker personality and sharp wit, who rules her roost with an iron fist, yet finds time to share tender loving care with her family who keeps her going, Tommy, the most demure member of the Heaney family, whose inner obligation to help the war effort perhaps rivals the most active citizen’s sense of duty. The family is comprised of many unique characters, yet the one specific person that made an indelible impression with me was Frank Heaney. His love for his family is not ostentatious, yet palpable and the reader can really get a sense of his protective love for his wife and his children. If it is sneaking a piece of Margaret’s cake, or eventually approving of his daughter’s change in employment, Frank Heaney is the epitome of a family man and he is perhaps my favorite character.
While peppered with laughs and quick-witted responses shared with us from the many characters Berg thoroughly develops, the reader must not forget the poignant undertone the novel possesses that is representative of the crucial fact that there is war taking place and lives will be lost. It is especially poignant for this author as there is a war now and lives are lost now. While feeling just a little bit guilty at benefiting from life’s creature comforts and respecting those that are fighting a war so that those comforts can continue, I take solace in my favorite character, Frank Heaney’s words, “We live but a short time, at the longest. How do we make our lives mean something? If we die in glory, with our minds and our hearts fixed on achieving a great goal, we have lived a life that mattered” (Berg 214).

First Book Review - Dream When You're Feeling Blue