Blue Archipelago

Second Glance by Jodi Picoult

Rating

5 stars - possibly the best book Picoult has ever written

Some of you might be wondering why I’ve only just got round to reading Second Glance since I am always saying what a big Picoult fan I am - well it’s simply because it’s only just been released in the UK; despite being published in the US back in 2002!

I have to say that it was definitely worth waiting for and beside it, Picoult’s later works pale in comparison.

Second Glance kept me occupied through most of a transatlantic flight - and then during a 5 hour delay at the airport - and I was gripped throughout. In fact I was so engrossed in the story that my husband kept asking me what was wrong - because I kept gasping and shaking my head at the events that unfolded!

Second Glance is about…

Ghosts, lost loves and unanswered questions, and people who will do anything for the ones they love.

As with most of Picoult’s other novels, the story is told from the viewpoint of a number of different characters who all interact at some point during the book. The story is shaped around Ross - a ghost hunter who is searching for the ghost of his girlfriend Aimee, who was tragically killed in a car crash. When he seeks refuge at his sister Shelby’s house he finds himself caught up in the strange happenings occurring at the site of an ancient burial ground.

In a move away from ‘the norm’ the second part of the book is told entirely from the viewpoint of Lia - the woman that Ross meets in his search for Aimee. The characters are believable - and Picoult does an excellent job of weaving the different stories together.

The book also explores the topics of Eugenics and stem cell research. I admit I’d never heard of Eugenics before reading this book — dubbed as the ’self-direction of human evolution’, it involved sterilising men and woman considered ‘genetically disadvantaged’ to improve the human gene pool. I commented to my husband as I was reading the novel that it was one step away from Hitler and the Holocaust and that I wasn’t sure whether it were true or a figment of Picoult’s imagination. It wasn’t until I read the notes at the back of the book that I found that Eugenics was a real practice — and that the American programmes were actually cited by the Nazis as the foundation for their own racial hygiene plans.

I’d recommend this book to…

Anyone who is already a fan of Picoult, as well as anyone who is interested in learning more about the Eugenics programme.

Would I read another book by Jodi Picoult?

Definitely, she is still up there in my favourite author list (more so after reading Second Glance) and I’m looking forward to Songs of the Humpback Whale when it is released here in the UK later this year.

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