Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Keeping Faith
Book Review: Riveting and fast pace
Summary: 4 Stars
I was very happy that I bought this book. Once I started, I literally could not put it down, and I finished it in less than 24 hours despite having to work and to tend to my nine month-old son.
What I liked about this book most is the development of Mariah's character. At the beginning, I just wanted to shake some sense into her, but it was nice to see her turn around, become stronger and fight for her daughter...
Millie was also another of my favorite character. She herself never stopped believing that her daugher had it in her to not only become stronger, but be there for her granddaughter.
However, I had some disappointment at the very end of the book. I felt a definite loose end, a sense of unfinish. It's like I sensed something else developping, and bam... the whole thing is cut off. This is why I did not rate it a full five star, which otherwise it would have deserved.
All in all, this is a book that I definitely would recommend
Book Review: Should have been condensed
Summary: 3 Stars
The book was very good...I love the way that Picoult writes; however, the story could have been about 50 pages shorter and still had the same affect. I got really bored through the court case when everything was repeated from earlier in the story for the case. It just didn't move fast enough from about page 200 on. It drug a little bit for me.
Don't get me wrong, I love the books of hers that I have read, but this one left a little to be desired.
Book Review: So Glad I'm Finally Done!
Summary: 2 Stars
So it took me about a month and a half to read this book. Usually that would mean that it was so bad that I just couldn't get through it. To the contrary, I thought it was a good book (not great, but good), just a little too slow for me. There were so many times I wanted to read, but I was bored with it, so I just put it down. I thought the story line was a good one, but there was so much unnecessary story added to it, that it seemed to drag on and on.
I thought Ian's press conference at the end was a total cop out. The entire book I spent wondering what he was going to say, what people were going to think when they heard him say it. I am disappointed in the way that played out. I've only read one other Jodi Picoult book (My Sisters' Keeper), but I also thought that story had a cop out in it too - which was the ending. It seems when there is an issue that everyone is thinking about, Jodi decides to play it safe and instead of taking a stand one way or the other, she takes the safe road and doesn't make a decision. That bothers me a lot.
I found Metz's cross exam on Mariah unrealistic as he was was badgering her and downright calling her a liar. Yet her attorney just sat there and hardly objected at all. Those questions, while it made for a nice story, never would have played out in a real trial. Mariah's attorney would have objected continuously and the Judge never would have allowed that line of questioning to continue. Also, the continuous adding of witnesses and exhibits at the last minute by Metz were unrealistic. Counsel submit witness and exhibit lists for a reason - exactly so that this "surprise" doesn't come up in trial. I doubt the Judge would have allowed either. In that regard, I found the Judge to be unrealistic.
I actually found myself questioning Mariah throughout the story. When everyone was wondering if she was hurting Faith, I myself was wondering if there was something we didn't know. Even though we, as readers, saw first hand the miracles that Faith performed, and her stigmata, it still seemed so unbelievable to me, that I thought the only thing that made sense was that Mariah indeed was causing Faith to behave in such a way. But perhaps that's just because I don't believe in god and so it didn't seem real to me.
I also thought there were sooo many characters. I couldn't keep any of the Preists straight and eventually stopped caring all together.
In the end, I will never re-read this book. I'm glad I'm *finally* done. And I guess in hindsite the story added very little value to my life. I'm not going to sit here and think about it anymore and that's usually the sign that the book wasn't that great overall.
Book Review: TMI
Summary: 4 Stars
I have read five or six books by Jodi Piccoult, and have enjoyed them all. However, in each one I find that it seems they are longer than necessary. This is true of this latest read, "Keeping Faith". I felt it bogged down in the courtroom chapters due to too much information that wasn't necessary. Also, I have some unanswered questions. Why was it that Faith could heal her grandmother and others in the hospital, but was only able to give a brief respite from Autistic behavior for Michael? Also, the ending just left me hanging. I like the twist endings Jodi Piccoult usually writes, but this one was not one of my favorites. That said, I really did enjoy the book and plan to read more of Jodi Piccoult. I would recommend the book to friends with reservations.
Book Review: This Review May Not be Entirely Fair
Summary: 3 Stars
1. I read the book during a VERY stressful period on my life so I did not give Keeping Faith the level of attention and focus I usually do with the books I read. My feelings about the story are very half-a**ed.
2. I read the book back-to-back with another Jodi Picoult book, Perfect Match, and the repetitive themes in her writing pattern became so evident (the story is set around some controversial issue, the complexities of motherhood are the primary undercurrent to the story, there is a completely unforeseen twist within the last 50 pages of the book, and the ending involves a court room drama) that it took away from this book's entertainment value. Had I spaced the books out a bit, this would likely not have been the case.
Anyway, this is the 4th Jodi Picoult book I've read and like I said before, this author has a formula and Keeping Faith follows it to a tee. In this case, the controversy is a little Jewish girl popping out Christian miracles like a Pez dispenser. Said miracles begin in the midst of a messy divorce between her cheating father and mentally unstable mother, and result in a media hailstorm right outside her front door. Throw a dollop of court room drama, a pinch of inevitable romance and a smidgen of plot twist, and you got a perfect Picoult prose! Unfortunately, it just didn't do it for me this time.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Suggested With: A long break from Picoult.