#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of Small Great Things returns with a powerful and provocative new novel about ordinary lives that intersect during a heart-stopping crisis.“Picoult at her fearless best . . . Timely, balanced and certain to inspire debate.”—The Washington Post The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center—a women’s reproductive health services clinic—its staff … Center—a women’s reproductive health services clinic—its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage.
After rushing to the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, sets up a perimeter and begins making a plan to communicate with the gunman. As his phone vibrates with incoming text messages he glances at it and, to his horror, finds out that his fifteen-year-old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic.
But Wren is not alone. She will share the next and tensest few hours of her young life with a cast of unforgettable characters: A nurse who calms her own panic in order to save the life of a wounded woman. A doctor who does his work not in spite of his faith but because of it, and who will find that faith tested as never before. A pro-life protester, disguised as a patient, who now stands in the crosshairs of the same rage she herself has felt. A young woman who has come to terminate her pregnancy. And the disturbed individual himself, vowing to be heard.
Told in a daring and enthralling narrative structure that counts backward through the hours of the standoff, this is a story that traces its way back to what brought each of these very different individuals to the same place on this fateful day.
One of the most fearless writers of our time, Jodi Picoult tackles a complicated issue in this gripping and nuanced novel. How do we balance the rights of pregnant women with the rights of the unborn they carry? What does it mean to be a good parent? A Spark of Light will inspire debate, conversation . . . and, hopefully, understanding.
Praise for A Spark of Light
“This is Jodi Picoult at her best: tackling an emotional hot-button issue and putting a human face on it.”—People
“Told backward and hour by hour, Jodi Picoult’s compelling narrative deftly explores controversial social issues.”—Us Weekly
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I HIGHLY recommend this book! I finished it easily in one day because I never wanted to put it down. It is sad, informative, and reaches the point of the book quickly and withholds this prediction throughout the entirety of the story.
Amazing book! Great for a book club.
My least favorite book of Jodi Picoult’s. It dove in strong, but the middle of the book seemed to grab on, while the ending lacked closure. The backward timeline made it hard to follow, along with two similar character’s having similar names, Joy and Janine.
Mostly though, what happened to Lil?
She handled a difficult topic with grace. I think the best part of the book are the questions she posses at the very end.
I love allllll Jodi picoult
You are lead to think Jodi Picoult is leading you down a particular path with the characters she focused on but totally changes things up in the end as she usually does. I wasn’t happy with this perspective. I wish she was more even handed with a difficult subject.
I was confused reading this book because it starts in present time and goes backwards. Took me a while to realize that.
Memorable very thought provoking. A great read.
An excellent read. Could not put it down. Very relevant in yoday’s Political climate.
Amazing book, and relevant! Amazing ending, it all came together in an amazing way!!!
Hard to read as it goes from present backward but worth sticking with. Relevant
Addresses current opinions re:abortion. Made you think about issue from different perspectives
I liked this story ok, and the narrator did a fine job of telling the story. It was also great that each person told their part in the story. What I didn’t like was how the chapters skipped around in time to tell the story. I got a bit confused from time to time with this telling of the story. I would eventually realize where we were at and what was going on, but you don’t want to have to do that when listening to a book, you want to know right away what is going on and when it’s happening in time.
So I liked the story, but I didn’t really like how it was presented.
The tragedy of abortion – and the attending violence at clinics – are both dissected compassionately in this heart-rending new novel by Jodi Picault. It took me a while to get my head around the backwards timeline, and I concur with a lot of other reviewers who don’t think it was a particularly effective literary tool. But I found her unfolding plot fascinating, the portrayal of both points of view fairly even-handed, and the many biblical and spiritual references to be shared with eloquence and respectful honesty.
In the end, this writer’s story does support a pro-choice position, but Picault does not mock the earnest people who feel strongly that the ending of an unborn life is murder. In her own conclusion, shared at the end of the book, she implores both sides to agree that a renewed commitment to robust contraception planning is the best way to sharply reduce the number of abortions performed in the United States: a goal both sides ought to be able to heartily support.
No matter where you come down on this impossible issue, you can’t fault Ms. Picault for doing tons of research, interviewing hundreds of people involved on both sides of the industry, and sharing helpful insights into the entire process, both from a legislative and medical perspective.
Picoult never fails to use her incredible skills at research as teachable moments that will keep readers coming back for more.
This book was an awakening. The author was excellent at telling both sides of the story and it made me reconsider my opinion on such a huge conflict in the real world we live in today!
Very good with controversial issues regarding abortion. different stories, scenarios.
Jodi Picoult is a master storyteller and, as with much of her prior writing, the subject matter of this book is current and relevant. The most difficult aspect for me the was the way it was written – in reverse, starting at the end and working backward, hourly, over the course of the day. One of the reviewers described reading the chapters in reverse. I wish I had thought of that! I think I would have enjoyed it more. But as always with Picoult, a compelling read with rich characters.
Writing style was different from her other books. I found it predictable.
Jodi PIcoult at her best. Telling a story around a tough problem: abortion, and in a very witty way. Going backpedaling in time from the end of the story to the beginning and following the characters trough their day. The audiobook is great.