Book 62: Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

An amazing story told from the perspective of 5 different people who all center around Shay Bourne, a man convicted of killing a young girl and her policeman stepfather. Father Michael was on the jury that convicted Shay and 11 years later he becomes Shay's spritual advisor in prison. Lucius is one of Shay's I-tier cellmates who is in for murdering his lover. June is the mother of the child and wife of the man that Shay killed, she was pregnant with Claire when the murders occurred. And finally Maggie is the ACLU attorney that quickly attaches herself to Shay's case to highlight the wrongness of the death penalty.

Through all of these characters we see the life of Shay Bourne and how he touched them all. All of them have learning experiences and some have crisis of faith. This is a wonderful book that is not really trying to push any agenda, it just looks at the what-ifs of human life and human nature. We all have a crisis of faith sometime and faith really comes down to what we believe in and not something that we can touch. The book is very enjoyable and hard to put down. I can't say that I have read anything like it and it was a very refreshing read. Most books like this seem to push a political or religious agenda or try and shock you, but this did not, it is written straight from the heart of a woman who obviously knows a lot about human nature, and wants each of us to question the absolutes and decide for ourselves what we believe.


Date Started: 3 April 2008
Date Finished: 9 April 2008
From: Library
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Genre: Fiction, general
Setting: New Hampshire
Characters: June and Claire Nealon, Shay Bourne, Maggie, Father Michael, Lucius
Pages: 447


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Natasha @ Mawbooks