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May 01, 2009

Jodi Picoult: Need I Say More?

If you haven't read a Jodi Picoult (pronounced "peek- o") book, it's not too late to catch the wave. Great writing aside (because that's a must for me to ever recommend an author), her plots are issue-based and her characters are more than three-dimensional; after just a few pages, you feel as if you've known them all of your life.

If you choose to read only one of Picoult's titles, I recommend you reach for My Sister's Keeper (2004). Why? Because, among other features, the author leaves you with no choice but to read to the end. Because you have to know what happens.

Ah, it is the sign of great fiction. For what is the number one goal of authors? To entertain, that is to please readers by keeping them reading all the way to the end.

Admittedly, I am a reader who feels no obligation to finish a book. I generally give it 50 pages (sometimes 100), and if, by then, I'm not fully engaged, I plop the book in a 9" x 12" envelope and drop it on my neighbor's front porch. (She just had an in-ground pool installed and she gets her money's worth for the investment by reading poolside five months of the year!)

Of Jodi Picoult's 15 best-selling novels, why did I choose My Sister's Keeper? First, I haven't read them all. But foremost, of the titles I have read, this one was the most compelling for me. The intensity of the must-find-out-what-happens drive is high throughout. Here's a quick summary of why (without giving it away, for those of you who haven't read it yet).

The protagonist, Anna, is a thirteen-year old girl who has undergone many medical procedures in order to help her older sister Kate battle leukemia. Anna was originally conceived and given birth to because she was a bone marrow match for her sibling. (Remember that story from the news, hence yielding the issue-driven plot?)

In short, early in the story, the protagonist meets with a lawyer because she wants to protest the next procedure request by her parents: To donate a kidney to Kate.

At this point, the reader is hooked and remains so because one of four outcomes can occur:

1. Anna can refuse to donate the kidney and Kate can die.

2. Anna can refuse to give the kidney and Kate could somehow survive (another donor, a miracle, etc).

3. Anna can change her mind, donate the kidney, and Kate can live.

4. Anna can offer the kidney and Kate can die anyway.

Do you see why I, as a reader, just had to know? What's most interesting, though is that Picoult throws in a twist that I never saw coming -- with an ending that leaves readers gasping in their chairs.

The book is now going to be released as a major motion picture. It will hit theaters on June 26, featuring such stars as Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin and more. In an interview I saw recently with Picoult for Barnes & Noble, the interviewer mentioned that the ending was changed for the movie version. I'm disappointed as this was my favorite part of the book, mostly because it caught me off guard. I never saw it coming.

I bring up this point because I believe, as writers, we should expect as much of ourselves. Often in my consultations with writers, I like to demand this level of intensity of plot from them. Together, we push the plot limits until the stakes are higher, for the protagonist, the antagonist and everyone in between (all the while holding true to the characters). It's a challenge and I present it as a goal, here, for which we all, fiction and nonfiction writers alike, should strive to achieve.

Leave mediocre behind and amaze your readers.

Do you have a favorite Picoult novel? Or is there another author whose work you just can't put down? If so, can you pinpoint why? (Commenters, please don't spoil the ending for those who might not have read any of the books you choose to mention. Thanks!)

Can't wait to hear from you!

Judy

P.S. I apologize for the lack of links in this post. I recently downloaded Google Chrome and it changed a lot of my settings. I seem to have lost my little linky-thingies that allowed me to easily paste in links, italics, etc. -- Cindy, oh Great Web Designer, HELP!

So, for more information on Jodi Picoult and all her fabulous titles, you can simply google her! Thanks for understanding.

Posted by Judy at 09:51 AM | Comments (5)