Keeping Faith: A Novel

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It's a hit!

I could not put this book down. As with any other Jodi Picoult books! The story was so compelling and you never knew quite where it was going. It r... (show more)

I could not put this book down. As with any other Jodi Picoult books! The story was so compelling and you never knew quite where it was going. It really engaged me as a reader because I began to get involved with the story and wonder what I would believe or not believe in such a situation (jury's still out haha). While I would have liked the very last page to not leave doubt in the reader's mind, at the same time I realise that it was true to the story to leave it like that. I really love the way Picoult captures human emotion and raises ethical and moral questions that pervade the world today. While religious beliefs are a theme in the book, I like that this was a book without a specific religious agenda, as some of these types of stories can be. It left the judgement up to the reader to assess their own beliefs. I would definitely recommend this to anyone. (show less)

 

 

by Keri Arkell

No, it's a flop!

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 ... (show more)

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. (show less)

 

 

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  I think I would have enjoyed this story more if I hadn't had such high expectations for it. I have read two other Jodi Picoult books prior to this one and couldn't put them down. This one wasn't quite as powerful to me.

  As with most of Picoult's stories, there is no answer at the end or definitive conclusion, just each person's interpretation of the facts and their own conclusion based on their own morals and values. However, in the other two stories, I thought there was a better, mor... (show more)

  I think I would have enjoyed this story more if I hadn't had such high expectations for it. I have read two other Jodi Picoult books prior to this one and couldn't put them down. This one wasn't quite as powerful to me.

  As with most of Picoult's stories, there is no answer at the end or definitive conclusion, just each person's interpretation of the facts and their own conclusion based on their own morals and values. However, in the other two stories, I thought there was a better, more conclusive ending to the story than this one had. This one felt a bit abrupt after all the story development - sort of like she felt the book was getting too long and needed to wrap it up quickly.

  I really liked seeing how Mariah developed as a person and as a mother through the story though. And I love the relationship b/t Mariah and her own mother. (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook User on Mar 06, 2009 at 08:30PM

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  Well, I didn't hate it but, there was something about this novel that left me scratching my head. From the very beginning of this story straight through to the not-so-shocking conclusion, I felt like I was hit with one "extraordinary" coincidence after another. This wouldn't have been a bad thing if they'd all manage to tie into one another by the end of the novel. Instead, it felt more like each piece was separate from the underlying message Picoult was trying to get across (wha... (show more)

  Well, I didn't hate it but, there was something about this novel that left me scratching my head. From the very beginning of this story straight through to the not-so-shocking conclusion, I felt like I was hit with one "extraordinary" coincidence after another. This wouldn't have been a bad thing if they'd all manage to tie into one another by the end of the novel. Instead, it felt more like each piece was separate from the underlying message Picoult was trying to get across (whatever that was).

  It never felt like anything was fully fleshed out. I don't want to list too many examples because I don't want to fill this review with spoilers. But, the obvious religious angle, the miracles, the mother's history of depression and her later love affair with the teleatheist all played out for me in a giant muddle.

  I feel like there was a lot of potential here and I don't 100% regret reading it. However, it certainly left me wishing it packed more of the typical punch of a Jodi Picoult novel. (show less)

   

   

  by Jaime Lee Cocca on Oct 22, 2009 at 02:01PM

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