Truth be told, I’ve always avoided Jodi Picoult’s books, simply because I considered her writing to not be “my kinda thing”. A subjective assumption based on another subjective assumption that she was another ‘Danielle Steele’ whom I assume is a romance novelist. Quite an outlandish observation if you ask me, considering that I’ve never read either of their books – well, at least, not until now…
My sister forgot a copy of Second Glance at my place, and since I’d depleted all my reading supplies, I thought I’d give it go, despite the cover tagline: “The love of your life is dead. In that moment, you lost every reason to live. What would you do?” Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t give this book a second glance, but the summary on the back cover kind of reeled me in. This was largely based on the fact the main character was male, and in my mind, it clearly couldn’t be a ‘love story.’ However, there is also a supernatural element – ghosts; something I always consider a winner.
Pop goes the cherry…
Second Glance tells the story of Ross Wakeman, a man who lost his fiancée – Aimee – in a car accident nearly a decade ago, and has spent the better part of these years trying to kill himself. After failing to succeed, he decides to try ghost hunting in an attempt to reconnect with his lost love. After failing to find Aimee’s ghost, he visits his sister in Comostook, Vermont. A visit largely attributed to the supernatural occurrences happening in and around Comostook, which is believed to be works of angry Native American ancestors trying to prevent the construction of a mall strip on an alleged Indian burial ground.
Ross meets Lia – a young married woman and kindred soul, who seems to share his interest in dying. Not before long, Ross realises that he has fallen in love with Lia, but she is just like Aimee – another love he can’t have. This plunges Ross’s world into a downward spiral, and he yearns to die even more, but not quite yet. He is torn between his desire to find an eternal love – whether in this life or the next – and not failing his sister and his ailing nephew, again.
The morning after…
Satisfied and wanting more. I think I might have a little crush on Picoult’s writing style – and this says a lot if you consider my track record – Michael Connelly, John Grisham, Stephen King, Nelson DeMille, Wilbur Smith, Karen Rose and the likes thereof.
What I walked away with…
Everyone experiences disappointment. It’s the one thing we all have in common; the only difference is how we deal with it.
If you’re looking for something new to read, or if you haven’t tried one of Picoult’s books yet, I recommend Second Glance – definitely one for the guys and gals.
On to the next one…
