I was about ready to whip to page 466 when I groused to my friend that everything had better end well. I confess here that I did not read the end of the book, something I routinely do (I HAVE to know it’s going to work out). However, her attention to research, facts and their presentation cannot be beat. Maybe a bit much to absorb and that seems to be recurring in Picoult’s work in the last several years. There are so many hot issues introduced in Sing You Home, it amazes me how Picoult links them into one story. The alternating typeface was getting on my nerves too. It’s time she tried something new, or old, for that matter. I did tire of Picoult’s method of shifting narrator POV each chapter. The characters are well-drawn and promote definite feelings in us as we read. There is a melody that runs through this novel and Zoe and her music are at the heart of it. Zoe is a music therapist and consequently, music shapes her life. Watch closely as the cast of characters is introduced, including Vanessa Shaw, someone Zoe grows to love Zoe’s mother, Dara (I think it’s safe to say, we’d like a bit of Dara in all our mothers) Lucy, one of Zoe’s clients Pastor Clive and Reid and Liddy, Max’s brother and sister-in-law. What follows is a story of betrayal, misunderstanding, love and hope. At one point it becomes clear that the desire for a child has shifted from both of them to only one. They have used in vitro on more than one occasion and are financially ruined because of it. At first, both want nothing more than to have children. Sing You Home introduces us to Zoe and Max Baxter who have tried for nine years to have a child. A reading AND a concert in one - simply magnificent. Jodi Picoult wrote the lyrics and Ellen Wilber, who accompanied Picoult at the event, wrote the music and performed songs from the CD (“Sammy’s Song” is my favorite).

What made the book event even more satisfying, was the music CD included with the novel.

Picoult has so much passion about writing, storytelling and trying to get it all right, you can’t help but want to see what she comes up with next. I don’t care what people say, there’s something about hearing an author read his work and talk about it, that gives me shivers and tingles every time. My friend and I saw Jodi Picoult at a local event for Sing You Home when it was first released. There is so much to like about this book, I don’t know where to start.

Sing you home book review