Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

After the first fifteen pages, I almost put the book in the box (books that don't interest me go there). It started talking about wolves and this guy who lives with wolves. Crazy talk, especially considering I'm not a fan of animals. The story quickly changes tunes and turns into your typical Jodi Picoult book, focusing on a social issue. In this particular book, it's the matter of keeping someone alive on life support or pulling the plug. Each chapter is written from a different character's perspective (using different fonts, which I love).

Here's the background: Luke (the wolf lover) and his seventeen year old daughter, Cara, are involved in a terrible accident. He has a terrible brain injury and is in a vegetable state with absolutely no responses or signs of life. Cara escapes with relatively minor injuries. The accident is constantly in question because her blood alcohol content was a .20 when she was found at the wreck. Was she driving or was he?

The family is dysfunctional. The character relationships are extreme but also seem real. At eighteen, Luke's son Edward comes out and tells him he's gay. His father goes bizerk at him. Edward decides to run away to Thailand. His parents soon get divorced, with their eleven year old daughter choosing to live with their father. Fast forward six years to the hospital with Luke in a coma.

Everyone blames each other for the family's issues. Cara and Edward despise each other. Cara is in favor of keeping their father on life support, while Edward wants to pull the plug. Their mother, Georgie, has remarried and somehow doesn't take a side throughout the book. Eventually the decision goes to court to decide who will be the presiding guardian over their father and ultimately get to make the choice to keep Luke alive or pull the plug.

I didn't really like this book for a few reasons. The talk about wolves was constantly a turnoff. I tried to skim as much of that as I could. As the story progressed, I thought it was very predictable. The characters were almost too interconnected, but I guess it makes everyone have a strong feeling towards the outcome. From the beginning of the story, the reader knows there are two big secrets which will probably change the reader's opinion. We know we will find them out at the end of the book. It was annoying to know this was coming the entire time. I didn't find this as suspenseful or thoughtful as some of Jodi's other books.

My rating for Lone Wolf: 2 stars out of 5. Get it here!

Bonus: Jodi is doing a book signing tour for her new book coming out in July, called Between the Lines. She will be in Long Island, NY on Sunday July 1st and in Boston, MA on Monday, July 2nd. Check here for more info. I'd really like to go, but my schedule may not permit. If any of my blog readers get a chance to meet her, please share!