Plain Truth

I had never read a Jodi Picoult novel until Plain Truth, even though they dominate the fiction section of the bookstore. I was under the impression her books are often turned into Lifetime movies, but I might be thinking of Nora Roberts. The new virtual member of our book club (this was a chosen read) predicted it would be a tear-fest and she wasn't wrong; even a lack of antidepressant withdrawal couldn't stop me from crying.

It was easy to get sucked into the book early on, but the main character, Ellie's, constant irritation, and general rudeness was a bit off-putting. She seemed to melt as the book went on, but often found it too easy to revert back to the ice-queen defense attorney with a pixy haircut and slender features. She suffers from the usual past relationship baggage we all insist on carrying around, only we never really learn what her issue is, just that she is a commitment-phobe, afraid love will mean certain strangulation. Ellie meets, and is forced to live with, someone who wants the complete opposite, love from everyone she encounters, even if that means putting herself on the line.

See, Katie has a problem. She doesn't know it, but she needs Ellie's help in keeping her - a sweet, young, Amish girl - out of serving a lifetime prison sentence for murdering her infant son moments after his birth. The evidence is astounding, making it impossible for the reader to think that anything else could have happened other than......that. But you find yourself thinking that there just might be another possibility because, shit, you've read about pubescent wizards, and glittery vampires, so who the heck know what could have happened.

Like most books, you find yourself rooting for the main character, but this took on a different turn with Ellie being a defense attorney, the epitome of evil, soul-sucking lawyers. She even begins by verbalizing a nightmare staring a child molester whom she'd gotten acquitted. Dabbling in the legal field myself, Picoult's tale rings familiar in terms of legal jargon and pomp and circumstance. Ellie splits herself between the eats-nails-for-breakfast attorney, and the helpful long-lost family member, which can sometimes get confusing; one minute she's hostilely interrogating Katie, the next she's comforting her in a mother's embrace. With such a wide array of emotions, its no wonder the reader is in tears by the end. Like Ellie, we aren't sure what to believe. We just want to know the truth but are forced to learn life-lessons a long the way, like the truth is our reward for time and energy spent on self discovery and revelations. (Does it sort of feel like every author is playing God?)

By the end, Ellie and I (the reader) have learned our lessons and are intent on choosing the path of self-improvement over what feels comfortable - hiding in the past. Katie, on the other hand, has been the teacher in her own child-like, sheltered Amish way. Picoult's wide range of knowledge from the legal system, police investigations, and both prosecution and defense attorneys really brings the book alive and makes you recognize that even though it is a work of fiction, it really isn't. We can all relate to it in some way.

There was a point as I neared the end where I was actually afraid we would never know what happened to Baby Fisher. Katie's defense is entirely plausible, and with so many variables, how could anyone be certain of what really happened that early morning? But one person knows. I got the feeling of how things would end, but it wasn't completely predictable. And I will admit, there was a portion of the ending that really disappointed me.

There is a lot to the story, so it's hard to read it over a weekend. Then again, you can't let it sit for too long or you might miss some crucial details. But, believe me, you won't want to. (So get with it, Virtual Member! I know you'll love it! ;-))