HANDLE WITH CARE BY JODI PICOULT

Jodi Picoult has the ability to make me shiver when the weather is extremely hot. Just when I think her books cannot get any better, she has to come up with something that blows me away.

Handle with care revolves around a family of four – Sean and Charlotte, the parents of Willow and Amelia. From the outside they might seem perfect and happy – but when one looks closer, it seems that that isn’t the case. Willow has brittle bone disease. Her bones break anytime that she isn’t careful. She can’t grow. Although she is 6 years old, she looks only like a 3 year old.

An incident happens in Disney Land that causes Sean to get angry, angry enough to sue Disney Land. But lawyers knew that it would be a fruitless case but suggested that they sue Charlotte’s doctor for wrongful birth. The thing is Charlotte’s doctor – Piper, is her best friend.

So the story unfolds and shows how this one wrongful birth case affects every one in the family from Sean and Charlotte’s marriage to Willow getting the impression that her mother wishes she was never born to Amelia going through feelings of being neglected. Most importantly, the friendship that Charlotte and Piper has – what becomes of that?

The big question is this – is it right to sue for wrongful birth when you do not wish that your child was not born. Would you do it even if it nearly destroys your family? Would you do it even if it destroys your friendship with your best friend? Is your daughter’s future really worth the broken hearts along the way?

When Charlotte first made the decision to go through with this, I never could see things in her perspective. I never could imagine why someone would sue their own best friend over money. But as I read further, I began to understand Charlotte’s views a lot better. Nothing else mattered to her, because before any of her roles in life, be it being a best friend, being a good wife – she is first and foremost a mother. She’s the kind of mother that would give her life for her children. What she was doing, was just doing her best.

Let’s just say that the ending to me comes as a shock, as if someone stabbed me right through my heart.

This book reminds me of My Sister’s Keeper, just a little bit.

Jodi Picoult’s style of writing is just amazing. She puts so much life into her characters. When reading her book, you don’t just see parts and pieces of her characters, but you see them as whole human beings. Her characters find their way into your soul and stay there for all eternity. Just like how I know that these characters – Sean, Charlotte, Amelia and Willow will stay in my soul for a long time to come.