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evmb_c 's review for:
A Spark of Light
by Jodi Picoult
TW for the review: Abortion and Hostage Situations So I didn’t really have any preconceptions going into this book, and honestly I wasn’t 100% sure what it was really going to be. But I ended up really liking it.
This story takes place in the only abortion centre in Mississippi, over the course of one day, when a anti-abortion believer with personal ties to the centre holds it hostage at gunpoint.
What I love about this book is that it’s all character driven. The book begins at the end of the day, and each chapter works backwards an hour so that you get to see what brought each and every single person to the clinic that day. There are 10 people involved in this day, and whilst the story starts with Wren - a 17 year old girl who’s only at the centre to get contraception - and her father Lieutenant Hugh McElroy - the hostage negotiator - you hear a little bit from all 10 characters in every chapter.
Whilst this may for some be confusing, as you have to get used to 10 people’s different voices and speech tones, I think it worked brilliantly. It really gets you invested in each and every person, and you try as each chapter goes on to work out the exact reason why each person is at the clinic.
This book also opens up some really interesting conversations about abortion no matter how you feel about the topic. I personally am completely pro-choice and as a scientist who has in fact studied embryology (the development of an embryo) I also know the facts about when you can really count a foetus as a human or not. However it was still interesting to see the completely different attitudes of people - with the book set in the south, religion is a large part of this debate - and also how the laws in American, at least in the state of Mississippi, really take away some women’s choices.
This is definitely a book I’d recommend people read, especially if they like a real character filled book. It also has a few twists and turns in it to keep the intrigue going, but is ultimately a story that I think is worth being read.
TW for the book: abortion, fetal tissue, blood, shooting, hostage, rape, sexual assault
This story takes place in the only abortion centre in Mississippi, over the course of one day, when a anti-abortion believer with personal ties to the centre holds it hostage at gunpoint.
What I love about this book is that it’s all character driven. The book begins at the end of the day, and each chapter works backwards an hour so that you get to see what brought each and every single person to the clinic that day. There are 10 people involved in this day, and whilst the story starts with Wren - a 17 year old girl who’s only at the centre to get contraception - and her father Lieutenant Hugh McElroy - the hostage negotiator - you hear a little bit from all 10 characters in every chapter.
Whilst this may for some be confusing, as you have to get used to 10 people’s different voices and speech tones, I think it worked brilliantly. It really gets you invested in each and every person, and you try as each chapter goes on to work out the exact reason why each person is at the clinic.
This book also opens up some really interesting conversations about abortion no matter how you feel about the topic. I personally am completely pro-choice and as a scientist who has in fact studied embryology (the development of an embryo) I also know the facts about when you can really count a foetus as a human or not. However it was still interesting to see the completely different attitudes of people - with the book set in the south, religion is a large part of this debate - and also how the laws in American, at least in the state of Mississippi, really take away some women’s choices.
This is definitely a book I’d recommend people read, especially if they like a real character filled book. It also has a few twists and turns in it to keep the intrigue going, but is ultimately a story that I think is worth being read.
TW for the book: abortion, fetal tissue, blood, shooting, hostage, rape, sexual assault