Review: A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

Title: A Spark of Light
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: October 2, 2018
Edition: ebook (384 pages)
Genres:

• Fiction
• Adult Fiction
• Contemporary

Literary Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction (2018)
My Rating: 3 of 5 stars

For Hugh McElroy, his fortieth Birthday begins like any other day. But when a gunman enters the Center--a women’s reproductive health services clinic in Mississippi--he is called to negotiate the hostage crisis, and soon learns his fifteen-year-old daughter is inside. "A Spark of Light" confronts the issue of abortion from several perspectives. Each character, from the clinic's staff, to the women present that day; and the shooter who enters the Center each tell their story which unfolds as staff and hostages work together to save themselves.

As you might imagine, this book is intense from the first word to the last. There is no sugar coating of a complex and emotional issue, and the characters are diverse in experience, beliefs and action. No matter your personal beliefs concerning abortion, this book has something to offer you. And, if you're at all like me, it will make you think.

The one aspect of the book I found somewhat difficult to deal with is its reverse chronology. At times, the sequences were confusing to me, and because the history of events went from the hostage-taking backwards, I found it more difficult to understand what was in the mind of the characters and how the pieces all fit together as I read. Perhaps, that is just me though. I certainly don't feel that is a reason not to read the book, however.