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 enlarge | Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Atria
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy New: $8.71
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Avg. Customer Rating:  183 reviews
Sales Rank: 883
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 0743496744
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780743496742
ASIN: 0743496744
Publication Date: March 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Kept my interest September 30, 2008
This is my first Jodi Picoult book and it won't be my last. It did keep my interest despite the abundance of religious sophistry and the smack of academia. I didn't fully buy into the premise, which is left up in the air: what is the reader to believe ultimately about Shay--about his crimes, about his "talents," etc. I'm not much of a believer in the metaphysical. I know that a writer can arrange events to make anything implausible occur.
The characters are perhaps the best part of this book, escpecially the ACLU lawyer, the prisoner with AIDS, and Shay's other fellow prisoners--except for the robin. The atmosphere is also quite good. There are, however, some details of the plot that I could not get past. Shay's real name is I.M. Bourne, we learn, and that was a bit too much to swallow. Also, the last chapter is, to my thinkiing, completely out of bounds--and again I don't know what we are to believe from it. I just know that it did not leave me with a satisfied feeling.
Still, the book has enough good qualities to recommend it.
 Page turner... but not wonderful (a couple spoilers) September 16, 2008
This book reminded me so much of Keeping Faith, which was also not a favorite of mine. I thought the premise of the novel was so interesting, but I felt that Picoult should have told much more of the story from the point of view of June, rather than Michael's and Maggie's. I found the religious detail dull, and I think she focused too much on it.
Many parts of the story were quite unbelieveable, too. Maggie's romance comes out of nowhere. I had to make sure I wasn't reading Danielle Steele a few times. And I've never been in prison, but I'd be willing to bet that many prisoners don't converse in the way that Lucius and Shay do. It also seemed very unbelievable how quickly June seemed to accept the fact that Kurt had been molesting Elizabeth, and I was very disappointed that Picoult only very briefly mentioned June's horror of Kurt and Elizabeth being buried together, following this knowledge.
This novel is very typical Picoult formula, and while predictable at times, I would still recommend it for Picoult's talented writing.
Good but Not Jodis Best September 12, 2008
I've read all of Picoult's books except Mercy. I guess what I like most about her books is the way she writes about hot button issues from both sides of the spectrum. Her characters are always well-developed, and the stories really make you think (no fluff in Jodi's books).
Briefly, CHANGE OF HEART is about a man who is on death row for the murder of a young girl and her stepfather. Shay Bourne is trying to redeem himself, he offers up his heart to the victim's sister who will die without a heart transplant. Would you take the heart of the man that you hated most? We also learn that Shay starts performing miracles in prison and everybody thinks that he is Jesus Christ, including his spiritual minister.
I think because of the religion and salvation issues in Change of Heart, the book has stuck with me more than some of her other novels. I definitely don't agree with the viewpoint presented, and I did not love or hate the book. The book is well written, but for me this one was just so so. In my opinion, My Sister's Keeper was her best work ever.
 Oh my... September 1, 2008
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
Sometimes Jodi Picoult hits a homer, and other times just a single or double. Change of Heart is a grand slam, built around the impact of a death row inmate upon the lives of three unrelated people who are drawn into his story by the circumstances of their own lives. Shay Bourne has exhausted his appeals and is scheduled to die in a few weeks. His last wish is to donate his heart to the daughter of one of his victims, and a battle ensues about his method of execution. Shay's spiritual advisor, a Catholic priest, must come to terms with his own religious beliefs. Maggie, Shay's ACLU lawyer, must fight for Shea's right to donate his organs. June, whose husband and child were murdered by Shay, must decide whether or not to accept Shay's gift. Along the way, all three of these individuals find themselves re-examining their own inner cores.
Supporting these fully realized characters is an equally engaging supporting cast. Picoult's plot increases in tension and suspense, first, during Shay's execution hearing, and then in his final days. The metamorphoses of Michael, Maggie, and June are entirely credible, and stimulate questions and introspection on the part of the reader. In the epilogue, Picoult concludes her story satisfactorily, yet with the apprehension that perhaps this ending is more truly a continuation.
Change of Heart tackles some of our society's most perplexing issues with grace and subtlety. Superb fiction.
Fascinating story, but not perfect August 31, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Change of Heart certainly has an exciting premise and storyline, but I also found a number of flaws that could have been fine-tuned prior to publication. Ms. Picoult has a knack for grabbing the reader from the first page and keeping their attention throughout the story. Taking on weighty topics such as capital punishment and religion are certainly no easy task and I applaud the author for her ambition in tackling these. But I do think she spreads herself a bit thin at times and tries to cover too many sides of a given issue in this book and not always successful in doing so. For example, we get the viewpoint of a priest, an ACLU lawyer, a doctor, the victim's mother, and corrections officers (all characters in the story) about how they feel about the death penalty. Does Ms. Picoult really need to cover all these basis and give us all these characters' opinions? I think focusing on the major characters (Maggie Bloom, Father Michael, June Nealon) and what they think of the death penalty would have made it more meaningful for me as a reader.
Another problem that I had with the book is how Ms. Picoult would bring characters in and out of the plot and then leaving the loose ends, never letting us know what eventually happens with them. For example: Maggie's mother, all the other inmates that we get to know throughout the story (except for Lucius- whom we do have closure on). A writer should not arbitrarily bring in characters simply as a plot device and I strongly disapprove of Ms. Picoult doing so in this novel.
I think Ms. Picoult also drops the ball a bit with creating compelling main characters. I had some difficulty empathizing with June Nealon and Maggie Bloom. I think this by far is her most serious flaw in the book. Though June certainly suffered a great tragedy, I didn't find too many moments in the story where we really got inside her head, and, sadly I didn't feel as though I cared very much what happened to her one way or the other. June makes several life changing decisions, yet Ms. Picoult barely expounds upon the reasons and motivation behind these major choices. In particular, towards the end of the story, June comes face-to-face with a disturbing possibility about her deceased husband, yet Ms. Picoult devotes barely a page to this development. I certainly wanted to know how June felt about what she had learned. I was very disappointed in how Ms. Picoult mishandled some of her major characters and never lets us get inside their heads.
The story does move at a brisk pace and is a fascinating topic that few writers have explored in fiction. It is indeed a page turner, but I think Ms. Picoult needs to spend less time in following the formula and more time and effort in fleshing out her characters. This novel could have benefited from some careful editing and fine-tuning; if not by the the author, then certainly by her editor.
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