Monday, March 21, 2011

Book Review- Sing You Home

I finished reading Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult last night for a Crazy Book Tour.

From Goodreads:

Zoe Baxter has spent ten years trying to get pregnant, and after multiple miscarriages and infertility issues, it looks like her dream is about to come true – she is seven months pregnant. But a terrible turn of events leads to a nightmare – one that takes away the baby she has already fallen for; and breaks apart her marriage to Max. In the aftermath, she throws herself into her career as a music therapist – using music clinically to soothe burn victims in a hospital; to help Alzheimer’s patients connect with the present; to provide solace for hospice patients. When Vanessa – a guidance counselor -- asks her to work with a suicidal teen, their relationship moves from business to friendship and then, to Zoe’s surprise, blossoms into love. When Zoe allows herself to start thinking of having a family, again, she remembers that there are still frozen embryos that were never used by herself and Max.

Meanwhile, Max has found peace at the bottom of a bottle – until he is redeemed by an evangelical church, whose charismatic pastor – Clive Lincoln – has vowed to fight the “homosexual agenda” that has threatened traditional family values in America. But this mission becomes personal for Max, when Zoe and her same-sex partner say they want permission to raise his unborn child.

SING YOU HOME explores what it means to be gay in today’s world, and how reproductive science has outstripped the legal system. Are embryos people or property? What challenges do same-sex couples face when it comes to marriage and adoption? What happens when religion and sexual orientation – two issues that are supposed to be justice-blind – enter the courtroom? And most importantly, what constitutes a “traditional family” in today’s day and age?
 
Once again, Jodi Picoult gives us a book that is filled with moral issues.  This time its about same-sex relationships and about infertile couples and their struggle with getting pregnant.  And once again, I could really get into the characters' heads and feelings.  I love her writing!
 
I live in a city where being gay is completely normal and acceptable.  Thank goodness!  So many of my friends are in same-sex relationships and I truly believe that they should have the same rights as opposite-sex couples.  Hopefully one day this will become a reality.  But enough about politics. 
 
The only negative is that I missed the big surprise ending.  I feel that usually in books by Picoult, there's some shocking thing that happens or is revealed at the end of the book that isn't forseen.  But there wasn't really anything like that in this book.  Or if there was, I could competely see it coming so it wasn't a shock at all.
 
That being said, Picoult is still my favorite author and I can't wait to devour the next book that she writes!
 
I gave this book a rating of 4/5.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 A to Z Challenge: P
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 18
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 16
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Crazy Book Tours.

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