BOOK REVIEW:: Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

 I have read many of Jodi Picoult's books and have enjoyed them for not only the stories that she told, but for the questions both about morality and ethics, that she makes me think about. I was excited that during my last library trip, they had one of her books that I had not read, "Handle with Care."

"Handle with Care" is the story of the O'Keefe's a family who has 2 daughters. One is a teenager going through all the angst that that time of life brings. The other is Willow, who was born with a bone disease that results in her getting many, many breaks and fractures throughout her young life. The story focuses on the emotional, financial toll that Willow's disease has taken on the family and on the mom, Charlotte's, decision to file a wrongful birth suit in order to make sure that her daughter's financial future would be secure. This books tackles the questions of whether or not the parents would have ended the pregnancy had they known earlier about Willow's disease.

Like many of Picoult's books this book follows the story of a major medical issue, a family with personal issues and a lawyer who has her own issues in her life. Unlike many of her other books, I could not become involved with these characters. I felt pity for them, but nothing else. I felt like telling the mother to grow up. The story line did  make me question how I would look at the situation and what I might do; however the differing points of view and the writing really distracted me from getting into this story. And even now a couple of days after finishing the book, i don't know how i feel about the surprise ending.....

Overall, it was a disappointing book to read. The story was awkward, the writing was distracting and it seemed like it was the same as other Picoult books. I will not be re-reading this one again and I do not recommend it to anyone else to read.