Rating: 
Summary: Well-written first book
Review: But I have to confess ~~ while I am a huge fan of Picoult's books, this book took me forever to get me interested in the characters. It's not badly written, nor was it boring ~~ it just didn't capture my interest like her recent books did. I am a speed reader and a book of this size normally would take me two days to read ~~ but it has taken me over two weeks to read. So beware when you pick up this book ~~ it's not the book you've come to expect from Picoult.Jane and Rebecca Jones leave husband/dad Oliver, a world-known marine biologist behind and traveled the country to visit Jane's brother Joley. In the novel, five people offer up their versions of what happened one fateful summer. There's Joley, Sam ~~ who owns the apple orchard that Joley works at and where Rebecca and Jane find refuge in, Rebecca, Jane and Oliver. They all offer up their voices as if they wanted to leave their impressions on the reader. And it is very well-written ~~ especially for a first book. One can almost smell the apples growing, feel the hot sting of the summer sun beating down upon you, the despair and anger Oliver felt when he realized his family deserted him. Or the heartache Rebecca experiences when her first boyfriend died in a tragic fall. The stories just tumble out from each of them and you don't want to rush your way reading through it. It is murky in some places ~~ but isn't that how life is supposed to be sometimes? Sometimes, we can't figure out the path we're on or where we are supposed to be ~~ but there comes a moment where you can seize the moment. If you're a die-hard Picoult fan, then I highly recommend you try to read this book. I have a suspsicion that not all of us are going to come to the same conclusion with this book. But it is interesting and well-written. I may have to struggle with finishing it, I did and am glad that I finished it. It is Picoult's debut novel and you can see the beginnings of a long literary career that started with this book. Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Jodi's Debut...
Review: I am a huge fan of Ms. Picoult's work but her first novel, while good, didn't win me over like her other works of fiction. I liked the idea of writing the story from five different points of view but unfortunately parts of the book became repetitive. While we did get to know the characters very well and were able to understand why they acted the way they did, I found parts of the book a little confusing. Having Rebecca's character tell the story backwards took away from the ending. I knew what was going to happen. Jodi does come through however in her beautiful and lyrical writing. She has a way of conveying a feeling that is both touching and honest. While this book is not my favorite by this author, I will continue to read her novels. Her work only got better from here. Harvesting the Heart is a shining example of her true writing ability.
Rating: 
Summary: Songs of the Humpback Whale Review
Review: I bought this book when it was first published basically because I liked the title, and I thought it would be interesting to read a book that is told in five different voices. I was right. This is an excellent book, and, I think, the most overlooked of Jodi Picoult's novels. All of the characters are refreshing and new. It is not a story that is recycled from someone else's story. In other words, it is an original. It starts out with a fight between husband and wife, which causes the wife and daughter to "run away." The trials and tribulations that mother and daughter go through are at times heartbreaking, educational, and sometimes just downright goofy. I think the most interesting part of this book is that while the story is told chronologically by four of the characters, it is told backwards by the daughter. I just love this book and have now read it four times. I also had Jodi Picoult sign it when she was doing a reading of "The Plain Truth" at our local bookstore. She told me that a signed copy of "Whales" sells on the internet for about $100. I told her that I would not part with it for any amount of money!
Rating: 
Summary: Confusing and repetitive
Review: I came to this after reading "The Pact," which had its problems too (occasionally cardboard characters/unbelievable situations) but was quite readable overall and kept me awake too late at least one night! This, while the idea was good enough, was a real disappointment. Having Rebecca tell it backwards took away all the suspense, so I was kind of like, who cares? Plus, we didn't really get a sense that Hadley and Rebecca had such a wonderful romance. "show, not tell," is the basic principle of fiction (and non-fiction) writing, yet all of this was just based on Rebecca telling us what a romance it was -- we didn't actually see it. Also, the different voices -- while not a bad idea -- Weren't handled well here. The best way of using different voices is to give you truly new insights into a situation, not to just repeat the same scene twice or even three times. As someone struggling with fiction writing myself, I may be too sensitive, but it seemed that this book should have been structured differently, and perhaps edited more comprehensively, to be truly effective. Jodi has certainly gone on to bigger and better things, which is good to know, but don't start with this one if you want to read her stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Confusing and repetitive
Review: I came to this after reading "The Pact," which had its problems too (occasionally cardboard characters/unbelievable situations) but was quite readable overall and kept me awake too late at least one night! This, while the idea was good enough, was a real disappointment. Having Rebecca tell it backwards took away all the suspense, so I was kind of like, who cares? Plus, we didn't really get a sense that Hadley and Rebecca had such a wonderful romance. "show, not tell," is the basic principle of fiction (and non-fiction) writing, yet all of this was just based on Rebecca telling us what a romance it was -- we didn't actually see it. Also, the different voices -- while not a bad idea -- Weren't handled well here. The best way of using different voices is to give you truly new insights into a situation, not to just repeat the same scene twice or even three times. As someone struggling with fiction writing myself, I may be too sensitive, but it seemed that this book should have been structured differently, and perhaps edited more comprehensively, to be truly effective. Jodi has certainly gone on to bigger and better things, which is good to know, but don't start with this one if you want to read her stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Good - but not by favorite Picoult
Review: I did like thie book, but not as much as I love Picoult's other novels (my favorites were The Pact and Plain Truth). While I have loved books that tell stories from different points of view, switching off each chapter, for example (The Poisonwood Bible), the different viewpoints did not really work well in this book. The father's viewpoint continually disrupted the flow of the story with seemingly unrealted accounts of humpback whale studies, and Rebecca's view point when from end to beginning, while the others went from beginning to end. If I had liked the story enough, my first instinct would have been to re-read the book to actually understand it and keep track of all the characters and timing of events.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite novelists!
Review: I first became acquainted with Jodi Picoult when I read THE PACT two years ago, and fast became an avid admirer of her work.
Family is the recurring theme in Ms. Picoult's novels and SONGS OF THE HUMPBACK WHALE is no exception. Told in five alternating voices, SONGS is the story of the search and discovery of true love and of second chances.
SONGS OF THE HUMPBACK WHALE resonates with the beauty, grace and sensitivity of emotion and language that is Jodi Picoult's trademark.
Rating:
Summary: Not My Favorite by Picoult But.........
Review: I first read The Pact by Jodi Picot several years ago when I found this book while browsing at the library. Since that time I have read several other books by this author which include Keeping Faith, Perfect Match, Salem Falls and Plain Truth. While I enjoyed some of these books more than others, each book provided me with an interesting read about present day happenings. And since some of these topics are somewhat controversial, the books always left me thinking about the characters and their situations. I knew that the books I read were more recent titles by Ms. Picot and I was determined someday to read her debut book Songs of the Humpback Whale: A Novel Told in Five Voices. When my book group recently chose this book, I was so glad that finally would make the time to read this book first published in 1992.
After a fight with her husband, Jane Jones and their daughter Rebecca travel to Massachusetts to find Jane's brother Joley. During this road trip we come to know more about the relationship between Jane, her husband Oliver, her brother Joley and even her father. Not sure of how to get from San Diego to Massachusetts, Joley establishes an elaborate plan where Jane receives instructions and directions at various spots along the way. And its safe to expect that at each place both Jane and Rebecca meet interesting and in some cases quirky people who only lead them to a better understanding of their past present and future.
This book, as the subtitle indicates is told in five voices which while innovative is not executed all that well. As we read the book we hear the voices of Jane, Oliver, Joley, Rebecca and Sam the owner of the apple orchard where Joley works. Jane tells the story going forward from the day they left Oliver and San Diego while Rebecca tells these story going from the end backwards until their stories tales criss cross at the site of a very important in the lives of all three members of the Jones family. This technique of going backwards in time has naturally been used before and reminded me of the movie Pulp Fiction, the Seinfeld episode when they attended a wedding in India and the recent book Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland. But while it worked well in these venues, Songs of the Humpback Whale it didn't work that well in this book. The first 50 pages or more were confusing till you realized how the author was presenting the time frame. And then I found the last 150 pages was much too repetitive as the various characters had very little to say which shed any new light on the story.
Books and movies about road trips have been popular for sometime. Just think of On the Road by Jack Kerouac and this year just think of the impact the independent film Sideways had on the viewing public. And I do enjoy books about road trips and the revelations individuals have while taking them. Unfortunately this road trip wasn't all that exciting and in the end I don't think I cared for these characters all that much. While I felt sad for Jane at times I didn't find he particularly likable although I wondered why. And I also thought think there might have been actions she could have taken long before she needed to leave Oliver so abruptly but then there wouldn't have been this book. And for some reason I couldn't help but compare the situation of the book, especially Rebecca's story, to the theme and the young woman from the book The Horse Whisperer. In the end I wondered how much more young Rebecca could go through and what her future would be like if they returned home.
Based on other books I read by Ms. Picoult, I was somewhat disappointed with this read. I now think if I had read it before any of Ms. Picoult's other books, I might have enjoyed it more. One thing for sure is that it proved to me that since this book was written, Ms. Picoult has evolved into a gifted and talented writer and one I have come to cherish greatly. I now look forward to reading her latest book Vanishing Acts which will be published this spring. I do want to leave this review on a positive note and say that even a so so read from Ms. Picoult is still interesting and worthwhile. So if you're reading this someday you may just want to read the first published book written by Jodi Picoult.
Rating:
Summary: My first Jodi Picoult Book.
Review: I had heard a lot about Jodi Picoults books and happy to finally start one. This book is told in 5 diffrent voices and at times the book will repeat it's self quite a bit. Jane Jones decides that she is going to leave her husband Oliver and take her daughter Rebecca with her and that she is going to go cross country to see her brother Joley who is what Jane considers her best friend in the entire world. Joley decides that he is going to give Jane and Rebecca the trip that they will enjoy and sends them to unusual places. Oliver on the other hand who is more intersted in his whale trip decides that if there is any way he is going to get Jane back he is going to have track them down and find them himself so he sets on a trip of his own and has his own adventures. At the end Oliver finally finds Jane but the problems that come from him showing up cause many other problems. The book comes together very well, but at times you hear the same story two or three times from each of the characters. Overall I can't wait to read more from this wonderful author.
Rating:
Summary: An Apple Never Falls Far From The Tree
Review: I know this area like the back of my hand, having lived in the Stow/Concord area all my life. In truth I enjoy reading books by local authors about local areas. I feel I can be part of the story that way.
So this was the major reason I choose this book. I had never read anything by Jodi before. The ability to relate to Sam was beyond belief to me having gone to a technical school that shared a campus with Newton High, of all places. I can remember how we did feel like sub-human compared to the "high" class girls that attended Newton High. You were considered a dummy compared to the collage bound students.
New England has that something special that draws anyone from this area back and Jodi captures this through the story in all the people in the story. Over all it is a very good story of lives that entwine and interact with each other. Thoughts both spoken and silent adds flavor. I liked the way that Jodi returns to a subject from someone elses point of view. I enjoyed the story and the only thing I might change was the constant fliping back and forth in time. I found this to be a bit confusion at times.
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