Rating: 
Summary: Compelling, but a bit predictable
Review: This is the first of Jodi Picoult's novels that I've read, and I will definitely pick up her others at some point. Picoult is a master story-teller, and in this I give her top marks. She knows how to create characters that come alive and crawl under your skin, to the point where, if I had to put the book down for any length of time, they would stay with me in my mind and I would be vividly picturing what might happen next.As a few other readers have commented though, the ending - in terms of who "wins" at least - is a bit predictable. However, there were always little niggling details that I kept turning over in my mind: "But what about...?" Even if you do have some sense of how things will turn out, there's always enough to make you want to keep reading. In fact, when I still had 180 pages to go, I simply lay in bed all day until I finished it (lucky I'm on summer holidays). I'm not convinced that Jodi Picoult could ever win the Booker Prize with this novel, but it's still a great read. If you haven't read any of her other books, this is as good a place as any to start.
Rating:
Summary: Plausible Theme
Review: This is the first book I have read by Jodi Picoult. She recently appeared at a bookstore to discuss this book, and I found her to be very animated and down to earth. I thoroughly enjoyed Salem Falls, even though I found it a little wordy at times and the ending disappointing (it seemed a little flat). It was refreshing to see "the other side"-that there are some women who do lie about getting raped and innocent people do go to jail. And yes, it IS possible that the police would not have cordoned off the crime scene until the next morning. I know someone who was accused of assaulting a young woman who was well known by the police as a pathological liar (she had accused several men in her small town of rape). Such women make it difficult for women who are truly raped. As we see in Picoult's book, Gilly is a disturbed young woman who, unfortunately, may never get the help she needs.
Rating: 
Summary: Just awful
Review: A display of her books in the local bookstore led me to give this immensely popular author a try. I did not expect great literature, but I hoped for some diversion and a clever plot that would keep me turning pages. What I got was 400+ pages of cardboard characters, dreadful dialogue, a central romance without chemistry, wince-worthy metaphors that would not pass muster in Creative Writing 101 ("He felt as though he had been asked to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear") and a hackneyed plot devoid of any suspense or originality. The book culminates in one of the most ludicrous descriptions of a trial ever written, with a key witness interrupting the proceedings not once, but twice, to distribute homemade goodies. Remarkably, the judge not only fails to stop this nonsense, but devours the food with relish! The author does achieve the rare feat of simultaneously suggesting that most men are sexually-abusive beasts AND that women, especially young girls, can't be trusted when they make accusations of abuse. Last but not least, any reader who doesn't see the "surprise" twist at the end coming for several hundred pages has not been paying attention! Avoid this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Where is the old Jodi Picoult?
Review: I have read every one of Picoult's books and am sad to find that the quality has lessened with every book. In fact, I think "The Pact" was the last semi-plausible and well-written book that she wrote. This newest book was so full of inconsistencies, errors in procedure (police and courtroom),and sloppiness. There were too many different issues covered and consequently none of them was done well. Picoult needs better editing and much better advice on the legal issues, and she needs to stop churning out books at such a furious pace and be more careful. Readers are not stupid--we know when something can or cannot happen. I, for one, do not like to have a writer make something up so as to manipulate the story. For example--the crime scene was not cordoned off until the next morning. As if that would ever happen, no matter how small the town. But it was written this way to facilitate the direction in which the author wanted the story to go. Shouldn't the action determine the story, not the other way around? The characters in this book lacked any depth and were like cardboard cutouts. I did not care about one of them with the possible exception of Addie. It seems as though Picoult is only concerned with the final product, not how the story is put together. I see a novel as a tightly woven tapestry, a blending of many elements into a wonderful entity. In this book, I see disarray and holes in the fabric of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Salem Falls is Awesome!!!
Review: I just don't understand how writers can be so brilliant. But
Jodi Picoult is truly one exceptional author, and this is only the first book I've read by her. The writing was excellent. The
pages just begged to be turned. Jack has been falsely accused of felonious
sexual assault and pleads no contest to get less of a sentencing. Afterwards he heads to Salem Falls to start a new life for himself. Somehow rumors of Jack's past follow him and it's deja vu all over again. This book was excellent. I laughed, I cried. There's nothing better than a good book, and this is one of them:)
Rating:
Summary: A Man's Perspective
Review: While sipping too-strong coffee in the bookstore cafe, I stumbled across the name Jodi Picoult in a Writer's Digest article on writing page-turners. I was in the mood for reading someone new, so I headed for the P's in the fiction section. Ugh! What a disappointment when I began reading the cover blurbs! Then I picked up Salem Falls. Witches! That was all I needed, so I headed for the checkout. Yes, I also bought the Writer's Digest. I must be honest and say that I needed a year to finish this book. However not because I found it unreadable, but because Ms. Picoult strikes a bit too close to home in her descriptions of how modern men must interact with teenage females. One of my male friends was falsely accused by his ex-wife of raping his step-daughter, and the next six months of his life were absolute hell. Reading the first half of this book was very discomforting. For her accurate portrayal of Jack's paranoia after his first conviction, I give Ms. Picoult five stars. However, Salem Falls is far from being a perfect book and the reader cannot analyze the investigative and courtroom procedures too deeply. Conversely, Ms. Picoult makes suspending belief easy, offering the reader a surprise or a new angle every ten paragraphs or so. Looking through descriptions of her other books, I do not find anything that particularly interests me, but for readers of this genre, you are in good hands.
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: This was a good, solid read, even though you have to wonder if this guy has the worst luck or is just not savvy enough to try to keep himself out of compromising situations. You still keep wanting to hear how it turns out. Modern men listen up and take note . . . it seems that most of them that I know have except for the character in this book.
Rating:
Summary: She Does it Again...
Review: One again Jodi Picoult manages to weave a plot of vulnerability, superstition, and the never-ceasing power of love.
Upon arriving in the small town of Salem Falls, Jack St. Bride is alone, untrusting, and longing for a new life to fill the emptiness that has become him while wasting away in prison. He stumbles into the Do-or-Diner where the young owner Addie, offers him a job on the spot. When Addie offers him this job, she has subconsciously offered up her trust, and from there, the plot unravels.
Addie has lived in Salem Falls her entire life, and has indeed suffered the drawbacks of small town living. As a rape victim and single mother, she too makes her way through life longing to place her trust and hope in someone.
When a young woman in Salem Falls accuses Jack of brutally raping her, the small town is enraged. Jack St. Bride has ruined exactly what their small town stands for--safety--and the citizens of the quiet, close-knit community will go to extremes in order to ensure that their town's reputation is safe.
Readers are in for a truly shocking and genius end that only Picoult could deliver. Perhaps after reading Salem Falls, you too, will question the age old cliche of small-town security....
Rating:
Summary: Predictible, Yet Riveting
Review: Very early on I knew what would be revealed on the last page. Yes, I took genetics in college. And despite some overly "feel good moments" I think a lot of the events were realistic. Teen girls with crushes on an older man/teacher/coach? It happens. Teen girls drawn to Wicca? Sure. A man accused of something terrible he hasn't done? That's been known to happen too.
But I think the most interesting questions rise out of the sort of incidental information Picoult gives her readers. Why is it important for us to see the scenes we do of Annalise McBride, Jack's mother? What about a person's past? Is it fair or right that some crimes go unpunished?
For the most part, I'd say this is a well written book. I don't fault Picoult for failing to "surprise" me. While I already knew where she was going, I certainly enjoyed the trip. But I think the best parts of the book (and the reasons I will suggest my friends read it) are the issues and questions that are raised--subtle and not. And while I would not classify it an "issue" book, I think the characters are so well developed their problems become our own.
Rating:
Summary: A man tries to escape his past.
Review: Jodi Picoult pulls out all of the stops in her novel, "Salem Falls." Jack St. Bride is a handsome young man who was imprisoned after being unjustly convicted for assaulting a female student. After his release from prison, St. Bride comes to the small town of Salem Falls to start a new life. St. Bride takes a job as a dishwasher in a diner, where he falls in love with the owner, Addie Peabody, another tortured and lonely soul. Can Jack and Addie look forward to a bright future together and at last escape the demons of the past? Alas, Jack's tragic history follows him to Salem Falls, threatening to bring him down once again. Picoult's novel is a lively mix of intrigue, courtroom drama, and romance. Picoult brings her characters to life, including the intelligent but unlucky Jack St. Bride, the tough but warm Addie Peabody, and the manipulative and scheming Gillian Duncan, a teenager who wants to hammer the final nail into Jack's coffin. There are many subplots along the way, as well as a number of flashbacks. There are so many secrets and revelations in "Salem Falls" that it begins to resemble "Peyton Place." Unfortunately, all of this weight ultimately drags the book down. In addition, Picoult inserts unsubtle references to the Salem witch trials and Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," making her point that too often, people hastily condemn others on the basis of rumor, innuendo and unfounded allegations. In spite of its occasional heavy-handedness, "Salem Falls" is an engrossing page-turner. You will care about the characters and you will be anxious to learn the ultimate fate of Jack St. Bride.
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