Rating: 
Summary: Discovering a wonderful new author
Review: This was the first book I've read by Ms. Picoult and I am thrilled to have found a new author to love. This was a fascinating story, obviously well researched. I was truly sorry when the book ended. The characters are wonderfully interesting. I could not put this book down.
Rating:
Summary: Another great book from Ms. Picoult
Review: In her previous book, The Pact, Ms. Picoult writes about a suicide pact between two teenagers. When the boyfriend doesn't die, the book probes not only the previous relationship between this young man and his girlfriend but their parents' reactions as well as the legal ramifications concerning the one who survived.In her newest book, Plain Truth, Ms. Picoult enters the world of the Amish sect who still today live by priciples contary to the 21st century. And again as in The Pact, when a young unmarried woman, Katie Fisher, is accused of murdering a newborn which she has presumably given birth to, the law steps in and these events tear apart a family and community steeped in the Amish traditions and mores. For Ellie Hathaway, an urban sophisticated lawyer somewhat related to this community and the other major character in thsi book, defending this client provides her not only with a world filled with "plain" truths and different rules, but also a glimpse into the failures of her own life. Jodi Picoult has written another fascinating book. One which can takes its place amongst many of her other books such as Keeping Faith, The Pact and Harvesting the Heart. Her characters in Plain Truth, as always, are well pprtrayed and stay with the reader long after they close the book. Also, it is apprent that Ms.Picoult did a great deal of research as well as live amongst the Amish to learn more about the ways of the plain. Finally, the author sheds new light on events often in the news today along with presenting a lifestyle which I as the reader knew very little about before reading this book. Bravo for a first rate novel, Jodi.
Rating:
Summary: Her Best One Yet!
Review: I have read all of Jodi Picoult's books and this is the bestone yet. Not only is it a mystery about an Amish teenager and herbaby, it is also a love story and a fascinating slice of Amish life. Jodi develops characters so well, you even like the bad guys! I encourage you to read all of her books. I am one of her biggest fans and have even bought duplicates to share with others. Why Oprah doesn't grab one for her book club I will never understand til she does! Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: Plain Truth
Review: I have read all of Jodi Picoult's works and this is without a doubt her very best! This story of a young Amish girl and her family is told with obvious strength and its clear that Jodi did some serious research on the Amish faith and way of life. I couldn't wait to move from chapter to chapter and found myself screaming for more when I'd reached the end. This is a triumph for Jodi and I'm proud to claim that I'm her biggest fan!
Rating:
Summary: Don't even think about sleeping....
Review: This book is so compelling and beautifully written that I was pulled right into the story and didn't want to come out! Jodi Picoult's trademark style of immersing the reader into a different world and posing seemingly unanswerable questions is in fine form here. Readers will relate to Ellie on so many levels, and they'll fall absolutely head over heels with Coop. The courtroom scenes zip along to a grand finale. DO NOT peek at the ending. Trust me on this. get this book.
Rating:
Summary: Truthfully, Plain Truth is a Terrific Read!
Review: PLAIN TRUTH : A Novel by Jodi Picoult Reviewed by Lynne Remick, 2000 Highly Recommended! There are several sides to the truth. The truth often depends on who you ask, what they know, what they can remember, and what they have to hide. When a newborn baby boy turns up dead on an Amish milk farm, the plain and simple truth is hidden behind strong faith and family values. When Katie Fisher, an unmarried Amish Teenager, is discovered having signs of afterbirth, all fingers point her way. Katie claims innocence, but is she doing so only to protect and keep her faith? City Attorney Ellie Hathaway has had it with her fast-paced life and dead-end relationship. She escapes to the quiet comforts of Paradise, Pennsylvania, a place where she spent her childhood, hoping to find the answers she needs. However, instead of landing in a picture perfect setting in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, she lands right in the middle of the three-ring circus of a baby's mysterious death, a quiet town ablaze with uproar and a murder trial. Many times, Ellie regrets taking on the headstrong Katie Fisher as a client, but as she delves deeper into the truth surrounding the mystery, she learns that the Amish have not only taught her how to harvest corn, but to harvest her heart, as well. PLAIN TRUTH is a captivating exploration into the "truths" held by many people, one which will certainly inspire the reader to uncover truths in themselves. Once again, Jodi Picoult gets down on her knees and grabs the soil in her bare hands, giving us a true picture of the Amish heritage and what it stands for. Jodi Picoult's capable and deliberate hands slowly unravel the thread that holds patchwork quilt of characters together, allowing us to view their seams and all their imperfections. She continues to stretch the fascinating strand of thread from the Amish farm into a Pennsyvlania courtroom, where she orchestrates a fascinating conclusion of the murder trial. Was the death natural or premeditated murder? Jodi Picoult keeps us gripping the book and guessing until the last page. Writers Moon reViews (...) (c) 2000 Lynne Remick (...) Reprinted with permission from Lynne Remick =============================================
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling look at a foreign way of life
Review: For most of us, personal achievement is a goal in and of itself. For the Amish, being a member of the community is what is important. These two conflicting world views collide when attorney Ellie Hathaway agrees to defend Katie Fisher, her distant 18-year-old Amish relative, against the charge that she killed her infant. Katie denies both the murder *and* the birth, which means she is either mentally unstable or lying. Given her religious faith, the latter is unbelievable, and as Ellie gets to know Katie, the former becomes less and less believable as well. Where does the truth lie? Although this question is answered by the end of the book, Plain Truth is less a whudunit (or whydunit) than it is a fascinating work of fiction about the Amish life as compared to the secular life led by Ellie Hathaway. In order to keep Katie out of jail pending the trial, she agrees to take custody of Katie, which means living on the Fisher family's farm, and integrating somewhat into their way of life. This premise does not come across as contrived in the context of the story. The narrative, the main and secondary characters, and the setting of the Plain culture are seamlessly integrated to create a very strong work of fiction. TTFN, Laurie Likes Books Publisher, All About Romance
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Read (as always)
Review: Jodi Picoult has done it again. PLAIN TRUTH is a wonderfully written account of an Amish girl's dilemma with the English court system after the discovery of a dead infant is linked to her. From the Amish farm to the courtroom Jodi Picoult keeps your interests peaked. I would suggest this book to anyone interested in a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping to the end....
Review: What a huge amount of research Jodi Picoult does before she writes a novel! The care she takes, along with her deep intelligence and sensitivity, shines through all her novels,and PLAIN TRUTH is no exception. The tale, unfolding almost like a morality play, pits the Amish community against the English one. The interweaving of the philosophies and ethics, exemplified by the Plain girl, Katie, and her English lawyer, Ellie, form the basis of the story. Everything that transpires is seen through the two sensibilities, as it were - each issue seen as almost a foil for the other. Picoult's grand style, maturing with each new work, is shown to enormous advantage in this delicate, yet strong, narrative where, in the end, all gain something, all lose something --pretty much as in life itself.
Rating:
Summary: Another winner from Jodi Picoult
Review: All of Jodi Picoult's novels are wonderful and PLAIN TRUTH isno exception. The story is intriguing and unique. There is much to belearned about the Amish culture. The story, as well as the central characters, are detailed well. I felt like I got to know Ellie and Katie and the feeling of living on an Amish farm. There is also quite a mystery involved. I highly recommend this book. Jodi is an amazing storyteller and I look forward to more in the future. I would buy any of her novels without even checking the jacket flap.
| 
