Perfect Match: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Over the top
Review: I did not like anything about this one. Talk about going over the top in being unable to write even one character that would be believable. A too perfect 5-yr old, a workaholic mother that turns into an obsessive mommy, a wienie husband, an even bigger wienie love interest, a social worker/babysitter...just not one person to like. Throw them in with a plot that goes from strange to downright unbelievable and you've got a book that merits very little time or attention.

This was my 2nd Picoult book and I must say I was very disappointed. The first (Second Glance) was what inspired me to try another of hers. I think I'll wait awhile before (IF) I risk it again.

Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding Story - Compelling Characters!
Review: I am a big fan of author Jodi Picoult. I have read all her books and, to different degrees, have enjoyed each one. So it comes as no surprise that I found her latest offering, "A Perfect Match," to be a gripping novel that held me spellbound until the last page. It is a dark, complex, beautifully written novel with a storyline presented from various points of view. The characters are three-dimensional and compelling, even the little boy. Ms. Picoult wrote that she drew much from her children's conversations to form the character and thoughts of young Nathaniel.

Nina Frost is an assistant district attorney in Biddeford, Maine. She prosecutes child molesters. Nina works ardently to put them behind bars, but there are many loopholes in the legal system that frustrate most of her attempts to seek justice for the small victims of these heinous crimes. Nina is also a wife and mother, roles she loves but feels she doesn't make enough time for in her busy schedule. She adores her husband Caleb, and their son, Nathaniel, is the light of her life. Nina had always thought she was sterile due to an ovarian operation years before, so when she became pregnant she and Caleb were deliriously happy. When Nathaniel was born, she felt as if all her dreams had come true. Indeed, they had. He is a wonderful, curious, intelligent, energetic five-year-old.

One morning Nathaniel stops talking. He remains mute, and the Frosts, extremely concerned, take him to a doctor where they find that their son has been raped. Now Nina and her family are the victims. Roles have been reversed on her. The role her clients usually play now belongs to her son. She is not the prosecutor in this case. She is the mother. But her experience and knowledge remain that of a prosecutor. And the conflicts she experiences are one of the book's focal points. Her beloved boy has been badly hurt, traumatized. Her family is shattered. And she knows exactly how the legal system will deal with them when they seek justice.

"Perfect Match" is much more than a suspense thriller. Nor is this just a story of sexual abuse against children, or just a novel about how one family copes with a terrible crisis. Ms. Picoult raises issues of morality here, of the thin line, at times, between right and wrong - and about how far a mother should go to protect her child.

There are occasional holes in the logic, but I just considered "author's license" and didn't let these small flaws bother me or impede my overall enjoyment.
JANA