Sunday Salon: Jodi Picoult and things to come

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there! To celebrate the holiday, I spent the day winetasting with my boyfriend and his parents. It was beautiful up in Amador County today and I discovered a lot of great new wineries. And the best part? I finished my latest book on the drive up and in between wineries, which means I get to start on some new books this week on the commute to my new job! Lots of changes this week so I don't know how much time I'll have to blog (or to run), but I'm going to try to keep it up.

Just in case though, I thought I'd include a review of my most recent book in today's Sunday Salon (my first!). Originally I'd planned to do a review every Monday, but I've been reading books faster than I'd planned and as it turns out I have more time on Sundays. Who knew?

OK, OK, on to the review: Today I finished my second Jodi Picoult book, Plain Truth. The book is about an Amish teenager who has a baby out of wedlock and is accused of murder when the baby is found dead near the barn where it was birthed. The teenager, Katie, is represented in court by her non-Amish cousin Ellie who happened to be visiting their ex-Amish aunt at the time of the birth. Ellie had just finished a high-profile case and had been trying to get away from a bad relationship and rethink her life while staying at her aunt's house. Instead she found herself thrown right back into work, only this time it required her to stay on an Amish farm, where she was ordered by the judge to babysit her client.

A lot of people take issue with Picoult's writing because she uses similar visual images in all of her books (curling up in the shape of a comma, etc.), but I honestly wouldn't have noticed it if nobody had ever pointed it out to me. (So sorry to now be the one to have pointed it out to you!) Personally, I really enjoyed both of the books I've read by Picoult (My Sister's Keeper and now this one). She picks incredibly interesting plots on current issues and she always includes turns that make her work unique.

As for Plain Truth, it is the first book I've ever read about the Amish and I was glad she included a ton of background on them (background gleaned from her own experience living with an Amish family as part of her research for the book). I find the Amish way to be incredibly interesting, although until now I had remained extremely ignorant about why and how they live the way they do. This book helped me to understand them a little bit better. I also enjoyed watching the relationship grow between the two cousins, who were unknown to each other before the trial. The ending didn't catch me off guard as much as in My Sister's Keeper. I kind of knew what was coming from the hints earlier in the book, and also because I'm sort of a law media junky (I have been known to watch reruns of Law & Order and CSI for six hours straight). Overall this was a great read and very quick, which I love.

If you enjoy books about law, I think you'd enjoy Picoult's books. Sometimes I think of her as the female John Grisham, even though I know that their writing styles are very different. Grisham tends to be more of a thriller law writer, while Picoult's are more about the characters and their underlying reasons for going to court. When I was younger John Grisham was my second author love (Roald Dahl was my first), and I devoured everything he wrote. I think Jodi Picoult will probably take his place for me, as I now have three of her books on hold at the library. What can I say? Once I like a writer, I feel like I have to read their entire body of work. So I guess I'll be alternating between Margaret Atwood and Jodi Picoult for the next few years. At least I finally have some favorite female authors.

This book has also been reviewed by:
Trish at Trish's Reading Room

As for other reading, today I started Dematerializing: Taming the Power of Possessions just to break away from all of this fiction I've been reading lately. I've also been reading High Infatuation by Steph Davis and, of course, our book club selection, Year of Wonders. What are you reading this week?

The Innocent Man by John Grisham

Eleven years after their arrest for the rape/murder of Debbie Carter, Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz were exonerated using DNA testing. Not only did the testing prove that Williamson and Fritz were not involved, but that the one "eyewitness" was the actual killer (this isn't a spoiler - Grisham gives this away from the beginning of the book). Their entire conviction hinged on the testimony of the actual killer and snitches looking for a deal to get less time in prison.

Ron Williamson spent 11 years on death row and never once change his story of innocence. He nearly went out of his mind in jail, having already had severe mental disorders prior to his arrest. During his trial not one person - not the prosecution, the judge, nor Williamson's own lawyer - raised the questions of his competency to stand trial despite a 10-year history of psychological problems ranging from manic depression to schizophrenia.

In The Innocent Man, John Grisham tells Williamson's story in a way that's understandable for laypeople. He brings up a number of questions the detectives, judge, prosecutor and jurors should have been asking before convicting Williamson and Fritz. In addition, he gives a detailed account of two other men arrested by the same detectives and tried in the same court. Both were also found guilty and are innocent, but they are still behind bars (www.wardandfontenot.com).

Grisham, with his famous name and storytelling abilities, is bringing awareness to an issue that few acknowledge - our justice system isn't always just.

Unexpectedly, this book gave me reason to question the death penalty (description of death row and lethal injection given on pgs. 214 - 216). I have to wonder how many innocent men are put to death each year in the United States. At the same time I have to believe that the science used today to convict killers is more accurate than in previous decades. It really made me appreciate what a huge discovery DNA has been.

Unfortunately though, DNA testing can often be expensive and isn't available for those already behind bars unless they can get a lawyer to believe in their innocence. Fortunately, The Innocence Project (www.innocenceproject.org) has been working for more than 10 years to free innocent men from prison using DNA testing. More than 200 men have been freed thanks to The Innocence Project.

I highly recommend this book to anyone concerned about our legal system. It gives some great tips on what to do when being questioned by the police (ask for a lawyer!) and information about Miranda rights and the fifth amendment. Also, it's just a great story and a quick read. The injustice of it will stay with you though. In the author's notes, Grisham says, "Not in my most creative moment could I conjure up a story as rich and layered as Ron's." Nor as unbelievable. But here it is, a true story of injustice and the problems with our justice system.