My "friendship" with Jodi

Around this time, 6 years ago, I was introduced to an author named Jodi Picoult by way of “The Pact.” I could not put that book down and immediately recommended it to everyone I know. At the time, I thought her last name was pronounced “Pih-coolt”.
A few months later, I read “Perfect Match” and thought that was really interesting too. After that, I was drawn into her world of captivating novels about issues most authors are afraid to touch. I saw the movie of “Plain Truth” on Lifetime so I didn’t read that book (I don’t like reading books after I’ve already seen the movie, no matter how different they are). However, I am proud to say that I’ve read all her books aside from that one. I also started pronouncing her last name as “Pih-colt.”
My favorites are: “Keeping Faith,” “The Pact,” “Second Glance,” “Salem Falls” and “Change of Heart.”
My least favorites are: “Harvesting the Heart,” “Picture Perfect” and “The Tenth Circle.” TTC was also made into a movie on Lifetime, but it shouldn’t have been. The book was slow and had an annoying outcome overall. The movie took a lot away from the book. The only thing I liked about the book was the art in the comic book sections of the story. I also heard that “My Sister’s Keeper,” while a good, but depressing story, was totally twisted around for the movie and changed to the point where I refuse to see it.
The rest of her books fit in the middle of my “like or dislike” spectrum. They all deal with controversial issues where one side isn’t entirely right. Some stories don’t feature court cases though, but still deal with moral or ethical issues. “Second Glance” was more supernatural in nature and felt like an episode of “Cold Case” without the music. It was a beautiful story though. “Songs from the Humpback Whale” was told in three voices and one of the voices told it in reverse. The next book she has coming out is about a kid with Aspberger’s who is accused of murder. That should be interesting and I know she will twist it around so the readers don’t know what to expect, as she usually does. Her stories definitely keep me on my toes and allow me to look at different sides of a huge issue. When I read “Nineteen Minutes,” I felt bad for the kid who was picked on to the point of opening fire at his classmates and I felt bad for the classmates who were innocent victims of his rage (where they weren’t involved at all in bullying him). It made me pray that my kids are neither being bullied or bullying others when they go to school.
Overall, I think Jodi Picoult is a great author and I hope she continues to produce intense stories like the ones I’ve already read and enjoyed so much. And by the way, her last name is pronounced “Peeko.”