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It's Wednesday March the 11 around 7:51PM and

Handle with Care: Work In Progress

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I'm part way through Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult and it feels really familiar to me. There are obvious comparisons to be drawn to My Sister's Keeper (the only other novel by Picoult that I've read), but it actually reminds me more of a different story: Finding Nemo. Terrible things keep happening to Nemo and his dad throughout the movie (poor little clownfish can't catch a break). And then just when you think it can't get worse, BAM! Nemo is sucked up into an oxygen pump.

Even if you haven't seen Finding Nemo, you know that all ends well because it's a Disney film. I'm not so sure about Handle with Care - so far there's a disabled child, a different bulimic self-harming child, a potential divorce and a dissolving best friendship. It's a pretty long path here to recovery.

That said, the never-ending chain of hardship is slightly more palatable to me in Picoult's novel than it was in Finding Nemo. Despite all the hard knocks, Picoult's writing keeps the story flowing easily; and in a novel that could easily get bogged down in medical and legal terminology she still manages to keep things simple.

I absolutely loathe the bad luck roller coaster that Nemo and his dad seem to constantly find themselves on, but I'll reserve final judgment on Handle with Care until it's actually time to get out of the car.

Editors Note: Jodi Picoult will be in Vancouver March 24th at 7 PM at Chapters, 788 Robson Street.

Posted by Josee Thibault | Link |

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