Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult
Published by Atria/Emily Bestler Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster

From the publisher:

Luke Warren has spent his life researching wolves. He has written about them, studied their habits intensively, and even lived with them for extended periods of time. In many ways, Luke understands wolf dynamics better than those of his own family. His wife, Georgie, has left him, finally giving up on their lonely marriage. His son, Edward, twenty-four, fled six years ago, leaving behind a shattered relationship with his father. Edward understands that some things cannot be fixed, though memories of his domineering father still inflict pain. Then comes a frantic phone call: Luke has been gravely injured in a car accident with Edward’s younger sister, Cara.

Suddenly everything changes: Edward must return home to face the father he walked out on at age eighteen. He and Cara have to decide their father’s fate together. Though there’s no easy answer, questions abound: What secrets have Edward and his sister kept from each other? What hidden motives inform their need to let their father die . . . or to try to keep him alive? What would Luke himself want? How can any family member make such a decision in the face of guilt, pain, or both? And most importantly, to what extent have they all forgotten what a wolf never forgets: that each member of a pack needs the others, and that sometimes survival means sacrifice?

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time you probably know that I can’t stay away from a Jodi Picoult novel. They are like candy to me … or potato chips … or glasses of wine … the kind of thing that you can’t have just one. You gotta keep going back. So of course I read her newest novel as soon as it was available from the library. And it was everything I expected – the multiple points of view, the courtroom scenes, the moral issue that the reader could pick either side of – and I liked it and flew through the thing.

There really isn’t anything too notable about Lone Wolf that sets it apart from Picoult’s other novels. As usual, I’m sure she had to do a lot of research (this time about wolves) to get important details right. But again, I enjoyed it. I found it to be fast-paced, I liked the characters, and while the wolf stuff was a little strange I did find it to add a little something extra to the book. Plus, at the time I was reading this one I needed something exactly like Lone Wolf – something that would entertain me while not requiring me to use much brainpower to experience it. So it worked on many levels. 🙂

If you are a Picoult fan I would recommend you give Lone Wolf a read. If you are new to Jodi Picoult I would say it’s not her strongest novel so maybe pick some of her earlier stuff to start with.