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Second Glance | 
 enlarge | Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Simon & Schuster International
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.75
You Save: £7.24 (91%)
Used (12) from £0.75
Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 355252
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Washington Square Press Trade Pbk. Ed
Pages: 448
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 1.5
ISBN: 0743454510
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780743454513
ASIN: 0743454510
Publication Date: April 19, 2004
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Little River Books dispatch daily from South Wales. Customer satisfaction is our guarantee.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
 Second Glance January 8, 2009
Mr. David Feltham (England)
Go Back to what you do best Jodi
The intital chapter was enthralling. I thought, we have another great book here but then in the following chapters, it just waffled on and on. This book could of been half the size. Not one of her best and i've read many of her books. If it's not broken don't fix it stick to what your good at.
A Good Read December 28, 2008
K. S. Williamson
I'm not an avid Jodi Picoult reader, but adored 'my sisters keeper' so thought I would give this one a try.
At first I was a little baffled, as there seemed to be an awful lot of unrelated characters each telling us their little story. I had to put the book down once, and had to keep re-reading little bits to remind myself of names, and who was talking now, but don't let this put you off, carry on reading and everything falls so wonderfully into place by the end! I was very impressed at how she managed to spin the story together, and how everybody and every event did match up!
I didn't enjoy it quite as much as my sisters keeper - mainly as I really don't believe in ghosts and paranormal 'stuff' but if you get over that it is a really good read.
A Strange Read November 23, 2008
Mr. Peter Steward (Norwich, England)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Sometimes when I have read a novel and turn to reviewing it I find comments difficult to come by. Sometimes my head is so full of thoughts that it is difficult to know where to start. This book comes into the latter category.
It is a very strange, almost surreal work of fiction based on fact. Ultimately a ghost story surrounding a master race style selection process undertaken in Vermont in the 1930s, it is a complex and at times difficult to understand novel.
To start with the book is divided into three sections - the first and third take place in 2001 but the middle section, which goes a long way to explaining what is happening in the other two, is set in 1931. This does lead to some confusion. At times it's difficult to realise just how much information the author has allowed you to have earlier.
My main gripe with the novel is the ridiculous language it at times lapses into. Whilst the middle section of the book is powerful and well written, the first and third can be rather corny and I felt ultimately the book rather fizzled out. There were no massive surprises and the last pages turn more into an adventure tale than a ghostly mystery.
Getting back to the language. Picoult has a nasty habit of using "big words" in her text. At one point one of the characters actually picks up on this as part of a joke. But who really understands the words nictitating, ratiocinatively, catena, self-immolation of tropolgically - and these are just a few of those used.
Then there are sentences such as "Here I am confabulating about myself."
Even worse are passages that are just cringeworthy. Take these as examples:
"She smoothed down her napkin and looked down at her chipolata sausage, nestled in a bed of polenta." or
"She decided to put a tourniquet on the past for once and for all until it just dessicated and disappeared" or
"He tasted doubt on her tongue and pain on the roof of her mouth. He swallowed these and drank again. Consumed she had no choice but to see how empty he was inside and how sip by sip she filled him"
That doesn't mean that the novel isn't without merit. It is a good read, it touches on a number of important subjects and lets us into a world that isn't that far from the Salem Witch trials in content or style. I would recommend this book, but you have to stay with it as in the first section numerous characters are introduced at almost break-neck speed and it is quite difficult to keep a tab on just who is who.
Different To All Her Usual Court Room Drama November 13, 2008
Miss Jessica (West Midlands,England)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I found this book very difficult to get into. I felt like giving up several times whilst reading the first hundred odd pages even though I was desperate to like it because I'm a huge Jodi Picoult fan and this is said to be her favourite novel that she's wrote to date. So reluctant to give up and believe that Jodi could write a bad novel I decided to go onto the Jodi Picoult fan site to see if anyone else had the same problem, and it turned out that most people did but urged everyone to read on as all becomes clear after part one and it gets better. So I carried on reading and I'm so glad that I did. Yes it's hard to get into but by the end of part one I was intrigued and by the end of part two I couldn't put it down! So if anybody reading this is having the same problems I do recommend you read on as it does get better and the random characters all introduced in part one start to come together and you see how they all fit into the story. However this book is very different to her other novels so if you've never read anything by Jodi before I'd recommend starting of with one of her classics such as The Pact or My Sisters Keeper to get a real feel as to what Jodi's all about and what she's capable of. All in all I enjoyed it and would recommend it to any Picoult fan looking for something a little different to all her usual court room drama.
Touching, enjoyable - 4/5 October 20, 2008
M. Block (UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I love Jodi's books, and this was good, not her best but very enjoyable. A slow start, but had a lot of twists and turns, which is typical for Picoult's books! The charactors were likeable, and believable. Recommended
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