Death row prisoner Shay Bourne has one last request. Eleven years after the murder, Bourne wants to donate his heart to his victim's sister after his execution as his path to salvation. ( )

Good premise for a story when a convicted killer wants to give his heart to his victim's child. Lots of twists and turns in this story which were great. Loved the characters and the in depth look at the death penalty and its processes. There was a supernatural component to this story mixed with a religious point of view. That made it less believable for me but I still enjoyed the book. ( )

Another heart-wrenching story about a young girl and her father who are killed and the supposed killer, on death row, wants to donate his heart to the younger sister to save her life. How, as a mother, does one let the killer of your husband and child ‘save’ your only other child and accept his heart? But how, on the other hand, do you idly sit by and watch that one surviving child die when she could be saved by the heart, even if it happens to be from the person you hate most in the entire world? This story goes into religious beliefs and gives you an introspective view of the death penalty.

I've attempted to read this before but I just couldn't get into it! ( )

Predictable, not up to her usual par ( )

I recently just read Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult and it was a really good book too. It is about this women who was married to a police officer and had a little girl named Elizabeth and she was also pregnant. But then someone she thought she knew killed her little girl and her husband. Now Shay Bourne is sitting on death row and wants to donate his heart to the woman's (June) other little girl who needs a heart transplant to live. You will have to read the book to find out what happens because I don't want to give it away. ( )

I am reviewing Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. I chose to read it because I enjoy this particular author very, very much, and I was interested in exploring all of her novels.
In Change of Heart, we step onto the scene of a young man who was sentenced to death for the murder of June Nealon's husband and daughter, Elizabeth Nealon. His ACLU attorny, Maggie, comes to his case after 11 years of jailtime in an effort to make waves about the death penalty itself. Unfortunately for her, Shay Borne doesn't mind dying--as long as he will be able to donate to Elizabeth's sister, Claire Nealon. Claire has a heart condition that is killing her, and she is running out of time.
As the story evolves, June Nealon decides to accept the Shay's heart since she will die without it. All the while, 'Inmate Borne' is seemingly performing miracles in his jail cell. He's flooded the water lines with wine, cured AIDS, and revived a dead bird, all of which start a HUGE religious contraversy outside of the prison.
This book was moving, religiously insightful, and incredibly emotionly involved. I loved it. ( )

CHANGE OF HEART is a really good book, and I'm happy to say I enjoyed it so much more than THE TENTH CIRCLE.

Books dealing with religion are tricky, because it's easy for the author to come off as either anti-religion or too preachy. Ms. Picoult balances this well, using religion as a springboard for other topics.

There are definitely some supernatural aspects of this story, but overall its based firmly in the very real emotions of anger, love, and forgiveness, and the fact that nothing is ever exactly as it seems.

This is definitely a book I would recommend to others. ( )

When June Nealson is offered a heart for her sick daughter Claire, it isn't the risk of the surgery that has her doubting about accepting the offer.
Shay Bourne has decided to donate his heart after he dies. Now he must convince the legal system to allow it. On death row for a double murder, he will need the help of lawyer Maggie to convince the courts to execute him via hanging rather than legal injection and the help of Father Michael to convince June Nealson, the mother and wife of his victims, to accept his donation.

The death penalty is never clear cut and Jodi Picoult uses this to her advantage when writing a story about right and wrong. The addition of a religious element, including some minor miracles reminiscent of the Green Mile, adds another complex layer to the story, one that perhaps the story could have gone without, in my opinion.
However Change of Heart is an intriguing story that will have the reader (re)considering his or her beliefs about the death penalty and whether any good can come from it - even if that good is now in the way you would first imagine. ( )

In typical Picoult style, there is no black and white in this book, only many shades of grey. The book is fast moving and the plot has many twists. ( )

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. It was a book that really made you think ( )

Fantastic book told from the points of view of four people involved in the story of Shay Bourne--his friend in the cell block, his lawyer, his spirtual advisor and the widow and mother of the step-father and daughter he killed 11 years before. With his last appeal lost, Shay faces capital punishment, but wants to perform one selfless act before he dies and donate his heart to a girl who desperately needs it. Oddly, the girl is the sister and daughter of the pair he murdered. And suddenly miracles begin happening on I-Tier when Shay moves in. The water turns to wine, a dead bird comes back to life, one piece of gum mysteriously satisfied all seven prisoners. Is it for real, or is it a ruse to get what he wants? The priests, the lawyer and the prisoner struggle to understand what they are really dealing with. ( )

Shay Bourne, an intenerant carpenter, is charged with killing the husband and child of the woman who befriended him, but things are not always as they seem. ( )

One of Jodi's better novels with an interesting story-line. One of my personal favorite Picoult novels ( )

This is the story of a murderer wanting forgivness. ( )

Jodi Picoult's characters are strong and the author nailed the spectacular self-deprecating ACLU attorney, Maggie. I loved Maggie instantly from her relationship with her parents to her day to day work life as an attorney. Maggie knows what she needs to do to win her case. At the same time she tears into herself about when will Mr. Right ever appear or more importantly, Maggie questions why he would even want her. This is not as easy task to weave into a story about murder, the deaths of children, a husband’s death, and a convicted murderer--------what do we feel for him? A zillion questions rise as the story twists & turns provoking everyone, including the priest, and the rabbi---the question of the death penalty. Then there is this question; is he guilty? ( )

This was my third Picoult book and I enjoyed this one as much as the two others. While I find her court, controversy-centered plots a bit repetitive, Picoult never fails to leave the reader thinking. Her stories are never black and white, triggering sympathy for all parties involved. In this story she introduced several characters who's lives have come to revolve around a deathrow inmate who wishes to donate his heart to the sister of the victims he allegedly murdered. The finish of the story brought me to tears and the ending left me with a smile. ( )

This is one of those books that inspires someone like me to want to become a writer. It's that bad. I'm not sure what was worse - the cliched characters from a variety of literary genres (one lost her true love and continues to suffer, the other is the smart, fat, Jewish girl who gets the dreamy guy, another is the reluctant messiah) or the unskilled storytelling (the conceit was that, like The New Testament, it was told from four different points of view). The latter at least let the reader get a break from the annoying characters for a bit. The only point of view I thought was interesting was that of a prisoner suffering from AIDS who is a talented artist which gave me glimpses into life behind bars - but even that couldn't redeem this book as I had to force myself to trudge through the last 50 pages - my motivation being that I had another novel waiting for me once I finished this one. ( )

Ok. My Jody Picoult days are over. I have read all the books I have of hers in my possesion and I am done. There are so many twists and turns..I can't take it!

I wasn't a huge fan of this book. Due to the fact that it has a lot to do about God. If you are a JC fan. Read it. ( )

Very controvertial, I don't like how she manages the criminal character, the other subjects like the organ donation and the death punishmens is interesting discussion, but on my opinion not much practical. ( )

Great read! Very interesting subject matter with a lot of interesting information. I always love Picoult's books and this is no exception! ( )

A very well written book, loved the book just not the ending. ( )

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult illustrates the struggle of a family who has lost everything and now waits for justice and a miracle. Jodi Picoult depicts the heartache of a mother, and the decision she must make to accept Shay Bourne’s heart for her daughter, Claire. Shay Bourne is a death row inmate who is about to be executed for the murder of June’s husband and daughter ten years earlier. Shay Bourne has the power of making the unbelievable become true, but he has to fight for his final chance of salvation. The author describes each character’s struggle to decide what is right versus wrong, but realize there’s a right and wrong to every story. This powerful novel leads you into a world of redemption, justice and love. HG

I really enjoyed this book, though bits of it did remind me of The Green Mile. Picoult writes about some controversial subjects, which keeps her stories interesting. In my opinion, this is one of her best books.

I had never heard of the Gnostics before I read this book, but I looked it up on my computer and this was actually an ancient religious group. If we covered this in my college History of Religion course, I don't remember it.

Ian Fletcher, as well as Mariah and Faith, from Keeping Faith make an appearance in this book. There is actually a spoiler in this book for the other, so I would recommend reading Keeping Faith first. That would also help with understanding Ian's history and where he got some of his ideas. ( )

I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. I enjoyed trying to work out what I thought would happen in the end and I was completely wrong! It was my first Jodi Picoult. Most others who I've spoken to haven't liked it but I was engrossed. ( )