"Handle With Care" Review

Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult

Publisher: Atria (March 3, 2009)

Hardcover: 496 pages

"Every expectant parent will tell you that they don't want a perfect baby, just a healthy one. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe would have asked for a healthy baby, too, if they'd been given the choice. Instead, their lives are made up of sleepless nights, mounting bills, the pitying stares of "luckier" parents, and maybe worst of all, the what-ifs. What if their child had been born healthy? But it's all worth it because Willow is, well, funny as it seems, perfect. She's smart as a whip, on her way to being as pretty as her mother, kind, brave, and for a five-year-old an unexpectedly deep source of wisdom. Willow is Willow, in sickness and in health.

Everything changes, though, after a series of events forces Charlotte and her husband to confront the most serious what-ifs of all. What if Charlotte should have known earlier of Willow's illness? What if things could have been different? What if their beloved Willow had never been born? To do Willow justice, Charlotte must ask herself these questions and one more. What constitutes a valuable life?"

I think Jodi Picoult is completely amazing. I love her books. However, Handle With Care left me feeling so freakin' depressed, after I finished it. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was good for the most part.

In the book, six year old Willow O'Keefe has a disease known as Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which causes her bones to be brittle and fragile. Something as small as rolling over on the bed, could cause Willow to break a bone. This book definitely emphasizes on what a parent is willing to do for his/her child.

I loved how each chapter alternated between the characters POVs (as most Jodi Picoult novels do) and my favorite character was Amelia, Willow's older sister. Not only does Amelia have to deal with her sister's condition, but she's also deals with cutting and an eating disorders. I thought that she was the one of the most unique characters and I liked her witty remarks.

Writing: 10/10

Ending: 3/10

Voice: 10/10

Originality: 8/10

Plot: 7/10

Overall: I give this book ✭✭✭ and half stars. I would've given it a 4 stars but the ending...But give it a try, I loved most of it!

Be expecting a few more Jodi Picoult reviews in the next couple of weeks.