My name came up on the reserve list for this book right before the VA Tech shootings -- crummy timing, right? Needless to say, I was a little morose going into this. But as is typical with all of the Jodi Picoult books I've read so far, I was pulled in immediately. She has such a gift for character development and so accurately describing the most ordinary, inane things in life. I love how she switches between past and present and the different characters. She explores the pain for all characters. It was tragic to see the pain both mothers had for their children. I just love her writing style. And although her books don't tend to be "happy", I do like how thought-provoking they always are.