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A Spark of Light

Written by: Jodi Picoult
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Jodi Picoult
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Publisher's Summary

Number one New York Times best seller

The author author of Small Great Things returns with a powerful and provocative new novel about ordinary lives that intersect during a heart-stopping crisis.

"Picoult at her fearless best... Timely, balanced and certain to inspire debate." (The Washington Post)

The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center - a women’s reproductive health services clinic - its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage.

After rushing to the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, sets up a perimeter and begins making a plan to communicate with the gunman. As his phone vibrates with incoming text messages he glances at it and, to his horror, finds out that his 15-year-old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic.

But Wren is not alone. She will share the next and tensest few hours of her young life with a cast of unforgettable characters: A nurse who calms her own panic in order to save the life of a wounded woman. A doctor who does his work not in spite of his faith but because of it, and who will find that faith tested as never before. A pro-life protester, disguised as a patient, who now stands in the crosshairs of the same rage she herself has felt. A young woman who has come to terminate her pregnancy. And the disturbed individual himself, vowing to be heard.

Told in a daring and enthralling narrative structure that counts backward through the hours of the standoff, this is a story that traces its way back to what brought each of these very different individuals to the same place on this fateful day.

One of the most fearless writers of our time, Jodi Picoult tackles a complicated issue in this gripping and nuanced novel. How do we balance the rights of pregnant women with the rights of the unborn they carry? What does it mean to be a good parent? A Spark of Light will inspire debate, conversation...and, hopefully, understanding.

Praise for A Spark of Light:

"This is Jodi Picoult at her best: tackling an emotional hot-button issue and putting a human face on it." (People)

"Told backward and hour by hour, Jodi Picoult's compelling narrative deftly explores controversial social issues." (Us Weekly)

©2018 Jodi Picoult (P)2018 Random House Audio
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What the critics say

“Picoult at her fearless best... Timely, balanced and certain to inspire debate.” (The Washington Post)

“This is Jodi Picoult at her best: tackling an emotional hot-button issue and putting a human face on it.” (People)

“Told backward and hour by hour, Jodi Picoult’s compelling narrative deftly explores controversial social issues.” (US Weekly)

“Thoroughly realistic storytelling...Picoult has achieved what politicians across the spectrum have not been able to: humanized a hot-button issue. Excellent for book clubs, this should also be considered for discussions in critical thinking and political debate.” (Library Journal, starred review)

What listeners say about A Spark of Light

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Story told in Reverse

In general I liked the characters and story of this book but I wouldn’t recommend it. The story is told in reverse order which I found confusing especially in the audiobook format. If you are going to read this book, skip the audio version and go with a regular book that makes it easier to flip back to the beginning to figure out how the day actually fits together.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

good story, hard to follow

The story itself is really compelling. You get to see so many believable points of view, but the back to front timeline is frustrating. theres one shred of information at the end that makes it kind of make sense why its back to front, but I think you'd grow more attached to the characters if it were chronological.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Confusing

I love Jodi Picoult. Great stories with great twists. This one I had a hard time with. Although the story is really interesting and good, she tells it in reverse and thus the confusion....I thought I was listening the part 1 again until I looked at the review and notice the this was the downfall to the story. But the story is good, the orator is good and Jodi is a great author with such good points and stories.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wow! It really made me think

This was my first attempt at an audiobook and it took me three tries to get through, only because of the backward retelling. I persevered and it was so worthwhile. The plot truly made me think and appreciate the fact that I have never had to make such a challenging decision. It was eye opening and has been a topic of discussion with friends since I've finished. I usually listen while I'm walking or cleaning; there were some tears shed while doing so.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating Story

Such a great read. Had me hooked from the very beginning until the bitter end. The ending felt a bit rushed, and some story lines unfinished, but such an amazing read and really makes you question yourself on pro-life vs pro-choice.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Loved the story

This book was great. I agree with some of the other reviews saying it can be difficult to follow in this format as of how the story is told. Since I listened to it for an hour or more at a time it didn’t ruin the experience of the story being told, I could see only being able to listen in shorter amounts of time it could be hard for some to follow along. Overall I love the book as I seem to with all Jodi’s books and I will continue listen to her books.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not my favourite

I have read several of Jodi's books but couldn't get into this one. It was somewhat predictable and not moving fast enough to keep me engaged.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Love Jodi Picoult

I had a hard time with this one, but Jodi really hit it out of the park. The storyline and characters were great, but I didn’t love the time jumps. Would have been easier to keep track of reading a paper book I think. Honestly, the authors views at the end of the book were the best part of the book. Her insight hits this issue, and I think she needs to become a politician.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting book

This book tells the story in reverse. This is a bit hard wrap your head aroud in spots.
The caracters all have vibrant stories to tell so it is worth the struggle.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

So horribly disappointed

The story jumped all over the place. There was no ending to each of the characters story. I have never been shocked for a book to end without us knowing the outcome of each character

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