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Mia returns and Cam wants no part of her, hating her for destroying his marriage. At one point Allie told Mia she and Cam celebrated valentine's day in the morning before things got hectic at her business, and later in the book, it was part of the storyline that they celebrated on January 12th every year since they married.I also have no clue really how this book ended, unless I want to refer to Cam's letters to Mia at the beginnning of every chapter, which I don't, because those actually did cause me to hurl the book, stomp on it, and curse.In my mind, Allie moved to New York and fell in love with a nice man, they had a child and retuned to Wheelock, where Cam saw them and realized he never loved Mia and he was tortured by his love for Allie. I eventually just skipped over the parts with her in it to bottle my urge to hurl the book at the wall and curse.There are also several inconsistencies involving the wedding of Jamie and Maggie, first they married at the barbecue of the local justice of peace with a drunk man bearing witness because they had noone they knew there, then later some of the witnesses on the stand said they attended the wedding.
I wish I had read other reviews first. He angers me. I picked this book up because I got a copy of My Sister's Keeper on sale and hoped this book would be as good.
I wish that Mia had come back and he had actually chosen Allie, only to have Allie leave him and then he could have spent his remaining days mourning the loss of the love he shared with his wife, instead of some two-bit con who was not written to have human emotions. These things never happened, but in my mind they did. First of all, I despise the character of Cameron.
I can't connect with him at all.
I liked the story line, but got tired of the sex and really only enjoyed the first chapter when the wife throws her adulteress husband out. I have read many of Picoult's books, but this one was easy to put down and hard to pick back up.
I felt a lot of her ideas were flimsy, like trying to connect the whole Scottish clan thing to being a police chief. They can't all be 5 stars. I have devoured all of Jodi Picoults books in the past as they are usually very difficult to put down. She's written so many fabulous, thought provoking books though and is such a talented writer that I would just chalk this one up to a "whoops". :) I found I had a hard time staying interested in this one and finally put it down halfway through. I felt that it didn't truly adhere to the topic of mercy killing and failed terribly to construct any emotional connection from character to reader.
I was so distracted by the cheating that I couldn't focus on the legal situation that the story was SUPPOSED to be about. If you don't like books about husbands cheating on their wives and that's okay, don't read it. I don't plan on picking up another Jodi Picoult book for a long long time.
As time passes, however, Jamie realizes the selfishness of Maggie's actions. It is interesting to watch Jamie experience the grieving process over the course of the novel. The reader initially may experience sympathy for him, because he sacrificed his dream of being a wanderlust. However, those sentiments quickly disappear once you learn how he takes his devoted and loving wife Allie for granted.
Mia's realization gives her the strength to leave Cam's life, because she finally understands what she truly wants is to become Allie.Jamie above all is the most mysterious character. Are we capable of loving others more than ourselves. Maggie took advantage of Jamie's love for her by convincing him to put her out of her misery. She is selfless, devoted and loving. However, she eventually discovers that as much as she loves Cam- she loves herself more. Mia is an interesting and mysterious character.
Allie is probably the most likable character in the book. At first glance, Picoult's novel, Mercy, appears to be a thrilling courtroom drama centered around the controversial subject of euthanasia. Mia eventually realizes that she is not "in love" with Cam, but rather she is in love with the idea of him. Always out- shadowed by the passionate love of her parents, Mia looks for Cam to fill that void. It is obvious that her feelings for Cam are rooted in her desire to be someone else. This epiphany gives Allie the strength to let Cam know that his infidelity will not miraculously be forgiven over night. Initially, he is so consumed by Maggie's death that he does not care what happens to him. Eventually, Jamie's grief develops into anger as he realizes that he he loves himself too much to be found guilty of his crime.
Picoult, however, quickly loses focus of "mercy killing" and and drifts off to create a cast of characters grappling with the complexities of love or maybe lust.The central characters: Cam, Allie, Jamie and Mia each struggle with issue of whether they are truly in love with someone or instead clinging on to that person for their own selfish reasons. Picoult develops Allie over the course of book and it is enjoyable to watch her self-growth. Jamie's murder of his suffering wife Maggie is depicted as a great act of selfless love. To me Cam is the least likable character in the novel. Although Mia betrays Allie, she too experiences self-growth. Initially she appears as a weak tag-along wife who lacks a sense of identity. Are we suppose to feel bad for Cam that he gave up his dream of being a wanderlust as he repeatedly sleeps with Allie's assistant, Mia, in her store and house. In the beginning she defines who she is as a person against her husband.
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