Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult - A Review
What Goodreads Says
On an icy winter night, a terrible accident forces a family divided to come together and make a fateful decision. Cara, once protected by her father, Luke, is tormented by a secret that nobody knows. Her brother, Edward, has secrets of his own. He has kept them hidden, but now they may come to light, and if they do, Cara will be devastated. Their mother, Georgie, was never able to compete with her ex-husband's obsessions, and now, his fate hangs in the balance and in the hands of her children. With conflicting motivations and emotions, what will this family decide? And will they be able to live with that decision, after the truth has been revealed? What happens when the hope that should sustain a family is the very thing tearing it apart?
What I Say While I was reading Lone Wolf, I heard a lot of people say that they loved the book but hated the characters. I was ready to feel the same but to my surprise, I didn't. If I could sum this book up in one sentence, it would be this: a story about a family torn apart from lack of communication and self-absorption. Every main character was selfish and put no effort into thinking of others in the slightest.
We have Luke, Georgie, Cara and Edward. Luke and Georgie were once married and had Cara and Edward. Luke is a scientist of sorts who studies wolves and their behavior. He dedicated his life to these animals and related more to them than he did to humans. Georgie is a woman who's dependent on others. This became evident when she couldn't get involved with her kids during their fight and why she couldn't be a buffer between her children and their father. Cara is almost 18-years old. She feels unwelcome in her mother's new home and has created a relationship with her father that no one else seems to understand. She's the only one fighting for is life. Edward, on the other hand, has latent anger towards his father and wants to pull the plug as soon as possible. Some argue that this is because he knows there is no hope left, others say it was because he wanted his father dead. I'm one that believes the latter.
Lone Wolf was pretty infuriating most of the time. The amount of selfish behavior that you deal with is enough to last a lifetime. I said earlier that I didn't hate all the characters and that's true. I strongly identified with Cara. When I was her age, it was the start of a really brutal year for me and I could understand some of the pain she was going through. It made me angry that no one gave her a chance to be the adult she could have been in this situation. Regardless of my relationship with Cara, I think that this was an overall good book. The topic is controversial and gets you thinking about what you would do in this situation.
Just a heads up for weak stomachs, this book goes into detail of Luke's life in the wild living as a wolf. The details can get a bit rough. I can handle lots of stuff but the accounts of him eating raw meat got even me a little sick to my stomach. I don't think it should keep you from reading the book if you're interested but it's something to be weary of when you get to reading.
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