This is Jodi Picoult's first published novel and usually I'm not as big a fan of her earlier work. I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit though. It tells the story of husband and wife Jane and Oliver and their troubled relationship, and their daughter Rebecca. When Jane and Rebecca flee Oliver after an argument, they end up at the orchard where Jane's brother works.I really liked the different aspects of life this book covered, from husband and wife relationships, mother/daughter relationships, brother/sister relationships and young love. As always, Picoult's subject matters are clearly well-researched and in this case Oliver's career with whales shows a great deal of this. I quite liked the subject matter though and felt it made a great backbone to the story.
My only real flaw with this book was that it jumped about in time so much. There would be characters who weren't properly introduced until several chapters after their first appearance, which meant I got confused as to who they were and failed to engage with them. I like that you get all the different character's perspectives throughout the story but I could have done with it being told in a more linear fashion. The way it was written meant whole chapters were repeated later on just from someone else's point of view which I found a bit annoying.
Other than that it was a very enjoyable read.
