Edward Warren, twenty-four, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: His dad lies comatose, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara.
With her father’s chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father’s organs. Is he motivated by altruism, or revenge? And to what lengths will his sister go to stop him from making an irrevocable decision?
Lone Wolf explores the notion of family, and the love, protection and strength it’s meant to offer. But what if the hope that should sustain it, is the very thing that pulls it apart? Another tour de force from Jodi Picoult, Lone Wolf examines the wild and lonely terrain upon which love battles reason.
Jodie Picoult has never let me down with a single one of her novels and Lone Wolf is no exception, which is why I was so surprised to see so many mixed reviews for this book on Amazon.com and Goodreads.com. Some commented that the main characters was boring, that her novels are becoming too predictable, and that the stories of the wolf packs woven in were unnecessary, but I can honestly say that those thoughts never occurred to me when I was reading it, so don't let that dissuade you if you are a fan of her previous novels.
My upbringing was nothing like that of Edward and Cara in this story, so sometimes I found the bickering and lies/deception a little annoying as a whole lot of drama and misunderstanding could have been avoided if they just communicated a bit better and listened to each other, but thanks to that aspect Lone Wolf was a great reminder to me that no family is perfect and that each has its own unique dynamic that might not be understood to outsiders.
The way it was written, with both Edward's and Cara's secret guilt being referred to but not given away until that final chapters, made read faster so I could find out the twist. And I enjoyed the way that the story was told throughout from each member's different prospective, which made me sway my loyalty between each one as more information unfolded. I think this is one of the main strengths of Picoult's writing, she can take a normally black and white concept and make me think in grey after observing each side.
The diary style writing from Luke throughout gave depth to the plot and tied in what was happening to the human family with how it would be in the wild with a wolf pack. Very clever.
All in all if you are a usual fan of Jodie Picoult I don't think you would be disappointed. I wouldn't expect anything less from her and she continues to be one of my favourite authors.
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