Review: Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

Publisher: Random House of Canada
Pages: 416

Received: Received a copy from Random House of Canada in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: October 14, 2014
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Goodreads Synopsis:

The beloved, international bestselling author’s Random House Canada debut--the gripping story of a daughter searching for her missing mother--and one of her most powerful and affecting novels yet.

Alice Metcalf was a devoted mother, loving wife and accomplished scientist who studied grief among elephants. Yet it's been a decade since she disappeared under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind her small daughter, husband, and the animals to which she devoted her life. All signs point to abandonment. . .or worse. Still Jenna--now 13 years old and truly orphaned by a father maddened by grief--steadfastly refuses to believe in her mother's desertion. So she decides to approach the 2 people who might still be able to help her find Alice: a disgraced psychic named Serenity Jones, and Virgil Stanhope, the cynical detective who first investigated her mother's disappearance and the strange, possibly linked death of 1 of her mother's co-workers. Together these 3 lonely souls will discover truths destined to forever change their lives. Deeply moving and suspenseful, Jodi Picoult's first novel with Random House Canada is a radiant exploration of the enduring love between mothers and daughters.

My Review:

I have loved Jodi Picoult's writing for years, ever since picking up My Sister's Keeper and falling in love with her writing style I have tried to go through her whole catalogue. This book was definitely different than the rest of Picoult's stories, but not at all in a bad way, this was still a very emotional story that will stay with readers for years to come, at least that's what I believe.

I absolutely loved this story and I believe that is one of the most powerful ones I have read of hers since The Pact which definitely hit an emotional nerve. The thing about this book is how Picoult brings out the mother-daughter relationship and how special it can be. This story really captures the love that is always there with mothers and daughters, Jenna only thinks about her mother and will do anything to find her, she truly believes that her mother is alive and just can't get back to her.

I absolutely loved all the characters, Jenna is not the only one who has a problem and even though hers is the one that is focused on, we see her help Serenity and Virgil through their own issues. The dynamic the three of these characters have together truly make the story, Jenna uses her charms to get what she wants from Serenity and Virgil, the two people she believes will be able to find her mom. The story is told from the perspectives of all three, as well we get a look at what led up to the even of Alice (Jenna's mother leaving), it's a hard story sometimes to get through as readers see what Jenna had to deal with over the years, but also how Alice's disappearance has affected not only the family but those involved in the investigation.

What interested me is how interspersed through the story is information about how elephants act and their maternal aspects, it really works with this story. Picoult uses research on how maternal elephants can be and how they remember everything to go alongside the story of how Jenna believes her mom is still around and trying to get to her. I honestly believe that Picoult touches on a beautiful subject and she really brings her characters to life (like always). The one thing about this is the turns that the story takes along the way surprised me and really changed the story in my eyes. It is a story that I recommend reading because I can see many people talking about it and the emotional response it will get from readers. Definitely a front-runner favourite of all Picoult's books.