Sing you home - Jodi Picoult

Synopsis:

Zoe Baxter has spent ten years trying to get pregnant, and after multiple miscarriages and infertility issues, it looks like her dream is about to come true – she is seven months pregnant. But a terrible turn of events leads to a nightmare – one that takes away the baby she has already fallen for; and breaks apart her marriage to Max.

In the aftermath, she throws herself into her career as a music therapist – using music clinically to soothe burn victims in a hospital; to help Alzheimer’s patients connect with the present; to provide solace for hospice patients. When Vanessa – a guidance counselor -- asks her to work with a suicidal teen, their relationship moves from business to friendship and then, to Zoe’s surprise, blossoms into love. When Zoe allows herself to start thinking of having a family, again, she remembers that there are still frozen embryos that were never used by herself and Max.

Meanwhile, Max has found peace at the bottom of a bottle – until he is redeemed by an evangelical church, whose charismatic pastor – Clive Lincoln – has vowed to fight the “homosexual agenda” that has threatened traditional family values in America. But this mission becomes personal for Max, when Zoe and her same-sex partner say they want permission to raise his unborn child.

SING YOU HOME explores what it means to be gay in today’s world, and how reproductive science has outstripped the legal system. Are embryos people or property? What challenges do same-sex couples face when it comes to marriage and adoption? What happens when religion and sexual orientation – two issues that are supposed to be justice-blind – enter the courtroom? And most importantly, what constitutes a “traditional family” in today’s day and age? - http://www.jodipicoult.com/sing-you-home.html

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It's not as heart-wrenching as her previous titles such as 'My Sister's Keeper' or 'Change of Heart' nor is it as gripping (Meg's spelling word :p). But in usual Jodi Picoult style, it's highly thought-provoking & you're caught in a moral dilemma of GLBT issues. As much as I've always been pro-gay. It does make me ponder about issues that a child might potentially have with 2 same gender parents. However, it also made me realize that while I take my sexuality for granted, there are also those who have to work doubly hard just to be accepted for who they are. We were never on equal grounds.

I wished the book doesn't end quite as abruptly though. I kinda saw that twist coming in the end but still I wished that she had expounded on it. I also wondered what happened to 'Lucy'? Although Lucy is not a main character, it doesn't stop me from being curious about her story.

A good read as with most of Jodi Picoults' books and I'll give it 3 & a half stars out of 5.

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