Book Pick: Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

In Jodi Picoult’s words, “Lone Wolf looks at the intersection between medical science and moral choices.”  The characters in Picoult’s previous books (Handle with Care, My Sister’s Keeper, for example) deal with tough issues affecting love, relationships and personal integrity that are thought provoking and affecting.

Lone Wolf is no different.  Naturalist Luke Warren spent two years away from his family (and all humans) to be part of and study wolf packs.  While the experience gave him insight into a different species, it forever changed his relationship with his family.  He and his wife Georgie divorced, his son Edward left abruptly for Thailand and his teenage daughter Cara, who so reveres him, now is forced to face a secret that she will live with forever.

When Luke picks Cara up from a party that has gotten out of hand, they have a terrible car accident.  Now, Luke lies unconscious in a hospital bed with virtually no hope of recovery, and Cara is healing from non-threatening injuries.  Edward returns home, and although he has been away for six years, he is considered next of kin and therefore burdened with the decision of whether to end life support.  While he grapples with his estrangement and his father’s final wishes, Cara cannot let go and challenges her brother in a moral battle that would test the bonds of any family.

Picoult’s writing style for this one is interesting; each character’s first person narrative is in a different typeface, allowing the reader to distinguish who’s telling the story.  Telling each characters perspective with heartache and honesty, Lone Wolf examines life choices and the price for making them.