john_pascoe's reviews
94 reviews

"Time makes us forget."

“This was indeed some crazy world, where the waiting period to get an abortion was longer than the waiting period to get a gun.”

This spellbinding novel follows the lives of three women who abort their children (for different reasons). It deals with the controversy of the abortion process from a moral perspective but also from the legal side of things.

The legislation against abortion in America in 2022 did not prevent abortion as intended but rather it increased the number of illegal abortions. Illegal abortions are much more dangerous as they are not regulated and put many women in danger. However, abortions excuse sex as the woman can terminate the pregnancy at will. Furthermore, there is a grey area regarding when the fetus gains its rights; some say it should be at birth, others conception and some say when they come of age. In the past, women have been abused and bread - like animals - to produce children to serve as slaves. Women should be given the choice of whether or not they have an abortion but they should also have sex responsibly; only with people who they trust and who they are ready to raise a child with from conception till death do them part.

Janine is an anti-abortion activist who secretly once had an abortion after being raped at a party. When she finds out her unborn child has Down syndrome. As a result, they will have a much lower quality of life, she is advised to terminate her pregnancy as her child would encounter unbearable ridicule and a difficult childhood.

Beth is seventeen years old and pregnant. As she is underage and her father does not consent to the abortion, the procedure requires a judicial waiver. Instead of praying for a judicial waiver, she decides to get some pills from abroad to end her pregnancy chemically.

Joy also has an unwanted pregnancy despite using the Pill to prevent it. Joy got pregnant from an affair with a fellow named Joe who afterwards said he was married and ditched Joy. As a child, Joy was a foster kid who was bullied and sexually abused.

Louie Ward is an African-American surgeon who performs abortions at the abortion clinic where George Goddard takes hostages because his daughter is at the clinic. Beth is forced to go to the hospital after losing too much blood as a result of her illegal abortion. Joy, Janine, Izzy, Olive, Wren, Bex, Vonita and Hugh are at the clinic while it is being rampaged. Janine is at the clinic posing as a patient but she is really searching for evidence that they coerce people into abortion. Izzy is a nurse at the clinic who was poor growing up and has recently found out she was pregnant. Olive goes to the clinic for health reasons and finds out she has cervical cancer despite being lesbian. Olive jumps in front of a bullet that otherwise would have killed Wren and selflessly sacrifices her life (which probably would not have been that long regardless). Wren is there with Bex to get some birth control and Wren gets a prescription for the Pill so she can safely have sex with her boyfriend, Ryan. Vonita is a receptionist at the clinic. Hugh is a detective who is in charge of controlling the scene.

This novel is deals with an exemplar of a controversial facet. Picoult includes many characters with countless views, backgrounds and prejudices on the morality of feticide. However, the reader can struggle to keep track of all these characters but nonetheless the book has balanced perspectives which reach out and make them reconsider their opinions.

Unlike an ordinary book, a Spark of Light is not written in chronological order. It is instead written in timestamps going backwards by one hour each time. This means the reader is forced to read the end and then figure out all the details of how it happened piecemeal. This can be difficult for the reader to immerse themselves in but it is arguably better than standard reading. Some readers who struggle to pour themselves into a book start reading at the end to immerse themselves. Whether or not Picoult was trying to make her readers reconsider the order a book should be written or read in, the format is still an exemplar of non-linear literature through experimentation which is how literature really evolves.

The novel argues the different sides of the coin that is abortion. Louie faces a lot of ridicule for his job. “There were so many organisations set up to combat racism, sexism, homelessness, mental illness, homophobia. Why shouldn’t there be one to fight for the tiniest humans, who were the most in need of protection?”

All in all, this novel is a masterpiece, arguing the morality of both sides of the argument and the legality of different states. The book has a flawless equilibrium of views on the matter and people of all persuasions. The book immerses the reader into the material so strongly that they are forced to see the matter from both sides despite their position prior to reading. Picoult’s writing is not biased and respects all views of abortion.

The five go on a holiday on the moors with a professor from Julian's school. On holiday, they make friends with the boy (Jock) on the farm nearby, he is quite friendly, but his stepfather is a whole other page. He scoldingly yells at the children to stay away from the railway yard with the spook trains. In curiosity, Julian and Dick decide to go down to investigate one night and see a spook train, but it makes no sense as that railway is allegedly unused.
In true Famous Five spirit, the five decide to look on the inside of the train tunnel and find a mysterious opening to a hidden entrance where Jock's stepfather has been selling stolen goods in the blackmarket. Of course, they get the police to arrest them and Jock and his mother are relieved to be rid of his stepfather.

In this tale, the Five meet a new character by the name of Richard. Two ex-servant of Richard's family wants to get revenge on Richard for diplomatic misdemeanour. They take Dick hostage while the Five are on a biking trip, confusing him for Richard.
The Five find him in a mysterious house on an isolated hill. They can't get out once they get in as the gates are only able to be opened by a machine. The Five send Richard off in the boot of the car to prove his worth and to get help from the police.
The police are not pleased to say the least.

When a fierce quake strikes in hometown Bluehaven, and Jane’s father disappears, she is sent headfirst into an epic quest to save her dad. She must traverse through a place between worlds with booby traps galore, a treacherous labyrinth of shifting rooms, secret gateways and downright deadly beasts. But she must find him soon because she’s not the only one looking for him. A man is looking for him. A man who knows all of his weaknesses but also all of his secrets. A man who has an army.
With pyromaniac, Violet and evil prankster, Hickory by her side, Jane is about to discover that this adventure is even bigger on the inside than the outside. But all that matters in this story is that completes this quest in time. Before it is too late. Before he is gone forever.
Who knows what else she will find along the way, from foul beasts to perhaps a partner, a person in a similar situation. Who knows if she’ll even survive. That is an unexplained mystery. That, no-one knows. That mystery is for you, the reader…