(173)Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult

I have never mothered a newborn, but from what I hear, it is not all THAT uncommon for a new mother to have the urge to run away from home. Especially if her husband is an ass. Most mothers resist the urge and stick it out until the kid turns eighteen or they find out that the assy husband is screwing his nurse, then they give into the urge to leave -- but they take the kid with them.

Harvesting the Heart is one of Jodi Picoult's earlier novels. Paige O'Toole was just a young, naive woman when she ran away from Chicago and landed in Cambridge. She had this misfortune to fall in love with a med student born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Paige was so sure that their love could overcome anything, but when she gives birth to their son, Max, her fears of being a mother take over her life. After little sleep and no help from Nicholas, Paige does it. She runs away and finds her own mother.

After three months away, Paige has found some answers, both about her mother and herself. She misses her little family more than she ever thought and she returns to Boston. Only to discover that her husband has grown to hate her with the same passion he once loved her. Paige finds allies in an unexpected place and sets about working her way back into the hearts of the men in her life.

After having read so many Jodi Picoult novels, I knew what to expect. Having recently read her newest book, it is very easy to see how far she has come in her storytelling skills. The formula is the same, but oh dear, was she excessively wordy back in the day. I found myself thinking more than once, "JUST GET ON WITH IT!" Overall, the story was just mediocre. I am sure many mothers could relate to Paige in many ways, but I think she needed to grow a backbone about 200 pages earlier than she did. If your only reading options are a cereal box or Harvesting the Heart, by all means read Harvesting the Heart, but I would not recommend it over a more recent Picoult novel.