42. Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult

I may be late to the game of Ms. Picoult's novels, only really discovering them in the last year or so, but I am definitely making up for lost time. Songs of the Humpback Whale was a wonderful book and I have to give it an A.

From Amazon:
Sometimes finding your own voice is a matter of listening to the heart....
Jodi Picoult's powerful novel portrays an emotionally charged marriage that changes course in one explosive moment....For years, Jane Jones has lived in the shadow of her husband, renowned San Diego oceanographer Oliver Jones. But during an escalating argument, Jane turns on him with an alarming volatility. In anger and fear, Jane leaves with their teenage daughter, Rebecca, for a cross-country odyssey charted by letters from her brother Joley, guiding them to his Massachusetts apple farm, where surprising self-discoveries await. Now Oliver, an expert at tracking humpback whales across vast oceans, will search for his wife across a continent -- and find a new way to see the world, his family, and himself: through her eyes.

I felt that this book did an excellent job of showing that there are always more than one side to a story. The way that Ms. Picoult chooses to tell the story only helps the reader understand where everyone is coming from and their reactions to one single event. While I didn't always like Jane (at one point in the story, I couldn't stand her) it only goes to show how believable the characters were. I tend to enjoy these types of characters more often than not because who is real life in liked by everyone, or I guess more importantly who is deserving to be liked by everyone all of the time. Yet again, another winner by Ms. Picoult.