A Spark of Light

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Picoult, Jodi, Adult Book / Fiction / General / Picoult, Jodi
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Westgate Branch

"The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things returns with a powerful and provocative new novel about ordinary lives that intersect during a heart-stopping crisis. The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center a women's reproductive health services clinic its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage. After rushing to the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, sets up a perimeter and begins making a plan to communicate with the gunman. As his phone vibrates with incoming text messages he glances at it and, to his horror, finds out that his fifteen-year-old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic. But Wren is not alone. She will share the next and tensest few hours of her young life with a cast of unforgettable characters: A nurse who calms her own panic in order save the life of a wounded woman. A doctor who does his work not in spite of his faith but because of it, and who will find that faith tested as never before. Apro-life protester disguised as a patient, who now stands in the cross hairs of the same rage she herself has felt. A young woman who has come to terminate her pregnancy. And the disturbed individual himself, vowing to be heard. Told in a daring and enthralling narrative structure that counts backward through the hours of the standoff, this is a story that traces its way back to what brought each of these very different individuals to the same place on this fateful day. Jodi Picoult one of the most fearless writers of our time tackles a complicated issue in this gripping and nuanced novel. How do we balance the rights of pregnant women with the rights of the unborn they carry? What does it mean to be a good parent? A Spark of Light will inspire debate, conversation. and, hopefully, understanding"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Makes you think submitted by jennyaiko on August 20, 2019, 3:05pm Picoult does an incredible job showing the different viewpoints on such a hot-button topic.

Gripping and relevant submitted by kellymk on August 30, 2022, 4:13pm This book should be made into a movie—its timely subject matter and reverse chronological storytelling make it a fascinating and gripping read. The amount of research the author conducted in order to write this novel is truly impressive. Don't miss the author's notes at the end of the book to gain a full appreciation of her diligence and commitment to realism in her work.