A Spark of Light: A Novel

Jodi Picoult

Oct 2018 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Jodi Picoult and Bahni Turpin

About this audiobook

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of Small Great Things returns with a powerful and provocative new novel about ordinary lives that intersect during a heart-stopping crisis.

“Picoult at her fearless best . . . Timely, balanced and certain to inspire debate.”—The Washington Post

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 to 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. A pro-life protester, disguised as a patient, who now stands in the crosshairs 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.

One of the most fearless writers of our time, Jodi Picoult 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.

Praise for A Spark of Light

“This is Jodi Picoult at her best: tackling an emotional hot-button issue and putting a human face on it.”—People
 
“Told backward and hour by hour, Jodi Picoult’s compelling narrative deftly explores controversial social issues.”—Us Weekly

Ratings and reviews

I didn't like the reversed timeline. There were too many characters to keep it straight in my mind. Each person's story mattered. Their reasoning and emotions mattered. But I had to take notes to keep the timeline and characters straight. I appreciated the character development and how the stories were entwined. This was a healthy conversation for the pro-choice crowd. Eventhough, I felt that the arguments were one-sided for pro-choice. The pro-lifers were portrayed as if they were operating under diminished capacity. Wondering if any pro-lifers have changed their opinion based on this book. I didn't care for the fowl language. But the "real life feel" of each person's story made their decisions relatable. The fact is that no one knows what they would do if faced with this choice in extenuating circumstances. I'm reading this for book club and can't wait to hear how it was received. Loved "people should mind their own business." - waitress

I found the audio version very hard to get into. It was pretty boring. There were no chapter separations which didn't help separating the different story lines for each character. It made it very confusing for the fiest half. I did like the topic, so relevent in todays society.

Boring.

About the author

Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-three novels, including Small Great Things, Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, Nineteen Minutes, and My Sister’s Keeper. She is also the author, with daughter Samantha van Leer, of two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page. Picoult lives in New Hampshire.