No. of pages: 461
Rating: 8/10
Synopsis: Shay Bourne becomes the first person in decades to be sentenced to death in New Hampshire, when he is found guilty of the cold-blooded killing of a policeman and his step-daughter. After eleven years on Death Row, the end is coming for Shay.
Until he sees a news piece about a young girl who urgently needs a heart transplant.
June's husband and daughter died at Shay Bourne's hands, and she thought her greatest desire was to see him killed. Then her remaining daughter is hospitalised, and she realises that there is something she wants even more: for Claire to live. Shay Bourne is offering June's daughter a miracle - a second chance. But at what cost?Review: June Nealon has her fair share of tragedies, not only were her first daughter and husband murdered, now her second daughter is dying of heart disease, and it seems like there is no hope. But then she hears that the man who murdered her daughter and husband wants to give his heart to Claire when he's killed by the state, but can June bear her daughter to have the heart of the man who ruined her life?
I always enjoy reading Picoult books, she knows how to make you feel torn even though you're sure you know who's in the wrong. I did guess fairly early on what the big twist would be to this one, but it was still really enjoyable none the less. I enjoyed the big aspect of religion and the way it was portrayed by several different people, from athiests to priests, it was interesting not only to learn new things, but also to read the debate over religion. I enjoyed the death row aspect of the story too, it's not something you tend to read about in fiction books a lot, and it seemed well researched. I didn't particularly like June Nealon as a character, if anything I liked Shay the most, and felt he was really well written to make you feel torn about liking him. This was one of the more enjoyable and interesting books by Picoult, and I would definitely recommend it to fans of My Sister's Keeper.
