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Sing You Home

A Novel

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
From the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author whom USA TODAY calls a "master of the page-turner," comes the spectacular story of a woman's complex quest to form a family.
Every life has a soundtrack. All you have to do is listen.

Music has set the tone for most of Zoe Baxter's life. There's the melody that reminds her of the summer she spent rubbing baby oil on her stomach in pursuit of the perfect tan. A dance beat that makes her think of using a fake ID to slip into a nightclub. A dirge that marked the years she spent trying to get pregnant.

For better or for worse, music is the language of memory. It is also the language of love.

In the aftermath of a series of personal tragedies, Zoe throws herself into her career as a music therapist. When an unexpected friendship slowly blossoms into love, she makes plans for a new life, but to her shock and inevitable rage, some people—even those she loves and trusts most—don't want that to happen.

Sing You Home is about identity, love, marriage, and parenthood. It's about people wanting to do the right thing for the greater good, even as they work to fulfill their own personal desires and dreams. And it's about what happens when the outside world brutally calls into question the very thing closest to our hearts: family.
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  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      December 6, 2010
      Picoult's overstuffed latest (after House Rules) is stretched just to the breaking point. Max and Zoe's marriage, stressed by infertility problems and miscarriages, is finally destroyed by a stillborn baby. After their divorce, Max moves in with his brother and sister-in-law, Reid and Liddy, and backslides into self-destructive drinking, while Zoe devotes herself to music therapy (the book is accompanied by a CD in Zoe's voice, with awkward lyrics by Picoult) and develops a friendship with guidance counselor Vanessa that eventually turns into love and marriage. Max, meanwhile, converts to an evangelical brand of Christianity that pits him against Zoe when she asks Max for permission to use their frozen embryos. Max's discomfort with Zoe's same-sex relationship and his desire to repay Reid and Liddy, who have their own fertility problems, mean a legal battle looms. Picoult abandons her usual efforts to present an equal view of both sides of an issue—Max is a pitiful right-wing puppet; Zoe, Vanessa, and their attorney are saintly—but her devoted fans will nevertheless find everything they expect: big emotion, diligent research, legal conflict, and a few twists at the end.

    • Library Journal

      January 1, 2011

      After years of infertility, it looks as if Zoe and Max Baxter are finally going to have the baby they've longed for. But when their hopes are dashed by a miscarriage and their marriage collapses, Max escapes, first into alcoholism then into religion, while Zoe concentrates on her career as a music therapist. While working with a troubled teen at a local high school, Zoe begins a friendship with Vanessa, the school guidance counselor, which unexpectedly blossoms into love. Zoe again begins thinking of starting a family, specifically with the three embryos she and Max have in cold storage at the fertility clinic. VERDICT Never one to shy away from controversial issues, this time Picoult (House Rules) tackles gay rights, reproductive science, and the Christian right. She forces us to consider both sides of these hot topics with her trademark impeccable research, family dynamics, and courtroom drama. Sure to be a hit with her myriad fans and keep the book clubs buzzing; includes a CD of original songs by Picoult and musician Ellen Wilber, which correspond to the chapters in the book.--Jeanne Bogino, New Lebanon Lib., NY

      Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      January 1, 2011
      Popular author Picoult tackles the controversial topic of gay rights in her latest powerful tale. When music therapist Zoe Baxters latest pregnancy ends in a stillbirth, her husband Max decides he cant handle any more heartbreak and leaves her. As she picks up the pieces of her life, Zoe is surprised to find herself falling for a school counselor who happens to be a woman. While Zoe is finding happiness with Vanessa, Max falls off the wagon and is helped by a pastor from his brothers evangelical church. Vanessa and Zoe wed in Massachusetts, and Vanessa offers to carry one of the fertilized embryos Zoe and Max stored. Excited by the prospect of being a mother, Zoe goes to Max to get him to release the embryos to her and is shocked when he instead sues her for custody of them, backed by his church. Told from the perspectives of all three major characters, Picoults gripping novel explores all sides of the hot-button issue and offers a CD of folk songs that reflect Zoes feelings throughout the novel. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The always topical Picoult plans a multimedia tour to more than two dozen cities with Ellen Wilber, who will perform the songs she and Picoult wrote together.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:5.5
  • Lexile® Measure:830
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:4-5

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