A Spark of Light
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Bahni Turpin
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Jodi Picoult
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Written by:
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Jodi Picoult
About this listen
Number one New York Times best seller
The author 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 15-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)
©2018 Jodi Picoult (P)2018 Random House AudioYou may also enjoy...
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WOW! Powerhouse Book
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Great read!
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Ten years ago he killed my son. Today I married him. Ten years ago my darling son Jesse was murdered and our perfect family was destroyed. My strong, handsome boy, so full of life, became a memory, a photo I carried with me everywhere. But today I’m finally close to finding happiness again. My ash-blonde hair has been curled into ringlets. Carefully placed white flowers frame my delicate features. The small, drab chapel has been prettied up with white satin, and there are tiny red hearts scattered on the small table where I will soon sign the register with my new husband.
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I was totally addicted to listening to this book!
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not her best
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A girl with a secret. Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn gets ready for the prom. For an athlete, who is smart, pretty and well-liked, this night that should be the highlight of her high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the evening, that secret will be silenced forever. Forty years later, Emily’s murder remains a mystery. Her tight-knit group of friends closed ranks; her respected, wealthy family retreated inwards; the small town moved on from her grisly attack. But all that’s about to change.
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Too much of the "F" word
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Performance
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Shelby Foxworth lost her husband. Then she lost her illusions.... The man who took her from Tennessee to an exclusive Philadelphia suburb left her in crippling debt. He was an adulterer and a liar, and when Shelby tracks down his safe-deposit box, she finds multiple IDs. The man she loved wasn’t just dead. He never really existed. Shelby takes her three-year-old daughter and heads south to seek comfort in her hometown, where she meets someone new: Griff Lott, a successful contractor.
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Outstanding story and narration!
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The last thing Lizzie needs right now is a call from an inmate at Rikers asking for help - even if Zach Grayson is an old friend. But Zach is desperate: His wife, Amanda, has been found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their Brooklyn brownstone. And Zach’s the primary suspect. As Lizzie is drawn into the dark heart of idyllic Park Slope, she learns that Zach and Amanda weren’t what they seemed - and that their friends, a close-knit group of fellow parents at the exclusive Brooklyn Country Day school, might be protecting troubling secrets of their own.
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Mad Honey
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Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising their beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined that she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in and taking over her father’s beekeeping business. Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start.
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Brilliant and Masterful
- By Laura Malette on 2022-10-17
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What the critics say
“Picoult at her fearless best... Timely, balanced and certain to inspire debate.” (The Washington Post)
“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)
“Thoroughly realistic storytelling...Picoult has achieved what politicians across the spectrum have not been able to: humanized a hot-button issue. Excellent for book clubs, this should also be considered for discussions in critical thinking and political debate.” (Library Journal, starred review)
What listeners say about A Spark of Light
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Erin P.
- 2018-11-04
Story told in Reverse
In general I liked the characters and story of this book but I wouldn’t recommend it. The story is told in reverse order which I found confusing especially in the audiobook format. If you are going to read this book, skip the audio version and go with a regular book that makes it easier to flip back to the beginning to figure out how the day actually fits together.
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5 people found this helpful
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- 1lilaross1
- 2022-02-15
good story, hard to follow
The story itself is really compelling. You get to see so many believable points of view, but the back to front timeline is frustrating. theres one shred of information at the end that makes it kind of make sense why its back to front, but I think you'd grow more attached to the characters if it were chronological.
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- Dynamic
- 2018-12-07
Confusing
I love Jodi Picoult. Great stories with great twists. This one I had a hard time with. Although the story is really interesting and good, she tells it in reverse and thus the confusion....I thought I was listening the part 1 again until I looked at the review and notice the this was the downfall to the story. But the story is good, the orator is good and Jodi is a great author with such good points and stories.
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- Thea
- 2019-06-20
Wow! It really made me think
This was my first attempt at an audiobook and it took me three tries to get through, only because of the backward retelling. I persevered and it was so worthwhile. The plot truly made me think and appreciate the fact that I have never had to make such a challenging decision. It was eye opening and has been a topic of discussion with friends since I've finished. I usually listen while I'm walking or cleaning; there were some tears shed while doing so.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-01-07
Captivating Story
Such a great read. Had me hooked from the very beginning until the bitter end. The ending felt a bit rushed, and some story lines unfinished, but such an amazing read and really makes you question yourself on pro-life vs pro-choice.
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-03-23
Loved the story
This book was great. I agree with some of the other reviews saying it can be difficult to follow in this format as of how the story is told. Since I listened to it for an hour or more at a time it didn’t ruin the experience of the story being told, I could see only being able to listen in shorter amounts of time it could be hard for some to follow along. Overall I love the book as I seem to with all Jodi’s books and I will continue listen to her books.
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- weaverjude
- 2020-06-06
Not my favourite
I have read several of Jodi's books but couldn't get into this one. It was somewhat predictable and not moving fast enough to keep me engaged.
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- Alethea Porter
- 2019-05-15
Love Jodi Picoult
I had a hard time with this one, but Jodi really hit it out of the park. The storyline and characters were great, but I didn’t love the time jumps. Would have been easier to keep track of reading a paper book I think. Honestly, the authors views at the end of the book were the best part of the book. Her insight hits this issue, and I think she needs to become a politician.
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- C Hastings
- 2018-10-31
Interesting book
This book tells the story in reverse. This is a bit hard wrap your head aroud in spots.
The caracters all have vibrant stories to tell so it is worth the struggle.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ellen B
- 2023-04-15
A very good read overall
Picoult's character development and research weave together beautifully into a story that sheds light on a hotly debated issue in our society.
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