Jodi Picoult usually comes out with a new book every February, and every February I pre-order her book and voraciously eat up the new story in the matter of a couple of days.  I recently did this with her latest book 'The Storyteller,' which I truly enjoyed and appreciated.  It was fantastic actually.  The only thing I don't like about Picoult's books of course, is her silly trademark endings that somehow 'don't fit.'

I decided to delve into some older Picoult books, knowing it will take another year to get a new one.  I chose 'Plain Truth' and I have to say, I managed to enjoy it.  I like the way Picoult always writes about unique settings.  Whether it's a victim of the holocaust, a wolve's den, the mind of a child with autism or the life of a girl who was born to fix her sister's cancer, I always enjoy her voracious appetite for research and detail.

Plain Truth takes us to the Amish or 'Plain World.'  We delve into the life of Katie Fisher and family.  The young Amish girl is in trouble as she's been accused of giving birth to a newborn and suffocating it.  As the Amish do not believe in lawyers and suing others, they are unfamiliar with the ways of courtrooms and lawyers.  A sort-of-family member who is a lawyer comes to her rescue.  Ellie Hathaway becomes Katie's guardian and must live on her family's farm while she goes through the preparation for trial.

While Katie's story slowly beings to unfurl, we learn about the Amish religion and lifestyle.  Ellie, a high powered city attorney, starts to feel comfort in the 'plain life,' away from the hustle and bustle of her stressful job.  She develops clarity as Katie starts to trust her more and remember more about her awful situation.  Of course it's shocking that Katie would be pregnant in the first place, however the Amish have their way of dealing with people, and we learn about their ways of life.  I found this part very interesting.

The story started to drag however, when Katie was giving the bits and pieces of the details of the birth of her child and how she found her baby dead.  There was a lot of repetition and I found myself getting restless and hoping for the end of the book.  Of course, there is a weird twist at the end but not nearly as weird as some of her more recent books.

I will give Plain Truth a 3/5 and say that I strenuously appreciate Ms. Picoult's research and attention to detail.  The imagery made up for the somewhat poor story line.

I am going to continue to look into Picoult's older books and read them.  The only one I couldn't stay with was 'Songs Of A Humpbacked Whale.'  I have some other's on my to-be-read book list that I am looking forward to.  Anyone who might have an older favourite, please feel free to comment and let me know.  Plain Truth was published in 2007. 

Recommended: Yes