Tenth Circle [Paperback]

Jodi Picoult (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: NY (1980)
• ASIN: B000N6OV4C
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (287 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I grew up on Long Island with my parents and my little brother, the product of a ridiculously happy childhood. My mom says I've been writing as long as she remembers - my first masterpiece was "The Lobster That Was Misunderstood," at age 5. I honed my writing skills beyond that, one hopes, before I headed off to Princeton, where I wanted to work with living, breathing authors in their creative writing program. Mary Morris was my teacher/mentor, and I really do believe I wouldn't be where I am today if not for her guidance and expertise. I had two short stories published in SEVENTEEN magazine when I was in college. However, when I graduated, a desire to not eat ramen noodles exclusively and to be able to pay my rent led me to take a job on Wall Street (not a great idea, since I can't even balance my checkbook). When the stock market crashed in 1987, I moved to Massachusetts and over the course of two years, worked at a textbook publishing company, taught creative writing at a private school, became an ad copywriter, got a master's in education at Harvard, got married, taught at a public school, and had a baby. My first novel was published shortly after my son was born, and I've always said that the reason I kept writing is because it's so much easier than teaching English.

In fourteen years, I've published thirteen novels: Songs of the Humpback Whale, Harvesting the Heart, Picture Perfect, Mercy, The Pact, Keeping Faith, Plain Truth, Salem Falls, Perfect Match, Second Glance, My Sister's Keeper, Vanishing Acts, and the upcoming The Tenth Circle, this March. Two of my books (Plain Truth and The Pact) were made into Lifetime TV movies; Keeping Faith will be another. My Sister's Keeper is in development at New Line Cinema to be a feature film. And there isn't a single day that I don't stop and marvel at the fact that when I go to work, I get to do what I love the most.

My husband Tim and I live in Hanover, NH with our three kids, a dog, a rabbit, and the occasional donkey or cow.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

105 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to love this book and admire the author's willingness to take risks, March 24, 2006

By 

K. Corn "reviewer" (midwest, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Tenth Circle (Hardcover)

There is so much I love about Jodi Picoult's writing and I always look forward to each new book of hers. I was intrigued that this one combined traditional writing with parts that were portrayed in comic book form (she got an actual professional comic book artist to do the drawings and they are nicely done.

However, I found the story to be very convuluted and the premise (was a young girl raped? Or not?) to be unbelievable in the way it played out, taking the whole thing to court. The case was far from clear cut and there were all sorts of potentially incriminating circumstances (at least, from a jury's point of view).

Picoult's greatest strength is her ability to glean insights about human behavior and the darkest, most hidden parts of people...and then bring them to light. In that regard, she doesn't disappoint this time around. I was intrigued by each character, from Daniel, a man who spent a great deal of his life in Alaska and had a dark, troubled past...to his wife, Laura, a woman who'd been drawn to the rebel spirit in Daniel and then grew disappointed when he became more conventional.

At the heart of the book is Trixie Stone, the 14 year old daughter of Daniel and Laura, a teen who may or may not have been raped by her ex-boyfriend. I believe Picoult skillfully portrayed all the emotional highs and lows of today's 14 year old girls, half women, half girls...and growing up far too fast. I felt for Trixie and parts of the book were almost too painful to read as her heartbreak and pain shone through so clearly.

Where the book failed me was in the plot which veered and teetered close to soap opera material. There were just too many "over the top" moments and that's when I started to lose interest. I found myself saying, "Oh, come on!" with each moment of high drama, from suicide attempts to screaming at a funeral. There were far more moments like that and I didn't find them believable. I couldn't help contrasting this with other of Picoult's books (Her Sister's Keeper, for instance), books which stayed much more true to form.

While I always finish Picoult's books (for, even at her worst, she is very, very good in fleshing out characters and gleaning insights about human behavior) I was hoping that she'd create a tale that seemed believable in both tone and plot.

This one did not. Still, she gets kudos for taking risks, for combining comic book form with straight narrative and for making comparisons to Dante's Inferno in much of the situations. This time, however, she just couldn't seem to pull all the various parts together...but she came very, very close.

I'll be looking forward to her next book, just as I have so many others of hers.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars On a downward spiral, November 19, 2006

By 

deeper waters (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tenth Circle (Hardcover)

With each book she writes, Jodi Picoult comes down a level in terms of quality. Rather than narrowing the scope and developing it well, this novel is a pinball machine of ideas, people and issues that never come together. I kept holding out for an ending that would redeem the rest of the story but was disappointed till the final word.

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Provocative, interesting plot, but flawed., March 22, 2006

By 

sb-lynn (Santa Barbara, California United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Tenth Circle (Hardcover)

The plot of this page-turner is worthy of 5 stars.

Summary, no spoilers: Trixie, 14 years old, is despondent because her boyfriend Jason broke up with her. Thinking she can win him back, Trixie lies to her parents and goes to a party with her best friend, hoping she will see him there.

Picoult does a wonderful job of explaining the party life for teenagers today, and it is upsetting. We learn the concepts of "hooking up" and "friends with benefits." Woman's lib has taken a big step backwards.

Trixie drinks at the party, is involved in a game of strip poker, and engages in some sexual activity with one guy. Then she sees Jason.

The next thing we know is Trixie is accusing Jason of rape.

The conversations between the DA and the detective are terrific, as the DA explains the problems with even attempting to file rape charges under these circumstances.

The problem, and I cannot say more than this without giving way a spoiler, is that Picoult later has the authorities behave illogically, in order to proceed with the story.

The chapters involving Trixie were provocative and interesting. Picoult does an excellent job of making us feel empathy and sympathy for both Trixie and Jason. I was much less interested in reading about her parents, and found some of their story and actions less believable and reading more like filler.

Still, recommended, especially for book clubs. Boy is there a lot to talk about.