• more about #jodipicoult more comments →
    Casquivana: I guess it has to do a lot with the fact that it is a good sell, as a storyline, because most of the time we're talking about happy endings and "oh, t... more »
    colormeroutine: Children are innocent the same way animals are innocent. They brutally slaughter each other and they aren't murderers because they don't have the capa... more »
    hippichx sez PEACE PLEASE: i believe in many ways, using a child-like character in a book such as this is a way of showing that life is unfair... even in the extreme example of ... more »
    FarleyDrexel is crossing the Rubicon: I loathe films about children in trouble. Why? Because child actors will be involved. This means a grotesquerie of adorableness, mugging for the camer... more »
    Fate'sBitch: I think also children embody the concept of change. A five year old might act like an asshole but we all hopefully assume that he/she will grow out of... more »
    mommy_dearest: I actually think that these kind of stories allow people to ask, "What kind of terrible parent would do that?" In Jodi Picoult, you ask, what kind of ... more »
    LaComtesse: "The truth is, children are plenty evil." Anyone who read "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Piccoult should know she's not interested in doing anything reali... more »
    hortense: Hello! This reminds me of my favorite Twilight Zone episode, "The Incredible World of Horace Ford," which centers around a toymaker who will not shut ... more »
    schweppes: Point 1: Jodi Picoult is one of the worst writers I've ever encountered. I feel stupider every time I read one of her books. Point 2: With children ... more »
    tscheese: Is there really any argument that children aren't vulnerable? Physically they're smaller and weaker than adults. Mentally their brains aren't fully fo... more »
    stoprobbers: I hope someone can help me, because this is driving me crazy. The first part of the plot of this book -- kid born specifically to donate organ to olde... more »
    AJ: Every time I see a preview for this movie I regress back to my teen years when I used to devour Lurlene McDaniel's books about kids and young adults s... more »
    lalaland13: We think we love children in peril, but then a twist ending! tells us otherwise. I have heard they redid the ending from the book. I'm wondering how. ... more »
    Trulymadlyme: People's fascination with children in peril is that, oftentimes, it's a tough, difficult, unfair world we bring them into and our collective understan... more »
    Ailanthus-altissima: I think more than anything it is the possibility of redemption and change that propels this genre. Children are portrayed as resilient and capable of ... more »
  • #thekidsarentallright

    Why Do We Love Children In Peril?

    Anticipating the release of My Sister's Keeper, about a girl conceived as a donor for her sick sister, a Times profile of author Jodi Picoult asks why Americans today love stories of children in trouble. More »
  • #wonderouswomen

    It's Hard Out There For A Heroine