Piccoult is famous for her several character narratives and her plotlines that infuse law, medicine, family and love all in one. And Handle with Care is no exception.
The Characters
This time the structure of the story is based on five-year-old Willow O-Keefe who has Type III Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or brittle bone disease. The main players in this poignant narrative include Willow’s dedicated mother, Charlotte; her 12 year old sister, Amelia; her hard headed cop father, Sean; Willow’s lawyer, Marin and Willow’s obstetric, Piper. Of course, the story does not completely revolve around Willow’s suffering and painful disease. Each character is also struggling with his or her own internal and external battles.
The Plot Line
Essentially, the story relates several points of views about how Willow’s condition has affected the lives of each of the characters. At the forefront of the controversy is the fact that Charlotte is suing Willow’s obstetrician for ‘wrongful birth”. What this means is Charlotte, who loves Willow more than it appears would be physically possible, must admit to the jury (and to herself) that, if she had known about Willow’s disease, she would have aborted the baby. Apart from the obvious moral issues with this statement, Charlotte and Sean are both Catholic and adore Willow to death. Furthermore, Piper is not only Willow’s obstetrician; she is Charlotte’s best friend.
Adding to the problem is the fact that Amelia is battling her own demons with bulimia, Marin is trying to juggle the case with her own struggle to find her real mother, and Sean and Charlotte are in the midst of a financial and ethical battle that threatens to split up the entire family. And, caught in the middle of all of this is beautiful, smart and adorable Willow who will melt the reader’s heart.
Why Read it
Piccoult is a bestselling author of 15 novels for good reason – her writing is beautiful. The stories connect to one another on so many different levels and the audience cannot help but feel the love, devotion and frustration that seeps from every page.
As with most Piccoult novels, the story weaves in and out of each tale and consistently has the audience complementing the moral values of the story. Of course, there is no right or wrong, there is no good or bad and there is no black or white. However, the grey world in which Handle with Care resides promises a page turning read filled with tears, heartache and surprises.
Jenna Galley - Jenna Galley currently writes for a variety of online content writing companies including GRG Freelance Solutions, Freelance Writing ...
