The basic storyline is about a man, Shay Bourne, who was convicted 11 years ago of killing a young girl and her stepfather. He was sentenced to death, and now all of his appeals have failed. With his execution date looming, he wants to donate his heart after his death to the half-sister of the girl he was convicted of killing.As far as readability, the story is good enough. It kept my interest. She always tells a good story and creates interesting characters. I found Maggie Bloom especially entertaining, with her body shame. I'm a little surprised at Picoult's failure of imagination on this one, though. She recycled the theme (and even some of the characters!) from a previous novel.Also, rather than stick to one or two of her causes, she tried to cover too many of her "pet" topics and somehow tie them all into one story. Unfortunately, it didn't really work. It was too transparent. She tried to discuss miracles, capital punishment, organ donation, and world religion all in one novel! I do like the fact that she brought in the Gnostic Gospels. The decision about which books to include or exclude from the Christian Testament was based on political expediency, not truth or "divinity." A good thing to point out in these days of ridiculous religious fervor.
