Songs+of+the+Humpback+Whale


 * __ Songs of the Humpback Whale __**

Songs of the Humpback Whale is a great novel written by Jodi Picoult and published in 2003. It is written from 5 different points of view and the main message that I got from it was that you need to get your priorities right.

This story is about a man (Oliver) who is engulfed in his work-researching humpback whales- and doesn’t spend enough time with his wife Jane and daughter Rebecca (age15). Jane was sexually and physically abused when she was young and is now sick of always living in someone’s shadow. After she has a fight with Oliver she hops in the car-Rebecca already in there-and starts the long trip to see the one person she has always been able to trust, her brother Joley. Oliver then has the job of finding Jane and Rebecca and talking them into coming back home. Throughout the journey the whole family learns a lot, but is it enough to put them back together?

I loved this book, it was really about remembering how important family is and being able to remember the past, but move on to the future.  I liked how it was from different points of view but I didn’t really like the ending, that is the only thing I would have changed about this book.  My favourite character was Jane, mainly because she was so strong and misunderstood by so many people. My favourite part in the book was probably when Jane and Rebecca visit the site of a plane wreckage. Rebecca was in the plane crash when she was 3, and was one of the 5 survivors. This bit was very emotional and even though Rebecca couldn’t remember anything about it she thought she could hear the people’s voices in the wind

This is a great book, and like all of Jodi Picoult’s, it has an important message that almost anyone could benefit from. I would recommend this book to people over about 13.