Sing You Home
by Jodi Picoult
Hodder & Stoughton (enhanced e-book)

Jodi Picoult, as millions already know, writes meaty, gripping stories that feature strong ensemble casts, and an ability to turn preconceptions on their heads. Her best books (Nineteen Minutes, The Tenth Circle) are driven by classic 'What ifs'? In Sing You Home, we get a triple dose: infertility, evangelical Christianity and lesbianism. After years of trying and failing to conceive, Max and Zoe Webster go their extremely separate ways: Max to church (the Eternal Glory Church to be precise); Zoe to a lesbian called Vanessa, whom she eventually marries. Still wanting a baby, they try to unfreeze an embryo that Zoe and Max had saved for a rainy day. All hell, and a fair amount of heaven, breaks loose. Picoult has a great love of music. Added to both the enhanced Kindle and iTunes e-books is a CD of songs, by Picoult and Ellen Wilber, composed to fit the themes of the book. These folksy ditties, sung by Wilber, are pleasant enough. Picoult, though, should keep the day job: 'This world is a sea full of strangers/ I've never felt like I belong'. Sea full of strangers? Hmm. The novel's just fine, though.

Extras: CD of songs featured in the novel and lyrics