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Picoult Gets Handle On Childhood Illness

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By ESTHER HAMMER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 1, 2009

"Handle with Care," by Jodi Picoult (Atria Books, $28)

In "Handle With Care," Jodi Picoult explores the ramifications of living with a child who has one of those genetic disorders most of us have never heard of before. It's osteogenesis imperfecta, in which the baby is born with fragile bones that break easily.

Willow, the central character in the novel, even had bones broken in utero. She is lovingly protected by her family, particularly her mother, Charlotte, but love can only do so much.

On a trip to Walt Disney World when Willow is five and her sister, Amelia, is 10, Willow suffers another fall and more broken bones. A trip to the emergency room ends badly when doctors and social workers unfamiliar with the family assume child abuse, and have the parents arrested. Twenty-four hours later, the mess is cleared up, but the night in jail becomes a continuing nightmare for the dad, Sean, a police officer. Once back home in New Hampshire, he must endure the taunts of his colleagues.

Embarrassed and angry, he consults a lawyer to see whether there is a basis for a suit against Disney World. When the lawyer says there's no basis for that suit, but they may have the basis for another suit - one with the promise of a much bigger payoff if they win - their story changes from one of caring and coping to one of regret and retribution. It's a harsh tale that pits husband against wife and friend against friend as each tries to follow their conscience.

At first glance, the novel would seem to be about Willow, but it's not. It's about all those around her. Written as if it is one long letter to Willow, each chapter is titled by someone close to her: mother, father, sister, mother's friend, lawyer. They tell her in first person prose what is happening around her and how they feel about it. Several of Charlotte's chapters are preceded by a recipe for some kind of sweet. Before having Willow, Charlotte was a pastry chef, and the recipes provide a comforting counterbalance - for both Charlotte and the reader - to the rest of the story.

This book is about so many things it's hard to enumerate them all. It's about coping with a serious illness, about the things that hold families together and the things that tear them apart, and about figuring out what's really important in life. But most of all, it's about decisions we make that can't be undone. And with her first-person missives, Picoult manages to make personal something that is often relegated to "others out there."

As in previous Picoult novels, characters are developed with insight and compassion and all sides are presented with balance. And - another Picoult trademark - the ending will astonish.

Esther Hammer is a Tribune correspondent.

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