I have read a few of Jodi Picoult's books now and have yet to be disappointed. This times choice was Perfect Match.

****THE STORY****

The Frost family are not unlike many working families. Nina is a prosecutor for the district attorney's office and her husband Caleb is stonework builder, with just one son, Nathaniel aged 5.

Things are ticking alone when suddenly everything comes crashing down when they discover Nathaniel has been sexually abused - but by who?
The world of the law for which Nina stood for hard and fast becomes a blurred line; what she feels as a mother and her knowledge of the legal system.

****WHAT I THOUGHT****

At the start of the book is the prologue. Now when I read this I was disappointed, I thought why are they telling me what happens at the end? I don't want to know. Having read her books before I carried on reading and discovered that this prologue is actually only half the way through the story, so persist it's worth it!
The story took me a couple of chapters to get into the story, unlike some of Picoult's other books where I have been captured from the start.
You meet Patrick who is a childhood friend of Nina's, continuing colleague, confidante and somewhat unfrequented love. The relationship between him and Nina develops further as Nathaniel's abuse is discovered as she leans to him, when she cannot lean to her husband.
Caleb is a strong man in the physical sense but in the home is often outweighed by his wife's lawyer abilities to negotiate and take hold of situation. This is none more prevalent than when Caleb is accused of being the abuser, with the instant reactions to push him away and defend her child. Nina jumps to conclusions as Nathaniel identifies "father" as the abuser - does father necessarily mean dad?

It is very early on in the book that you realise Nathaniel's abuse and I have to admit I found this difficult to read, it is an uncomfortable subject and although the story is fiction, you as the reader are well aware it sadly happens.
Nathaniel's character is a gem of childhood imaginative creativity, creating his little bubble to try and protect himself in the only way he knows how. As a five year old I like the way Picoult has explained his reasoning and thoughts to what is happening.

When what happens in the prologue occurs in the story I am completely in understanding of why she has done what she has done. There is a very fine line drawn as the book says " What happens when you do all the wrong things for the right reasons?" It becomes an eye for an eye situation and pushes the boundaries of what you feel and how you think you would cope if it was you on the other end.
However, what happens if that is wrong and you were not right? Has Nina jumped to conclusions again and got it wrong?
The story takes many twists as you get further into the story and who you think is the abuser is not necessarily the case, the story is not cut and dry.

I was captured by the story right until the end and was emotionally pleased with the outcome but legal not so sure.......


Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult can be bought for around £5-7 new, from only a few pence used and £4.99 as Kindle. Found in many bookstores, www.ebay.co.uk, www.amazon.co.uk

Review maybe posted on ciao and dooyoo under the same username.