Keeping Faith

I now have to research stigmata cases because if they’re real, then I highly doubt people as close to Faith would have been so cavalier and unchanged.

This story will take your emotions on a roller coaster ride. It will have you shaking your head and believing things you never thought you would. Everything is possible even when you don't believe in anything. I like how Jodi Picoult delves into different religions and their point of views while making you realize that while you believe another religion is too different in their beliefs in the end they are all similar in that they're all looking to God or for the Good in the world. You will definitely see other religions in a different light. She also goes in depth through different psychological conditions and their effects on people. Can God really exist when all the things happening can't be explained? Are those things really miracles? This was a truly engaging novel and it will pull you in every direction.Mariah is a Non practicing Jew and her husband Colin is a Non practicing Cristian so they decide to raise Faith in neither religion and no beliefs at all. When Mariah and Faith (unfortunately) catch Colin with a naked woman in their marital room nobody can predict the world of hurt that is upon all of them. He abandons his family for this other woman (Jessica) even giving Mariah full custody of Faith. Between Mariah trying to pull herself together with a broken heart and Faith who suddenly starts seeing and speaking to God it all goes downhill from there. How can a child that's never heard of God and his teachings can suddenly be citing the bible?Ian Fletcher is a man that stopped believing in anything a long time ago. After writing a few books he's now taken it upon himself to prove to the world that God doesn't exist at all and that all the so called miracles that happen around the world can be explained scientifically. So he takes his show on the road to disprove them all even if it is just by instilling the seed of doubt in everyone by saying that even if he can't prove it wasn't a miracle from God they can't prove that it was either. He wants the world to realize that what they believe has been instilled by parents since they were little and so when they see a "miracle" they are only seeing it because it is what they choose to believe instead of being a true miracle. He's set in his ways and no one will ever change his mind.... That is until he meets Faith and Mariah. He never realized that his life was about to change forever.Colin might be a selfish prick but after all he still loves his daughter and he takes it to the extreme when he decides to take Faith from her mom and make her a part of his brand new life (complete with a new mom and a baby on the way). Will Mariah be able to fight Colin for the first time in her life and keep Faith?Overall this novel was wonderful!

While I consider Jodi Picoult one of my favorite authors, this was not one of my favorite books by her. I feel like there were too many points she was trying to make, too many theories readers could make, that it just left me completely confused. I wish she would've just picked a scenario and gone with it, rather than leaving leaving it so open-ended! Usually, her books have ambiguous endings, but most of the loose ends are tied up in the last few pages, leaving readers with a surprising conclusion. In this book, I found myself reading, and re-reading, but still not sure of exactly what was going on.Spoiler alert:Did anyone else pick up on her saying her mom smelled like oranges, and so did God? I thought, surely Picoult was using that as a door-way into the MSP being the real explaination, but it was never brought up again. And the fact that her "God" was a woman seemed like it pointed to Mariah and the MSP, as well....especially when she said that she came at night. I was really expecting the ending to prove that the mother was doing something to her daughter, coupled with the healings and other events that were actually happening. THe self-inflicted diagnosis was believable, as well, but the ending left no clear determination of that, either.Also, I think I would've been more impressed by continued interactions with the autistic brother than the grandmother being resurrected, or random strangers being cured. It was such a secretive thing throughout the story; I would've really liked to see that story line played out more.Thought the steady stream of priests and such were just redundant and pointless. Did any of them actually even take the witness stand in the trial? Didn't make sense at all as to why those characters were so important.All in all, it was very dissatisfying, and I would only recommend it with caution to others. Maybe since it's one of her first books, she was still working on fine-tuning her skills as an author. I've read all but maybe 4 of her other ones, and have never been disappointed (no matter their similar plots, themes, etc). I'm glad I didn't read them in the order written, or I might've been turned off by this author all-together!

On the surface, a familiar tale. Mariah White’s marriage is disintegrating and as her husband, Colin, seeks to take away their seven-year-old daughter, Faith, she is barely clinging on. But as admirers of Jodi Picoult’s work will doubtless expect, this is no ordinary tale. Mariah’s mother suffers a life-threatening heart attack, is pronounced dead, but then miraculously recovers, apparently through the intercession of Faith. Suddenly, Mariah and her daughter are the center of attention from the media, religious fundamentalists who believe Faith to have messianic qualities, and also Ian Fletcher, a devout tele-atheist. Believing Mariah is exploiting her daughter for monetary gain, he thinks that exposing her will help restore his faltering career. Dragged to court by her husband, who alleges that she is an unfit mother, Mariah teeters on the brink of an emotional and psychological collapse. Her state of mind is not helped by the attraction that draws her to Ian, confusion that is exacerbated by her unwilling suspicion that her little daughter might really possess miraculous healing powers. Picoult is a best-selling author, although this is the first time I have read any of her works. It won’t be the last.

Ok so I love love love Jodi's books - or at least I thought I did until I read this 😡.But honestly this book was hard work , I nearly gave up several times and then I read a review that basically said J.P books are only good if you as the reader care and embrace the subject. So I tried , I really tried to like this fictional family and the G.A.L and even the t.v reporter, and then it hit me . I wasn't enjoying the book because I didn't care.. I didn't care. I just. Did. Not. Care. Not 1 jot.not for faith or her parents ,grandma , or the f***ing TV reporter. Nadda zilch. I mean they all had pretty terrible circumstances and I felt really bad but just not bad enough for any of their stories to have an impact . I'm sorry Jodi , I still love you but this book was pretty bad 😕

Jodie Picoult is a very good American author and (I think) I’ve read all of her books. She always writes about thought provoking topics. This is no exception and it’s useful to have an open mind with the theme of this book.Following the break up of her parent’s marriage, Faith, who witnessed her father’s assignation with a woman has an imaginary friend. Turns out that her friend is God. Faith is 7 years old and God talks to her. Through her friend, Faith performs ‘miracles’ although she’s unaware she is doing so. What follows is a media and church frenzy and a bitter divorce with a highly publicised custody battle, in court.I urge readers not to disregard the idea as rubbish before reading the whole book. There’s a good argument that what is written could well be true.

Iv read a lot of jodi picoult books and she is one of my favourite authors but I felt like I rushed through this book to find her usual twist and there was one. It's a good book but theres quite alot of legal jargon and to be honest it could have been about half the size and still just as good. I was disappointed that there was no twist at the end though.

Firstly,let me nail my colours firmly to the mast: I am a big fan of Jodi Picoult,having read a number of her novels now.I read Keeping Faith in two days,and by the time we got to the court hearing (and no,I don't get bored by Picoult's inevitable legal proceedings) I was firmly rooting for Mariah White to win custody of Faith.I like the way Mariah matured from a woman who you wanted to take by the shoulders and shake,into one who finally stood up for herself and her child.I also liked the character of Millie,Mariah's mother,a gutsy woman,typical Jewish Momma who only wants to protect her child.I think that ultimately Mariah got the strength to fight her ex-husband Colin from Millie.You do have to bear with the author as far as the 'miracles' are concerned - the raising of Millie from the dead,the curing of the Aids baby,the brief period when the autistic Michael Fletcher became lucid,and of course,Faith's stigmata.Some people might scoff at these,others may be irritated,and others may accept them easily.I have to confess (no pun intended) that I was half hoping for a rational explanation at the end of the novel,which didn't come,but,hey,I can live with that.I found that even after I had turned the last page I was still asking questions - which I think is often Picoult's aim in her novels.Rivetting,emotional,controversial...Keeping Faith is another winner by one of my very favourite authors and I do highly recommend it.