Jodi Picoult Books Reading Group. discussion

The ending was so confusing. Who's semen was on her leg? Was it her dad's, or was that never answered? And why would the Meg girl lie about being assaulted too?

When did I miss that...? :S I'm confused.

No, what I understood was that the semen was Jack's. She forced him. Don't you remeber when Jack was finally remembering and saying infront of everybody that she is the one who forced him?

Well I remember him saying that she forced him to jump over the fire and she persued him but there was nothing about sex. If was on the jury I would've convicted him.

Well from reading it I knew he was innocent as well. But with his blood all over her and the semen they couldn't place but it was a possibility that it might be his, I would have convicted him.

The semen was her father's. In the beginning of the book she wants to kill her father. Though it does not come right out and say it, I beleive one of the last lines in the book says something about her father kissing her as well. It's been a long time since I read this one. But it definately belonged to the dad. I think there is also something in the DNA numbers chart that rules out Jack as the one who put the semen there.

Oh, my God. Jennifer, you are so on to something. At the end of the book when I read that they kissed I was so shocked and disturbed. I didn't catch the part where she wanted to kill him, but I did notice the part in the rape questioning, she looked to her father. Of course she wouldn't want to hurt him if they were in this together. She wanted to say the right thing to protect her father and still tell the truth. This makes perfect sense!

I thought that she forced Jack to make love when he was drunk. But I don't think that her Dad raped her.

I guess we'll never know.

I don't believe Jack ever did anything with anyone. The Daddy was incestual, and had a sexual relationship with Gillian. That's why she hated him.

Just finished. I knew Jack was innocent from the start, Jodi made him way too likeable to be the bad guy. Also, Amos (the dad) is the one who raped Addie in high school, so it's no surprise that he was having sex with his daughter as well. I kind of got the feeling that Gillian didn't like her dad, she would freak out anytime he came into her room and she would look at him during key moments like when they asked if she had been a virgin before the "attack". The part that you should really look at if you have doubts about the semen on her leg is the last paragraph when it says "Gillian closed her eyes, years past tears." meaning that her father had been molesting her for so long, she was past it and disassociated. So sad.

Lindsay, I know what you mean! I do that all the time, too - go back and forth comparing dates, ages, etc. It drives me crazy!!!

Salem Falls is my FAVORITE JP book!

Yeah, the dates don't add up!! I noticed that too and it drives me crazy!!!!!! It was a good book, though, wasn't it?

This was my second favorite, after The Pact. There were so many interesting twists and turns. The semen at the end was definitely her fathers.

Just finished reading this.. the ending was shocking.. where she says the father kisses her as he had before.. but it definitely all adds up.. this was a great book from beginning to end. Definitely one of my favorites

Yes the semen at the end was definately her fathers, Jack was totally innocent, great book!

I just love this book!!!
How did the semen end up being her father's?

Yeah I agree with Leena about her trying to make love with Jack because he was drunk after all. This is how she tried to convict him to jail so that his DNA from his semen as well as the skin under her nails would be evident against him.
I was confused as well but this is what I thought happened at the end.

Leena wrote: "I thought that she forced Jack to make love when he was drunk. But I don't think that her Dad raped her."

I think the same as well. I do know that her Dad raped her mother during high school - he was the one who raped her when she wanted to write an article about their sporting events as she was the school journalist.
I think that Gillian wanted to convict Jack in the first place and to that she purposely tried to make love with him so that the DNA from his semen as well as his skin under her nails would be used as evidence against him.

Just started Salem Falls-so far pretty good!

Donna wrote: "Just started Salem Falls-so far pretty good!"

Don't read any of the comments before yours, lots of discussion and spoilers. Hope you enjoy the book

thanks, i know, i was skimming, oops, trying not to pay attention!

It was her father's sperm!!!! On page 258-259, Frankie and Matt discuss the results of the DNA of the shirt, the semen found on her thigh, fingernails, Jack, and Gillian. Frankie kept saying how the DNA of the victim and semen looked like they were related. Of course, I didn't understand the relevance until I read the last page about a hour ago.

In regards to her father, I definitely think she was sexually abused by her father. When she is at her father's drug factory/office and he winks at her while on the phone, she feels like she is about to explode from anger. On page 83 she talks about being enveloped by the smells she would always associate with childhood when her dad hugs her. If you recall when she is on the stand supposedly talking about Jack's attack...she talks about being able to smell him and not being able to forget it...I think she is actually recalling what has happened in her own past between her and her father which is why she is driven to tears. I think it was also why Amos, her father was so interested in the DNA results and wanting to see them and acting agitated when Gillian was first questioned by police.

I thought Gillian's incest relationship with Amos was strongly hinted at throughout the course of the book. I sort of remember some specific examples of him walking in on her while she was in the shower and some some other scenes like that. I'll have to go back and read some of it again to clarify but I wasn't shocked by the ending at all. It seemed like the story had been leading up to that kind of a "revelation" all along.

I just finished this book and Jack never did have sex with Gillian. Her father had been molesting her probably from the time she was little that is why she wanted to kill him. She tried when she made him a drink and he got sick but didn't die. Also the last sentence of the book confirms that he was molesting her.

It is pretty obvious that:

(a) Jack never had sex or ejaculated on Gillian - He never unzipped his pants or reached the point of ejaculation. That is why the DNA of semen does not match. It is not his semen. She tried to force him into having sex which is why the blood and skin DNA matches but not the semen. It is explained pretty clearly in the talks about DNA evidence as well as Jack's recollections. Also Meg tells her father that they all knew Jack hadn't done it, and Gillian was getting back at him not for what did but for what he didn't do. And no, Jack wasn't saying that she made him have sex. He was very adamant on that point, he kept saying he did not have sex and has no idea whose semen it is. All he said was that she forced him and in the tussle she got his skin under her nails before he ran.

(b) The semen was her father's - The book is literally littered with hints about how Amos was having intercourse with Gillian. Her thoughts that she wants to kill him, her not being a virgin before the so-called "rape", him walking into her room, approving or disapproving her outfits, saying that he just wants to "make her mine again", wanting to see the DNA reports etc. Above all, DNA scientist lady says that the DNA of semen was a mix of two people who were related (this was when I knew for sure). Since the police don't suspect incest, they discuss implausible scenarios like Jack bringing in his brother to rape her because they just can't make sense of the DNA profile of the semen. For people who still doubt it, the last scene quite literally says that his mouth came down on hers, and that she was "years beyond tears" which means he had been raping her for years. The semen was left-over from a previous sexual encounter with her father that's all. Oh and just for reference, the guy had raped Addie also earlier so he was a total jerk. She probably did not tell others because at some level she weirdly loved him too, and felt she had to stick by him. Or maybe she thought nobody would believe her since he was such an important member of the community. Or maybe she was scared of being all alone in the world. Who knows? It is not unheard of.

(c) Meg said Jack touched her because he did touch her accidentally when she fell down on him in her drug-induced haze. She was just remembering it wrongly is all. Later when she remembers properly, she realizes that he was just trying to help her up and touched her while he tried to get a grip. It is part of her recollections.

P.S. : There is also a lifetime movie on this novel, in which most of the above points are stated instead of implied.

I need to read this book ASAP