Christy’s Reviews > Leaving Time > Status Update

The parts about Alice and Thomas and the elephants are actually very good. I am enjoying those chapters so much more than the parts about Jenna searching for her missing mother. In fact, the whole story could have just been about Alice and Thomas and I would have been completely satisfied.

Loving the lesson about elephants.

And I do not usually seek out spoilers, but I have to admit...I did this time and I am suddenly enjoying the book more and not so consumed with not finding the 13-year old believable.

And I am also finding little bits of brilliance in Picoult's craftiness, although it is my first Picoult book, so i do not have anything to compare it to.

Have I mentioned that Jenna is not believable? What 13 year old talks that way? What 13-year old discusses viagra with a drunken retired cop that she just met a day ago? What 13-year old approaches a drunken retired cop, or goes to his house or feels comfortable enough to be alone with him or invite him "for coffee" at the diner?
All of that said, it is otherwise well-written and i'm learning tons about elephants.

At a quarter way into the book, I am still finding Jenna, the 13-year old, hard to believe in.

I am finding it hard to believe that an 11 year old has this capacity to begin a missing person search for her mother. I do not know any 11 year old who thinks like this or has these resources. i forge on with the book though. it is picoult after all. and it's my first time reading any of her work.