Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult - Book Review

When Jenna Metcalf was only three years old and living with her mother on an elephant sanctuary, her mother disappears and is never heard from again. Now, many years later, Jenna sets out to find her mother with the help of a former detective named Vigil, and a struggling psychic by the name of Serenity.

Together, the unlikely trio will move from one clue to the next, to try and piece together the real story of what happened the night of Alice’s disappearance, so Jenna can finally have the answers she’s been looking for.

Picoult, more than most writers of this age, is adept at in-depth character studies, woven together with a gripping plot that shines light on how equally wonderful and terrible humans can be. But more than that, her writing is vulnerable and open, favoring a quick pace and dramatic climaxes rather than a long-drawn-out finish.

In this deeply moving story, elephants are used in the backdrop, not only to move the story along, but to draw parallels between their relationships, and our relationships with each other, offering a subtle yet powerful contrast, particularly when it comes to how elephants deal with grief.

Jenna is both determined and confused, and in her quest to find her family, she enlists the help of both Serenity and Vigil who are equally as confused as she is, but driven by a desire to help. The three of them make an unlikely trio, flawed and often frustrating, but human all the same.

While Picoult has written many jaw-dropping books, this was one that stayed with me long after the last page was turned, and it was because you could see the amount of thought and effort she put into it, including her dedication to researching elephants.

Tragic yet heartfelt.