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    Sing You Home: A Novel
    Sing You Home: A Novel
    Sing You Home: A Novel
    Audiobook17 hours

    Sing You Home: A Novel

    Written by Jodi Picoult

    Narrated by Thérèse Plummer, Brian Hutchison, Mia Barrow and Michele O'Medlin

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    From the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author whom USA TODAY calls a “master of the page-turner,” comes the spectacular story of a woman’s complex quest to form a family.

    Every life has a soundtrack. All you have to do is listen.

    Music has set the tone for most of Zoe Baxter’s life. There’s the melody that reminds her of the summer she spent rubbing baby oil on her stomach in pursuit of the perfect tan. A dance beat that makes her think of using a fake ID to slip into a nightclub. A dirge that marked the years she spent trying to get pregnant.

    For better or for worse, music is the language of memory. It is also the language of love.

    In the aftermath of a series of personal tragedies, Zoe throws herself into her career as a music therapist. When an unexpected friendship slowly blossoms into love, she makes plans for a new life, but to her shock and inevitable rage, some people—even those she loves and trusts most—don’t want that to happen.

    Sing You Home is about identity, love, marriage, and parenthood. It’s about people wanting to do the right thing for the greater good, even as they work to fulfill their own personal desires and dreams. And it’s about what happens when the outside world brutally calls into question the very thing closest to our hearts: family.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMar 19, 2019
    ISBN9781508297505
    Sing You Home: A Novel
    Author

    Jodi Picoult

    JODI PICOULT is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-six novels. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the ALA’s Alex Award, the New Hampshire Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit, and the prestigious Sarah Josepha Hale Award in recognition of her distinguished body of written work. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband. They have three children. You can visit her website at wwww.jodipicoult.com  

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    Reviews for Sing You Home

    4/5

    962 ratings96 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book made me think a lot. I’m a Christian and I’ve had my own difficulties reconciling my beliefs with who I am. I found myself contemplating some of the things the author wrote. I certainly didn’t find the answer to all of my questions, but the book resonated deeply with my struggles. I felt sad, angry, happy, and in love. And for these reasons, I really liked this book.

      5 people found this helpful

    • 1/5
      This book makes me angry on so many levels. WARNING THERE ARE SPOILERS. I feel like I was trick into listening to a book that should've been a lesbian love story but was too busy to complete its main objective because it was selling everyone else's perspective on homosexuality. We barely see Vanessa and Zoe fall in love, but we get chapter after chapter on Christians who are anti-gay and hateful. This book doesn't specify some Christians just seems to speak for all Christians. Max Zoe's ex-husband and an alcoholic become a brainwashed Stepford puppet of Pastor Clive overnight. One car accident, and he believes in Christ and only the version of Christ he is told to believe in. Lucy, who I cared for, never got closure. We don't know what happened to her. Does she finally kill herself?
      Zoe's obsession with having a biological child irritates the hell out of me. Matching DNA is not what makes you a mother. Still, even though there are mentions of adoption and other ways of having children, they are dismissed just as quickly as mentioned. Like those options are genuinely irrelevant but should be noted, so no one claims she didn't cover all her bases. Max then ends up with his brother's wife after the brother has housed him for years for free. WTF. Then Max becomes co-parent to Vanessa and Zoe's daughter. A recovering alcoholic who can't think for himself and makes one selfish lousy decision after another. I'm supposed to believe that man is a good influence on little Samantha. REALLY! I want the hours of my life back that I wasted listening to the audio version of this book.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I loved this book. Jodi did a great job of presenting these issues in ways both sides can relate to.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Picoult is a gifted writer yet this one is ger weakest work. Like all her books it is intended to evoke strong emotions and it does but not in her usual thought provoking fashion.
      She dances around religion issue. At times implying that the church is Catholic by talking about sacrements and other practices associated with Catholicism. Then she flips around and implies that the church is an evangelical protestant group.
      Yes, churches all have people with hidden agendas and the need for power. But not every Christian fits that mold. I also know she has to make this about one particular church for the the story to work. I wish she would have just picked one denomination or stated Catholicism instead of trying to balance on a line and thus insulting all.
      Sorry, but I really didn't like the songs.
      I also wanted some closure on the character named Lucy.
    • 1/5
      Could rarely start where I left off, I had to keep looking for my previous stopping point. Book completely stopped in the middle of a sentence and I was never able to hear what happened at the end. Worst experience with an audio book so far!!
    • 5/5
      Jodi Picoult is such a wonderful writer who always brings her characters to life. This book has by far been my favorite! I never knew what was about to happen. This book really opened me up to different viewpoints that I never would have expected. What a great ending. I hate to even say that, though, as I do t want to spoil any of it for whomever reads it. The music?? To die for! This ol’ country gal is about to go online to see if I can find any of it.
    • 5/5
      I love this story and am giving it a 5 star review for all my standard Jodi Picoult reasons; well researched, diverse characters, LGBT inclusive, and sociologically relevant. I love all of Jodi’s books.

      THAT SAID, I understand the song’s importance to the overall book, and that this is an added form of art, but as a singer and song writer myself, I didn’t enjoy them inserted into the story. They just seemed a little too author written and not enough song writer written. Just not my cup of tea!

      Lastly, one FACT she missed; in IVF, they know the gender of each possible pregnancy prior to it being implanted. I’m assuming there may be a way to keep it from the parents, but I’ve not heard of that. Everyone I know who has gone through IVF knows exactly what embryos they have, and which are being implanted. If there are multiples, they may not know which one takes, but it just seems a little too romantic to leave that information to chance.

      That’s all though. I love the rest of everything else about this book.
    • 5/5
      Jodi has become my favorite author. Not only is she a great writer, but I love that she takes on social issues.
    • 3/5
      It was a good book about a very interesting battle.
    • 5/5
      Really enjoyed this audiobook. Went in directions I didn’t anticipate and the music is a lovely touch. Really brings Zoe’s character to life.
    • 5/5
      I read this in college, and it was a stepping stone in helping me overcome my inner homophobia (I came out 2 years later). It was written by a straight, cis woman, BUT it was still a good read, and it's a decent introduction to LGBT literature.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed it and the voice actors were just perfect!
    • 3/5
      Decent story but pretty predictable. I loved all the characters. I feel like I know them all personally. I wasn’t a fan of the music between chapters, but that’s just my opinion.
    • 2/5
      Most of the plot line explored multiple facets of love and morality, and did so in interesting ways.

      But the ending leaves me wanting to throw up. There’ll be no specifics here cuz I don’t want to spoil it for anyone else. But at the end, two characters make a decision that is utterly selfish and monstrously damaging.

      What makes me want to throw up is that this plotline seems to be presented as “love.“ I don’t get it. Both the book and its readers, even these characters, deserve a lot better than that.
    • 5/5
      I didn't expect much at first, thinking that this might just be one of those "famous-author attempts" to try and cover LGBT characters.
      Not my usual read but still, managed to keep me hanging till the end.
      Glad that I tried though.
      Thanks Jodi!
    • 4/5
      Max and Zoe Baxter, married nine years, have struggled to have a baby. After suffering several miscarriages and a stillbirth after several rounds of IVF, Max has finally had enough and seeks a divorce. Zoe is devastated. Max moves in with his brother, and Zoe eventually becomes close to her friend Vanessa. What wasn't discussed in the divorce settlement was what would happen to the three remaining frozen embryos that Max and Zoe left at the fertility clinic. Who do they belong to? And who should control what happens to them when both Zoe and Max decide they want them?I keep thinking Jodi Picoult will one day run out of controversial topics to write about, but so far that hasn't happened. This was another good example of presenting both sides of the story, and illustrating that not everything is black and white. You've got homosexuality, the Evangelical church, divorce rights, frozen embryos, some teenage depression, and what it means to be a good parent. And of course a courtroom drama to help decide who's right and who's wrong, when of course it's never that easy. I enjoyed this, with the exception of a couple things. While I realize Evangelicals and a fair amount of other Christians do come across the way they are portrayed in this book, I think Picoult lends a bad name to Christianity in general. Not all Christians are like that, and I think it's important to remember that. Secondly, I read the audiobook, which has some songs interspersed between chapters, with lyrics written by Jodi Picoult and the songs composed and performed by a friend of hers. These were meant to add to the story (esp. in light of the character of Zoe being a music therapist), but I found them distracting and not particularly enjoyable. The lyrics were okay I guess, but the music and voice were not so appealing to me. I think I could've done without them altogether.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful story
    • 5/5
      I listened to this in audiobook form. The story was great, as usual with JP. I HATED the music- especially the singer's voice- eck. I listened to the first 2 songs, then just skipped past the rest of them. I get that JP wanted to offer more insight into Zoe and her struggles, but I just couldn't sit through the off pitch folky voice any more.

      I do wish there had been a bit more wrapped up at the end. I felt left hanging about some of the main character's outcomes. But overall I very much enjoyed this book.
    • 1/5
      I'm in two minds about this one. On the one hand, it's formulaic, as all her books are to some degree and more than a little corny. But on the other hand, she tackles a hard issue and made it interesting enough to finish.
    • 4/5
      This is an author that goes for the heart and seems to wring emotions to high levels. In this book Picoult writes of very serious topics including, infertility, invitrofertilazation, babies born too soon, love lost as imperatives change, love found and a new marriage -- a same sex marriage which brings joy and acceptance of each other. As if it isn't enough, enter a radically strict value-based minister who loves the limelight and seems to use people so that he can stand pontificating center stage. Whew, hold on to the pages when you read this book, situations change quickly.Zoe is an accomplished musician. She has a degree in music therapy and her skills are used when young and old need to get in touch with emotions, or to have something to focus on rather than bad burns or chemo treatments. She and her husband Max have unsuccessfully tried to have a baby. She is 39 and tragically, the last attempt with Max resulted in a still born baby boy who was preciously made but not able to live. When Zoe wants to continue to try again, Max refuses and wants a divorce.Max is an alcoholic who uses great quantities of alcohol to deaden his feelings of inadequacy. When his only choice is to live with his brother and his brother's wife who happen to be members of a church that accepts and teaches literally from the bible, he is grateful for their assistance. When Max had an alcohol-fueled accident and nearly died, he accepts Christ, and the teachings of the devot minister help him in his struggles with loss, inadequacy and the need to get his life in order. And, on the positive side, Max becomes a changed person. No longer selfish and changing with the wind with one day sober and the next flat out drunk, he changes and as he becomes a stable member of the congregation, he enjoys and needs the support he receives.There are three frozen embryos, and neither Zoe or Max thought of them as property when the divorce occurred. Now, Zoe found someone who loves her unconditionally and wants to have one final chance to have a child. Because Zoe is no longer able to carry the embryo to term, her partner Vanessa would very much like to have the embryos implanted. When they learn that Max needs to give his permission, they also learn that Max's brother has encouraged him to allow the embryos be given to he and his wife. They too have experienced many heartaches trying to have a child.In a circus atmosphere, Max, his brother and sister in law, the minister of their church, Zoe and Vanessa, and their lawyer, along with many in the courtroom stage their opinions loud and clear.The definition of parenthood, love, marriage, commitment are all issues to be brought to bear on the decision.While I recommend this book, I do so with the caveat that there are many issues packed therin. As I read, it was difficult to determine where I stood and who was "entitled" to raise this child in a solid, loving, successful atmosphere. The author's writing challenges the reader to bring forth their own opinions, with the end result of overload.And when I finally thought all emotions and issues were brought forth, Picoult ended with yet another puzzle piece in the panorama. Picoult is a strong author, and where others might fail, she succeeds in writing about a group of people, all of whom have a clear definition of family.
    • 5/5
      I have been wanting to read something by Jodi Picoult for years. I’ve heard a lot of great things about her books, so I was expecting to like Sing You Home when I picked it up. However, I wasn’t expecting the emotional roller coaster. Some might expect that going into a Picoult book, but I don’t normally get that emotional. At most, I might laugh a bit or get a little annoyed. This book had me all over the place and I’m glad I was home alone when I read it.There were moments while reading this book that I was laughing out loud. There were times I was so angry I wanted to throw the book across the room. There were even times that I had trouble seeing the words on the page because I was crying so hard. Guys, book don’t make me cry. That never happens.I flew through this book. I started it on a Saturday, but I had to put it down before I was half way through it. I didn’t want to but I was getting a headache. That stupid headache didn’t go away until Monday morning. As soon as it was gone I picked this book back up and just sat there and read. I’m a slow reader and I still had over half the book to read so it took me about 10 hours to read it, but I did it because I just couldn’t put it down.When I first finished the book, I gave it four stars because I was left with questions about a few characters. However, it has been a week since reading it and I can’t stop thinking about it and how much I loved it. So of course, I had to bump it up to five stars. Yes I may have some questions, but Sing You Home was a great book and deserves a full five stars. I can’t wait to read more by Jodi Picoult.
    • 5/5
      All I can say is, Oh my God! Wow!
    • 4/5
      After struggling for years to become pregnant, Zoe and Max have finally conceived via IVF. While at her "surprise" baby shower, to Zoe's horror, she is gripped with searing pain and rushed to the hospital where she delivers their baby at 28 weeks. The baby, a boy, is stillborn. As Max and Zoe grieve by their devastating loss, Zoe is determined to try again, when she is hit with another devastating blow, Max wants a divorce.

      During this time that Zoe is grieving from so many losses, she becomes friends with a woman named Vanessa that prior to the loss of the baby was a professional acquaintance. This friendship blossoms into something more, expectantly. Meanwhile, Max has dealt with the losses in another manner, first with alcohol then with church.

      Inevitably, Max and Zoe bump into each other, and Zoe announces that Vanessa and she are a couple. And Max, doesn't take the news too well with his new found love of church and Jesus, and that homosexuality is a sin and all. So when he later learns that Zoe and Vanessa are married and want to use his/Zoe's last remaining embryos to have a baby, his heart is extremely conflicted.

      Of course, he goes to talk to his pastor, predictably. The pastor is extremely prejudice of homosexuality, and its deviant lifestyle. Max admits that he isn't father material, but in spite of this...and with the pushing of the pastor, who happens to be friends with an overzealous publicity loving attorney, this decision becomes a made for prime-time tv lawsuit. Oh, and then throw in that the pastor encourages that the right place for the pre-born children would be with Max's very own brother and his wife, whom Max is in love with, who also struggle with fertility problems, who are huge supporters of the church... Max slowly begins to realize that this lawsuit turns into anything, but what "he" wants, and all about what the pastor and the attorney seek to gain...

      Who will win? Or can anyone win?
    • 5/5
      this book has been go so far. but it also has been sad to.
    • 5/5
      I won this book from Simon & Schuster through the Goodreads giveaway. It is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Not at all what I expected, it twisted and turned and kept me guessing. The ending surprised me and I read it through tears. If you like Picoult, I definitely recommend this one.
    • 5/5
      Wow. Finished this book last night and wanted it not to stop which means I loved it.

      Let me first state I live in The Netherlands where the people are proud of being so called tolerant.

      To me gays are just like you and me. Not better and not worse.Gays are accepted here although I already hate the word accepted cause as I say I do not consider them any different than heterosexuals.

      So when I started to read this book I was intrigued and made a lot of notes.

      I was raised as a Roman Catholic but that meant only that I was baptized. We did not go to church but as a child I was known for being a big fan of the so called bible for kids. Especially Solomon's story about 2 women who fought over a baby. Solomon told them he would be fair and cut the baby in two halves. One woman was okay with that, the other one said "no!!!Do not cut the baby. Then better give it to her" So then the oh so wise king knew who the real mother was.



      ( Yes already back then I was interested in true crime)

      I always considered myself a Catholic but that changed a few years ago when more and more terrorist atrocities were happening all in the name of islam. and I realized that religion is often the root of wars and suffering.

      So now I am a bit in between an atheist and a believer. I still say sorry when I use the lords name in a not so nice way.

      Anyway so to read this book and especially to learn about all the pretty mean sayings in the bible, I was a bit turned off.

      I think that a lot of what is in the bible is added later by men. Plain men who did not like women or male to male sex and I can go on what they did not like. An example is in Corinthians 6:9-10.

      This book did not answer my questions but it did make me think. About religion I am a bit like Zoe, I do not like organised religion but I am also not ready to believe there is nothing.
      I do not want to belief in a God who would not love some people because they are gay.

      While reading I also googled to find out more about being gay and the same old dispute of how someone becomes gay. Is it a choice or by birth. Very interesting.

      So my conclusion is.. This is a can't put down book. Do not think that because of above mentioned issues it is a boring book. To the contrary.Yes, it will make you think about life. So to sum it all up I just want to say that I highly recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      A pretty good novel. I had the end figured out before it happened.Zoe is a music therapist. It was interesting to learn more about this profession.
    • 5/5
      This book with bonus CD was fantastic! It managed to capture some really relevant and hard hitting issues and deal with them in a respectful and honest way. I have always loved Jodi Picoult's writing and books, but this is the best one that I have read to date! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read.
    • 4/5
      Well, if you want a book about losing pregnancies, and about a woman who was happilly married to a man falling in love with a woman, and about two women trying to start a family together, this is probably the book for you. Because it's probably the only book with that precise combination of unlikely weird shit (Sally, if you're reading this in 10 years time, I hope you can remember what your life was like in Spring 2015). So I'm very pleased I found it when I did.Personal associations aside, this is pretty much textbook formulaic Picoult. At least with my worldview, Max is too stupid and the evangelicals too obviously characatures to make it as good as her finest ones, because it's just not balanced enough, but it's page turning escapism where you just can't put it down but race through to see what happens next.
    • 5/5
      Better than most of her books! Quite enjoyed it but the ending felt a bit forced.