My biggest issue was the reverse order in which the story was told. It was jarring because i was deeply in the story the first time we started back and I wanted the ending - and I kept having that experience every time it happened again….then when I went back to reread the first chapter after I was done I was reminded how upset I was that we don’t know whether Wren lived and I just got mad again…. ( )

Once again, a great discussion book, with an important issue at its heart. It was a good story, but I didn’t like how it kept going backwards and forwards. I hadn’t expected the little twist at the end. Worth reading. ( )

A story about abortion that shows both sides of the issue. An abortion clinic is seized by a grieving father whose daughter had an abortion at this clinic. He is very anti abortion and is now estranged from his daughter after learning that she got pregnant as a teen. This man kills three people upon entering because of his rage. Two are severely injured and the other are terrified as they all become hostages. Fortunately, the hostages are released in the end and the father killed by police. A powerful story. Kirkus: A A day at a Mississippi abortion clinic unfurls backward as a self-appointed avenging angel wreaks havoc.Picoult?s latest takes the unusual tack of proceeding in reverse. At 5 p.m., the Center, Mississippi?s last remaining abortion clinic, is awash in blood as Hugh McElroy, a Jackson police negotiator, is still bargaining with George Goddard, the deranged gunman who has occupied the Center for hours. Five hostages have been released, two gravely wounded: Hugh?s sister, Bex, and Dr. Louie Ward, the Center?s surgeon (whom, according to her author?s note, Picoult based on the outspoken abortion provider Dr. Willie Parker). One person inside is dead, and Hugh is still waiting for word of his teenage daughter, Wren, who had gone to the Center for a prescription for birth control pills, accompanied by her aunt Bex. As the day moves backward, several voices represent a socio-economic cross-section of the South; a few are on the front lines of the anti-abortion vs. abortion-rights war¥but most are merely seeking basic women?s health care. Olive, 68, is at the Center for a second opinion; Janine, an anti-abortion activist, is there to spy; Joy is seeking an abortion; and Izzy is pregnant and conflicted. George wants revengeÂ¥his daughter recently had an abortion. A third father-daughter story runs parallel to the hostage crisis: A teenager named Beth, hospitalized for severe bleeding, is being prosecuted for murder after having taken abortifacient drugs she'd ordered online at 16 weeks pregnant. At times, Picoult defaults to her habitual sentimentality, particularly in describing the ties that bind Hugh, Wren, and Bex. This novel is unflinching, however, in forcing readers to witness the gory consequences of a mass shooting, not to mention the graphic details of abortions at various stages of gestation and the draconian burdens states like Mississippi have placed on a supposed constitutional right. For Dr. Ward, an African-American, ?the politics of abortion? have ?so much in common with the politics of racism.? The Times Arrow? or Benjamin Button?like backward structure adds little except for those ironic tinges hindsight always provides.Novels such as this extensively researched and passionate polemic are not necessarily art, but, like Sinclair Lewis? The Jungle, they are necessary.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC. I love Picoult’s books so much. She does her research so well and it shows on every page of all of her books including this one. I love how she shows both sides of a debate and inspires so much conversation. I really like that she is willing to tackle the tough subjects. She makes you think hard about the issues she writes about. I think women and men both should read this one. I am so grateful to have read an advanced copy of this one. I will still purchase a copy for my collection. ( )

If I'd known that this story was a social commentary on the 2 sides of the abortion debate I would not have read it even if it was a book club choice. Not only that, this story bounces back and forth between characters and time periods to a degree that is confusing. ( )