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Handle with Care: A Novel
by Jodi Picoult

Published: 2009-02-20
Kindle Edition : 512 pages
26 members reading this now
46 clubs reading this now
39 members have read this book
Recommended to book clubs by 14 of 22 members

Things break all the time.

Day breaks, waves break, voices break.

Promises break.

Hearts break.

Every expectant parent will tell you that they don't want a perfect baby, just a healthy one. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe would have asked for a healthy baby, too, if they'd been given the ...

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Introduction

Things break all the time.

Day breaks, waves break, voices break.

Promises break.

Hearts break.

Every expectant parent will tell you that they don't want a perfect baby, just a healthy one. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe would have asked for a healthy baby, too, if they'd been given the choice. Instead, their lives are made up of sleepless nights, mounting bills, the pitying stares of "luckier" parents, and maybe worst of all, the what-ifs. What if their child had been born healthy? But it's all worth it because Willow is, well, funny as it seems, perfect. She's smart as a whip, on her way to being as pretty as her mother, kind, brave, and for a five-year-old an unexpectedly deep source of wisdom. Willow is Willow, in sickness and in health.

Everything changes, though, after a series of events forces Charlotte and her husband to confront the most serious what-ifs of all. What if Charlotte should have known earlier of Willow's illness? What if things could have been different? What if their beloved Willow had never been born? To do Willow justice, Charlotte must ask herself these questions and one more. What constitutes a valuable life?

Emotionally riveting and profoundly moving, Handle with Care brings us into the heart of a family bound by an incredible burden, a desperate will to keep their ties from breaking, and, ultimately, a powerful capacity for love. Written with the grace and wisdom she's become famous for, beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult offers us an unforgettable novel about the fragility of life and the lengths we will go to protect it.

Editorial Review

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Excerpt

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Discussion Questions

Suggested by Members

Why did Charlotte post the check on the refrigerator?
Was Willow's death planned by her? How believable was this event considering her care by this family?
Why did the author write this book?
by nbknight (see profile) 08/18/09

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

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Book Club Recommendations

Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
by Stacy S. (see profile) 04/20/17

 
  "Handle With Care"by Brenda D. (see profile) 03/10/16

This book gave a great deal to discuss as far as moral choices are concerned as well as questions regarding what constitutes love.

 
  "Handle With Care Needs Kid Gloves"by Nancy B. (see profile) 12/30/15

This book package needs to have "Fragile" written all over it. It broke my heart in more ways than one. Meet Willow, a six year old born with a rare genetic mutation called osteogenesis impe... (read more)

 
by Mary Beth H. (see profile) 08/20/15

 
  "Excellent Writing from Multiple Perspectives"by Megan B. (see profile) 04/04/13

Piccoult, did yet another outstanding job in terms of telling the story from many people. The research that also went into this book is amazing and very easy to understand.

 
  "Another Sadly Disfunctional Family"by chris h. (see profile) 11/13/11

I was totally absorbed in this book but wondered through the last 3/4 of it how the mother could be so blind to the effect her actions had on her family. Do the ends justify the means? Is lying to help... (read more)

 
  "Handle With Care"by Katie M. (see profile) 03/03/11

Typical of Jodi Picoult to write about terrible misfortunes and abruptly end the book in a way which in no way makes it worth reading. Hated it!

 
  "Great for Discusussion"by Denise L. (see profile) 09/01/10

It was a well-written book but very sad

 
  "Handle With Care"by Denise L. (see profile) 08/24/10

It was a well-written book and most of the Brookside Book Club liked it but felt it was way too sad. I for one, wanted to read it fast so that I could be done with the sadness of it. It was interesting... (read more)

 
  "Gloomy and depressing"by Lei Anne M. (see profile) 06/26/10

This book kept my attention and was an easy read, but I found it depressing. I know life can be depressing at times, but I, personally, don't prefer that sort of thing for my distraction and relaxation... (read more)

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