Jodi Picoult - Author of the Month

Photo from
JodiPicoult.com

Jodi Picoult is above all a writer of adult fiction. She tackles moral dilemmas that often revolve around the relationship between a parent and a child like the popular My Sister's Keeper - about a girl conceived for the sole purpose of being a blood and organ donor for her ill sister. The story, like many of Picoult's novels, ends up in the courtroom when the girl decides to sue her parents for rights to her own body.

Picoult lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children. She studied creative writing at Princeton but held several other jobs including work as a technical writer and an 8th grade English teacher before publishing her first book. In response to an interview question posted on her website, she says she begins her stories with a "what-if" question and builds the stories and characters from there. She particularly enjoys the research process for her books, and she spends a great amount of time making sure that she understands the all the points of view in the story.

She has had 23 books published, many of which have been New York Times Bestsellers, and several have been made into films. You can find a selection of Picoult titles on display in the fiction section of the library media center.