Monday's Pick!

Jodi Picoult has explored religion and spirituality before in her books. But Change of Heart will tug at your heartstrings in this riveting and emotionally charged tale of a death row inmate. Shay Bourne is convicted of a double homicide and wants to redeem himself by donating his heart after his execution, to the victim's sister, who is need of a transplant. He is New Hampshire's first death row prisoner in 69 years and has spent 11 years on death row awaiting his execution which is to be by lethal injection.This will render his heart useless for an organ transplant. The court is asked to address the moral rights of a murderer who wants to perform one last selfless act. As the date of his execution comes closer strange events start to happen as Shay begins to perform miracles. These are the similar miracles that Jesus performed. He turns water into wine, he cures a dying AIDS inmate and brings back to life a tiny pet bird. Is this convicted murderer the messiah? He quotes gospels which were the beliefs of the early Gnostic Christians of 2000 years ago but now regarded as heresy. This all from a sem-literate, bi-polar, uneducated man.

What should a mother, whose daughter is dying and needs a heart transplant do when offered a perfect organ match and that organ comes from the murderer of her eldest daughter.? These disturbing ethical challenges probe the very core of mother and daughter love.

Picoult explores the complex moral questions of capital punishment, religion and love in an astonishingly powerful tale that will force you to look at these issues in an entirely new way.