I'm not sure how good or bad this book is compared to Picoult's other bestselling books such as Handle With Care, My Sister’s Keeper, but I enjoyed Change of Heart thoroughly.
In Change of Heart, Shay Bourne is convicted of a brutal double murder of a man and his daughter. After 11 years of appeals, the execution date is set. Now he is convinced that he needs to donate his heart to the murdered girl's sister, Claire Nealon, who needs a heart transplant if she's to finish out the year. The state of New Hampshire only carries out executions by lethal injection, which won't allow for an organ transplant. But, if Shay can be executed by hanging, he can be brain dead but have a still viable heart. Enter ACLU lawyer, Maggie. She wants to help Shay donate his heart to the little girl and, if possible, strike a blow for her anti Death penalty beliefs. Then, there's Father Michael, the Catholic priest with a secret of his own: eleven years ago, he was on the jury that sentenced Shay to death. He wants to clear his conscience and help Shay make peace with the Lord before he dies.
This book, in true Jodi Picoult fashion, was absolutely amazing. Not only did it have perfect characters who grew and changed throughout the story, but from the very beginning there left a question begging to be asked: Why did Shay kill Elizabeth and Kurt in the first place? The whole book focuses around Shay and his fight for his execution to allow him to donate his heart, and the growing evidence that Shay could be some sort of religious figure from the past. One thing Picoult does very well in all her books she creates well defined, intriguing characters. All the characters here are wonderfully written, and in the same way she brought back Ian Fletcher from Keeping Faith.
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