If you've read the most popular Taylor Jenkins Reid books and are looking for something else to sink your literary teeth in, Jodi Picoult books are a true treat! She's another New York Times Bestselling author whose pen game is strong enough to induce real tears — you know, the kind that start and just don't seem to...stop. If you've never read one of her books, chances are that you've seen a movie based on something she's written 😉. All we'll say is that one of her books was turned into a feature film that sent us on the wildest emotional rollercoaster we've ever been on!
Still, we admire her incredible knack for keeping love — romantic, familial, and platonic — at the center of each story she shares with readers. Prepare your hearts for the tugging of a lifetime because we've got 10 of the most popular Jodi Picoult books to read this spring!
How many Jodi Picoult books are there?
Image via jodipicoult.com
Jodi Picoult has written an impressive collection of 28 moving books including two Young Adult novels with her daughter Samantha Van Leer.
Has Jodi Picoult's books been turned into movies?
Image via New Line Cinema
Yes! Four of her movies have been turned into movie adaptations with three of them being Lifetime originals.
- The Pact (2002) — Lifetime
- Plain Truth (2004) — Lifetime
- The Tenth Circle (2008) — Lifetime
- My Sister’s Keeper (2009) — Feature film starring Cameron Diaz
What's one fun fact about Jodi Picoult?
Image via jodipicoult.com
She wrote five issues of Wonder Woman for DC Comics!
10 Most Popular Jodi Picoult Books
Mad Honey
Convinced she has no choice but to start over, Olivia McAfee relocates back to her hometown to help give her son Asher a normal life. This move turns out to be good for both of them and she settles into a life of beekeeping. Asher even seems to be doing great and begins spending more time with the Lily Campanello, a teen who's new in town. The more time they're together, the more Lily feels like moving to a new town wasn't so bad after all.
That's what makes her death so unsuspecting and horribly wrong. The only person who she's been around a lot is Asher, but Olivia initially refuses to believe her son could have killed her in cold blood. Yet, she's always wondered how much of his father runs through his veins. It's something she'll find out in Mad Honey.
Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here starts off as the perfect summary of a curated list of goals for Diana O'Toole, but ends with her letting go of her certain beliefs she had. When the reader first meets her, she's counting down the days until her boyfriend Finn will make her engagement dreams come true. Not only that, but she knows she's up for a lofty promotion at her job and this fits into her life's plans. Things couldn't be more perfect — except life doesn't operate by anyone's rules.
Her careful plans are scrambled when Finn can't go on their planned trip due to an outbreak where they live which should be her first sign that new things are on the horizon. Still, Diana moves forward with their travel plans only for disaster to continue greeting her. It's like life is conspiring against her for some reason — at least that's what she thinks.
What Diana learns over time is that sometimes our plans are disrupted in a way that'll get our attention so we can slow and reflect about what we truly want. Sometimes we find that we're not the same person after we experience something transformative.
The Storyteller
Sage Singer pours her all into working at the bakery so she doesn't have to deal with different emotions that threaten to overwhelm her. The most pressing one is the grief she feels due to her mother passing away, but she finds some comfort within the support group she's a part of. It's where she meets Josef Weber, but she doesn't think twice about seeing him there. It's only when he begins frequenting the bakery that their lives become connected.
Their friendship is an easy one that allows them to let their guards down, but Sage is unprepared with Josef confesses something that almost takes her breath away. Torn between her heart and what feels like the right thing to do, Sage has to decide what's more important along with figuring out what kind of future she wants to have.
Small Great Things
Trigger warning: This book mentions racism and white supremacy.
Ruth Jefferson is caught in a terrible predicament after two white supremacist parents refuse her care and their child ultimately experiences a medical emergency while she's the only nurse around. Convinced that she purposely did something, the parents pursue legal action and Ruth is placed on trial. Public Defender Kennedy McQuarrie decides to defend her, but has rigid ideas about what will and won't be supported in court.
Over time, Ruth's distrust in Kennedy reaches a head and she decides the latter is no different from the people around her. This encourages her to be honest in the testimony that ultimately acquits her. At the same time, one of the white supremacist parents finds out something shocking about her own history that sends her down a dark path she doesn't return from.
Leaving Time
Jenna Metcalf's life has been governed by memories of her mother's disappearance and spends a great deal of her time looking for traces of her. She believes there has to be evidence that her mother is still alive and commits herself to conducting research to see what she can find. Eventually, Jenna relies on the help of psychic Serenity Jones and cynical private detective Virgil Stanhope.
This journey has a lasting effect on all of them and helps them come to grips with learning what to do when one finds answers they were searching for.
The Book of Two Ways
After Dawn Edelstein survives a terrifying plane crash, she can't help but think about Wyatt Armstrong. It's not that her life isn't good, but she wonders how different things would've been had chosen a different path. Gifted with the option to go anywhere she wants as a result of being a survivor, she decides to make a pit stop in Egypt where Wyatt Armstrong, their unfinished business, and her former work are.
There's a lot of unfinished business she feels she needs to deal with and The Book of Two Ways helps her tie up loose ends before discovering how she wants her life to continue unfolding.
A Spark of Light
Trigger warning: This book mentions abortion.
A Spark of Light is an intense read that tackles how our individual choices can allows our paths to cross with strangers. When a women's reproductive health services clinic finds itself at the mercy of a raging gunman, police hostage negotiator Hugh McElroy rushes over to start solving the puzzle of safely extracting those inside. Things become more dire when he finds out that his teen daughter is trapped inside.
As the time passes, readers are introduced to the hostages from patients to a pro-life protestor who begins evaluating the way her own rage has been hurtful to others. Over time, we learn the truth of what led the man to begin taking lives from others and it serves as a reminder that there are a lot of gray areas in life.
My Sister’s Keeper
This moving tale sheds light on the way that identities can be stifled by selfish perspectives, but it also touches on how healing can happen. Anna's existence came into play when it was realized she could be a bone marrow match for her sister Kate. Kate has been battling cancer for a while and it's believed that Anna holds the key to her survival. Though Anna loves her sister, she still wants to have a chance at living a normal teenaged life.
Deciding to choose herself for once, she makes a choice that causes a right in her family and it's only after her mother is able to see how much damage her blind ambitions has done to both of her daughters is the family able to heal.
Mercy
Cameron and his wife Allie face a painful crossroads in Mercy when their loyalty to each other is tested. She feels drawn to Jamie, a man who's on trial for complying with his dead wife's wishes, because she can see how much love he had for her. It's the same kind of passion she wishes existed in her own marriage. It's not that she never thought about it before, but her devotion allowed her to stand tall.
But, the heart doesn't lie and she soon finds herself embroiled in something scandalous. Allie will have to choose between feeling the passion she's been craving and doing the socially acceptable thing in Mercy.
The Pact
Chris and Emily have always been in each other's lives — first as friends and now as growing lovers. It was inevitable that they'd find themselves drawn to each other beyond childhood niceties, but their bond is shaken when Emily's life is cut tragically short. It appears she's been murdered despite what Chris says and this causes their families to begin turning on one another.
He goes to trial for her murder and what happens next will make you question what it means to fully trust the person you love.
Looking for even more reading recs? Be sure to check out our fave books on our storefront!
Brit + Co. may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.
Lead images via
