Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult

Title:  Handle With Care
Author: Jodi Picoult
Pages: 551
Genre: Contemporary
Book Description: 
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?

Get it here | Good reads 

This book was lent to me by my very good friend Charlotte! ( http://charlottealyxx.blogspot.co.uk/ ) She recently set up a beauty bog so if any of my followers are interested in makeup, go check out her blog :)

My Opinion:
The first thing I loved about this book (and this is a frequent factor in all of Jodi's books) was that I felt like I learned a lot while I was reading it. This book was all about Osteogenesis imperfecta which I didn't know much about and now I feel so much more knowledgeable on the disease.
Not only did this book introduce me to new diseases, I loved the little facts throughout the novel. This was part of the story but they were cute and interesting, for example, did you know that the hundred billionth crayon made by Crayola was Periwinkle Blue and that a tuna will suffocate if it ever stops swimming!

Another nice touch were the recipes. These are only included every now and then and, at first, I didn't understand their relevance but at the end everything became clear! It was really nice how they were a subtle link to the chapters ahead.

I also enjoyed hearing Amelia's opinion on the situation and how she felt going through the trauma's her family had to deal with. It was interesting to hear all of the narrator's opinions.
My favourite character was Amelia because I felt like I understood how she felt the most and I could relate to her.

Lastly, I felt like this book made me realise how lucky I was to be healthy and to have a supportive, healthy family. You never know how hard it is for people in situations like this and I think this novel gave me a clear insight into their lives.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary, knowledgeable and new adult books. There are a few triggering scenes and the book can be upsetting at times (there was one scene that made my cry but that could have just been my personal attachment to the situation) but altogether I really, really enjoyed it!

Favourite Quotes:

To carry with you the name of the tree that bends instead of breaking.

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There are some kinds of pain you can't speak out loud

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Drew it over my skin like a violin's bow, no one would hear the song of my shame

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'I'm so lucky... My medicine lets me have hair.'

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We lived in our grown up dollhouses completely unaware that, at any moment, a hand might come in and change everything we'd been accustomed to

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Parents aren't the people you come from. They're the people you want to be when you grow up.

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She liked to draw the birches because she said they were tragic, and that something so beautiful shouldn't have to die so quickly.

Rating ★★★★

 4 out of 5 stars 

 Next book I'm going to review:
Blood Day by Sarah Butland