Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Picoult revisits a character from one of her beloved previous books in this latest entry, which follows Molly, who lost her mother on 9/11. She was just a baby but her mother's death shaped her life, motivating her to pursue a career in disaster relief. In the present day, Molly is head of the Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response in Rhode Island. She's fallen hard for and wed Jesse Fitzgerald, a polygraph expert Picoult fans will recognize as the troubled teen arsonist from My Sister's Keeper (2004), who is almost a decade and a half older than her. When Molly discovers she's pregnant, she struggles with the implications of bringing a child into her life given her career, but then she's thrown a major curveball that leads her to question everything she thought she knew about herself and her family. Picoult never shies away from difficult subject matter, and here she shines a light on postpartum psychosis and the devastating fallout both the condition and its under-diagnosis can cause. A few late-in-the-game melodramatic developments don't undercut what is ultimately a powerful and deeply affecting exploration of grief, loss, guilt, and enduring love.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The World Trade Center attacks are at the center of an intricate, twisty family drama spanning decades in both directions. “You could brace for your sister to die of a terminal illness, only to have your healthy sibling killed in a random car wreck. You could carry a baby safely to term and then, on a bright blue day in Septem-ber, walk into a building that collapsed beneath your feet.” Or you could be a character in a Jodi Picoult novel and face all of the above and much, much more. Fans ofMy Sister’s Keeper (2004) will notice a reference to that novel in the preceding quote and be glad to hear a character from that book is back. During the Covid-19 pandemic, former teenage delinquent Jesse Fitzgerald, now a detective on the Providence, Rhode Island, police force, meets Molly Ambrose, a 19-year-old prodigy who runs the state’s emergency preparedness and response program. “Despite the fact that there were fif-teen years between us and we both had enough baggage to fill a cargo hold,” as Molly puts it, the two fall madly in love. The baggage she’s referring to includes, on her side, a mother who died on 9/11 when Molly was less than three months old. Picoult supplies her signature delightful banter and gift for depicting passion and romance to win the reader’s sympathy for this possibly questionable match between dedicated public servants, whose favorite game at bedtime is “Who can think of the most terrifying worst-case scenario?” Very little more can be revealed without spoilers, but trigger warnings for this book would be a long list indeed, ranging from suicide and filicide to rape and mental illness (welcome to Picoultland!). Subplots visit evangelical and Navajo cultures as well as the ins and outs of polygraphy. Make sure to read the afterword in which Picoult explains her real-life sources of inspiration. The queen of social activist novels has done it again. Impressive, important, and fun to read. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal
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Picoult's (By Any Other Name) newest title begins with Molly Fitzgerald at work, running the Rhode Island Department of Emergency Services. Molly's life has been scarred and formed by tragedy. Her mother was killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City when Molly was two months old, and her husband's early life was filled with the sadness of his sister's long illness. Molly's father remarried when she was small, and she has always had a loving relationship with her stepmother. The narrative goes back in time, back to the bombing and even into Molly's mother's difficult early life and college years. Readers learn that Molly's mother and her eventual stepmother were close friends in college. Many shocking secrets come to light and Molly, her father, and her stepmother all have to reckon with reconfiguring their family. Molly's husband, Jesse, was a character in another of Picoult's novels, and this will likely add to interest in the book for Picoult fans. The story is enriched by including recent historical events and information about postpartum illness. VERDICT Picoult's many fans and readers of contemporary fiction about social issues will enjoy this book.—Susan Cox

Publishers Weekly
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In this poignant if heavy-handed dual narrative from Picoult (By Any Other Name), a mother and daughter build new lives for themselves in response to trauma. Molly Fitzgerald, 25, was less than two months old when her mother, Eloise, disappeared on 9/11 after a scheduled doctor’s appointment at the World Trade Center, and was presumed dead. Molly was raised by her grieving father and loving stepmother, Evie, who was Eloise’s roommate at the Rhode Island School of Design. As a girl, Molly has a close relationship with Evie, who treats her as if she were her own daughter. Determined to prevent others from having their lives shattered by disaster, Molly dedicates her life to a career in emergency services. Nearly halfway through, Picoult switches to Eloise’s perspective, portraying her painful childhood with a father who sexually abused her younger sister and tried to groom her, causing her to run away. After RISD, Eloise begins a promising career as an artist until she gives birth to Molly and is overwhelmed by postpartum psychosis, believing she’s unfit for motherhood and worried she’ll harm Molly. Eloise’s story careens into a major plot twist, followed by another one involving Evie, and while both feel contrived, they yield thoughtful insights into the nature of mother-daughter relationships. This melodrama has its moments. Agent: Laura Gross, Laura Gross Literary. (Sept.)