Jodi picoult childhood biography of a place

Author

B orn Jodi Lynn Picoult, May 19, 1966, in Well ahead Island, New York; daughter of Myron (a securities analyst) and Jane (a preschool teacher) Picoult; married Timothy Burrow Van Leer (an antiques dealer), Nov 18, 1989; children: Kyle, Jake, Samantha. Education:Princeton University, bachelor’s degree in resourceful writing/English, 1987; Harvard University, master’s consequence in education, 1990.

Addresses:Contact—Atria Books, 11th Flr., 1230 Avenue of the Americas, Original York, NY 10020. Home—Hanover, New County. Web site—http://www.jodipicoult.com

Career

B egan career on Partition Street writing bond portfolios, 1987; wrote copy for an ad agency unacceptable taught eighth-grade English, late 1980s; available first novel, 1992; became full-time hack, 1992.

Awards:New England Bookseller Award for Untruth, 2003; best fiction books of honourableness year list, Washington Post, 2004; Margaret Alexander Edwards Award, American Library Place, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2004; Alex Award, Young Adult Library Services Swirl, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2005; Bookbrowse Diamond Award for novel of probity year, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2005; Vermont Green Mountain Book Award, in the direction of My Sister’s Keeper, 2005; Abraham Attorney Illinois High School Book Award, Algonquian School Library Media Association, for My Sister’s Keeper, 2006; “Fearless Fiction” Accolade, Cosmopolitan, 2007.

Sidelights

S ince 1992, Jodi Picoult has been churning out bestselling novels at a rate of nearly give someone a tinkle per year. While each novel keep to unique, most include the same ingredients—a clever plot, a juicy topic, talented a heart-rending family dilemma that prop her characters into a moral marsh. Picoult takes on hot-button issues, scribble literary works about school killings, child molestation, age rape, euthanasia, infidelity, and teen killer. Over the years, she has civilized an ever-widening fan base that includes multiple generations of both male title female readers. In 2007, Picoult’s Ordinal novel, Nineteen Minutes, debuted at Clumsy. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Along the way, Picoult caught the eye of DC Comics, which hired her to write untainted plotlines for its Wonder Woman suite. The first of her five-series super-hero epic hit bookstores in 2007.

Jodi Lynn Picoult was born on May 19, 1966, on Long Island, New Royalty, to Myron and Jane Picoult. In sync father worked as a securities counsellor, while her mother taught preschool. Picoult grew up in the Long Resting place hamlet of Nesconset in an high-class housing development where streets bore defamation like Prince Charming Lane. Picoult wholly told the New Hampshire Sunday News that her childhood was so edenic she had no business becoming deft writer.

Picoult composed her first tell at the age of five, a-okay short story titled “The Lobster Which Misunderstood.” In fourth grade, Picoult certain to become a writer after she received a failing grade on a- paper she wrote about her season vacation. “I wrote from the standardize of view of a piano I’d practiced on and she said she didn’t assign fiction,” Pi-coult recalled brand Teen Ink. “Of course, she hadn’t assigned nonfiction, either.”

Picoult studied writing kid Princeton University under the guidance depose memoirist Mary Morris. “She basically split divided me to shreds and showed without charge I wasn’t as good as Frantic thought I was,” Picoult told Publishers Weekly. “But she also believed pretend me in a way that easy me fight back and realize Unrestrainable could be better . I judge the most important thing that she taught me is that a travelling fair novel functions as if every buttress is a short story. She schooled me that a novel is indeed just a bunch of connected temporary stories.”

In 1987, Picoult graduated magna cum laude from Princeton. During college, she had published two stories in Seventeen magazine. Despite this early success, Picoult realized it would be hard concurrence earn a steady income as great writer, so she turned to additional solid pursuits and took a abnormal writing bond portfolios for a Panel Street brokerage firm. Picoult also wrote copy for an ad agency subject taught eighth-grade English. By 1989, Picoult had married her college sweetheart, Christian Van Leer, and returned to educational institution, studying for a master’s degree affluent education at Harvard University.

Around this tightly, Picoult began working on her extreme novel, Songs of the Humpback Whale, which concerns an oceanographer who studies whales. Picoult used a unique interpretation for the book—the story is great by five different characters, each airing their account of what took bazaar one disastrous summer. Determined to invest in the book in print, Pi-coult studied tirelessly to find a publisher. “I wouldn’t let it go at far-out rejection,” she told Stephen Seitz comprehensive the New Hampshire Sunday News. “I’d keep calling until they’d take overturn calls just to get rid hint at me. If they told me distinction book wasn’t right for them, I’d ask who it was right subsidize. Then I’d call that person.”

Songs imitation the Humpback Whale was published farm animals 1992. Shortly after it came research, Picoult gave birth to a soul, Kyle. Just as she thought present writing career might take off, Picoult found herself immersed in motherhood careful struggled to find balance between pointless and family. Picoult explored this thesis in her next book, 1994’s Harvesting the Heart, which tells the tale of a young mother so worn out with her identity that she abandons her husband and son. Picoult considers this her most biographical novel. She followed with 1995’s Picture Perfect, alternate novel exploring family and relationships. Household 1996, she published Mercy, which examines love and loyalty.

Picoult points to have time out husband’s support as being key achieve helping her turn out novels argue with such a fast pace. In capital biographical sketch posted on her Entanglement site, Picoult wrote, “My husband, who is half antiques dealer/half stay-at-home-dad, assessment fully responsible for making my move about run smoothly.” He drives the carpool, packs the kids’ lunches, and brings her meals so she can circumscribe on her work. Picoult begins send someone away days with a 5:30 a.m. turn with friends. After the kids unshackle for school, she begins writing beam researching, working until about 4 p.m.

In 1998, Picoult published The Pact, first-class heart-rending tale about two teens take a suicide pact gone awry. Age picked up the novel and flagitious it into a 2002 movie foremost Megan Mullally as a grieving indigenous. Fans tuned in hoping to seize a glimpse of Picoult—she made uncomplicated brief appearance in the film type a mourner at the funeral wages one of her characters. Lifetime further turned Picoult’s Plain Truth into clever movie in which she made spruce up similar, brief appearance.

Published in 2000, Plain Truth is a book about tone down adolescent Amish girl accused of flogging a pregnancy and letting her pamper die. Big-city attorney Ellie Harrison research paper called in to defend the mademoiselle and ends up living among rectitude Amish while she builds her carrycase. In Plain Truth, Picoult is a-one slave to detail. A conscientious campaigner, Picoult spent a week living lecture in an Amish community before writing depiction novel, waking at 4:30 a.m. deal with milk cows, attend morning Bible interpret, and prepare meals. While she was writing Perfect Match, published in 2002, Pi-coult consulted a district attorney attain help her script the dialogue in favour of the trial scenes. In Perfect Match, a district attorney struggles to come on justice after her son has antique sexually abused, allegedly by a priest.

A real page-turner, 2004’s My Sister’s Keeper, was named to the Washington Post’s best fiction books of the yr list. The book is about boss 13year-old girl named Anna who was brought into the world to replica a bone marrow match for lead older sister, Kate, who has leukaemia. Anna spends her life undergoing sur-geries and transfusions in the name mention saving her sister. When Anna’s parents tell her she must donate top-hole kidney to Kate, Anna hires doublecross attorney, hoping to gain the scope to make her own decisions. Jagged 2005, Picoult published Vanishing Acts, glory story of Delia Hopkins, a girl who makes her living tracking follow missing people with the help have a high opinion of a bloodhound. On the eve sum her wedding, Delia is haunted via a fleeting childhood memory that seems suspiciously out of place with what she knows to be her existence. Then, her father is arrested, full with kidnapping her 28 years before.

The father is sent to an Arizona jail to await trial and readers get a real glimpse of believable behind bars, as well as invent introduction to running a crystal methamphetamine operation. Picoult prides herself in righteousness research she conducted. “I went purify a jail in Arizona,” Picoult rumbling Publishers Weekly. “Every detail about nab in that book is real. See to of the detention officers set extraction interviews with inmates for me. Rank recipe for crystal meth came running off an inmate named Corvette Steve. Primacy good news is that I leftist out some very important steps. Don’t try this at home. It testament choice blow up in your face.”

Picoult not bad especially proud of 2006’s The Ordinal Circle. The book veers from fixed fiction in that it contains unwritten narrative passages as well as comic-book panels. The Tenth Circle centers bypass Daniel Stone, a comic-book artist enthralled father. Daniel is struggling to refute the past, a horrible childhood drained in an Alaskan village where take steps grew up a loner, the one non-Inuit boy around. After his damsel accuses her boyfriend of date jump down, she runs away to the far-flung village where her father was upraised. Daniel follows and is forced vision confront his history.

The book contains what is supposed to be one be fitting of Daniel’s comic books—this one about elegant father who literally has to come to rescue his daughter from hell. Pi-coult studied with San Diego artist Dustin Oscine, who rendered the drawings. The ludicrous panels run between every chapter. Authority comic can be read by upturn as a stand-alone; likewise, the account can stand by itself. Or, bring into being can read them simultaneously as they appear in the book. Before vocabulary the novel, Picoult visited the Yup’ik Inuit village on the Alaskan tundra.

Executives at DC Comics took note firm Picoult’s graphic novel and approached world-weariness about writing some storylines for tight Wonder Woman series. Initially, Picoult was leery but her children egged will not hear of on. As with any project, Picoult did a lot of prep outmoded before starting. She studied Wonder Woman’s foes and read old Wonder Female comics, dating back to the Forties when the superhero fought Nazis. Picoult enjoyed the project, although she start the genre more difficult than fable since she was used to forceful stories as scenes, not panels. Picoult also takes pride in being helpful of only two women to manage for Wonder Woman in the character’s 60year history. Picoult’s first Wonder Bride comic was released in March invoke 2007.

“It was one of those without delay in a lifetime opportunities,” Picoult said New Hampshire Magazine’s Rick Broussard. “Who doesn’t want to be Wonder Lady. In a way, the whole rearrangement of family and real job captivated sideline jobs and all of put off is exactly what Wonder Woman stick to all about.” Picoult also took illustriousness opportunity to personalize the comic. Encumber Picoult’s series, readers will meet Peacemaker Kyle and Agent Jake, who systematize named after her sons. In melody panel, her husband’s name appears overambitious a name plate that sits overhead a desk.

Picoult’s 2007 book, Nineteen Minutes, debuted at No. 1 on influence New York Times bestseller list. Authority novel, which takes place in well-ordered fictional New Hampshire town, focuses fold a 17year-old boy who kills take over for classmates during a 19minute rampage, commit fraud has to face the consequences. Picoult used the book to explore today’s cultural conditions and how they force contribute to the problem of kindergarten violence. The killer, Peter, is brush up outcast, small for his age, promote taunted for speaking “Martian.” He has been bullied since kindergarten.

The book caused a stir in Picoult’s hometown wink Hanover, New Hampshire, and was distant from the high school’s reading wind up because administrators thought the setting resembled the town too closely and panic a copycat crime. Before beginning righteousness novel, Picoult researched the 1999 Colum-bine killings, receiving detailed information from undiluted sheriff’s deputy. She wound up lift a DVD of Col-umbine shooters Vocaliser Klebold and Eric Harris and got to watch them take target apply at a tree, shouting out significance names of classmates they despised.

While Picoult’s books have won numerous awards gift landed atop bestseller lists, there designing critics who say her intricate plots lack credibility because of their lather opera nature. Others accuse her be more or less simply latching on to the day’s hottest issues. Pi-coult shakes off specified criticism and told Writer’s Leslie Garisto Pfaff that many of her text come from exploring moral issues she is unsure about. Other times, she starts thinking about some tragedy digress could befall her family and goes from there. “I start with representation ‘What if?’ question—what if this were to happen? And then it quasi- feels like the idea is percolating. I just have to let do business sit in my brain and, one day, little things jump out, and just as they do, it’s almost like corn in a Jiffy Pop bag—the answer broadens in scope until it’s whoop just about one narrow, little ‘What if?’ question, but a bigger, work up universal moral question.”

Selected Writings

Songs of interpretation Humpback Whale, Washington Square Press, 1992.

Harvesting the Heart, Penguin, 1994.

Picture Perfect, Putnam, 1995.

Mercy, Putnam, 1996.

The Pact, William Stagnating & Co., 1998.

Keeping Faith, William With one foot in the grave & Co., 1999.

Plain Truth, Pocket Books, 2000.

Salem Falls, Pocket Books, 2001.

Perfect Match, Pocket Books, 2002.

Second Glance, Atria Books, 2003.

My Sister’s Keeper, Atria Books, 2004.

Vanishing Acts, Atria Books, 2005.

The Tenth Circle, Atria Books, 2006.

Nineteen Minutes, Atria Books, 2007.

Sources

Periodicals

Concord Monitor, February 25, 2007, proprietress. D4.

Marie Claire, March 2007, p. 80.

New Hampshire Sunday News (Manchester, NH), Dec 24, 2000, p. B7; April 8, 2001, p. E1; October 3, 2004, p. A1; September 25, 2005, proprietress. A1.

People, March 12, 2007, p. 53.

Publishers Weekly, February 14, 2005, p. 22.

Writer, December 2006, pp. 20-23.

Online

“About Jodi Picoult,” Jodi Picoult Website, http://www.jodipicoult.com (July 30, 2007).

“Author—Jodi Picoult,” Teen Ink,http://teenink.com/Past/2006/November/20683.html (July 30, 2007).

“Interview with Jodi Picoult,” New County Magazine,http://www.nh.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070301.tif/NHM01/70301040.tif/-1/NHM (July 30, 2007).

“New Hampshire People,” NewHampshire.com, http://www.newhampshire.com/nh-people/jodi-picoult-biography.aspx (July 30, 2007).

—Lisa Frick