Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Tuesday Memes: Leaving Time


Every Tuesday Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where you can share the first paragraph, or a few, of a book you are reading or thinking about reading soon.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Today I am spotlighting Leaving Time by Jodii Picoult


For more than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Refusing to believe that she would be abandoned as a young child, Jenna searches for her mother regularly online and pores over the pages of Alice’s old journals. A scientist who studied grief among elephants, Alice wrote mostly of her research among the animals she loved, yet Jenna hopes the entries will provide a clue to her mother’s whereabouts.

Desperate to find the truth, Jenna enlists two unlikely allies in her quest. The first is Serenity Jones, a psychic who rose to fame finding missing persons—only to later doubt her gifts. The second is Virgil Stanhope, a jaded private detective who originally investigated Alice’s case along with the strange, possibly linked death of one of her colleagues. As the three work together to uncover what happened to Alice, they realize that in asking hard questions, they’ll have to face even harder answers.

As Jenna’s memories dovetail with the events in her mother’s journals, the story races to a mesmerizing finish. A deeply moving, gripping, and intelligent page-turner, Leaving Time is Jodi Picoult at the height of her powers.

Opening Paragraph

    Some people used to believe that there was an elephant graveyard — a place that sick and old elephants would travel to to die. They’d slip away from their herds and would lumber across the dusty landscape, like the titans, we read about in seventh grade in Greek Mythology. Legend said the spot was in Saudi Arabia; that it was the source of a supernatural force; that it contained a book of spells to bring about world peace.

    Exploreres who went in search of the graveyard would follow dying elephants for weeks, only to realize they’d been led in circles. Some of these voyagers disappeared completely. Some could not remember what they had seen, and not a single explorer who claimed to have found the graveyard could ever locate it again.

    Here’s why: The elephant graveyard is a myth.

My Teaser

    Serenity shudders as if I’ve hit her with a Taser. “She’s not.”
    As she closes the door in my face, I wonder if this is a flat-out lie, too.
page 33

(These quotes are from uncorrected advance proofs. Please refer to the final printed book for corrected quotes!)

So...what do you think? Is this one you would pick up? Leave a comment below!
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16 comments:

  1. This is an amazing book Kim, hope you love it -- haven't posted a review yet/

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  2. I am usually a huge Picoult fan, but for some reason this one hasn't really grabbed me. I'll be interested to hear people's thoughts...

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  3. Wow. I must read this book. Thanks for sharing!
    Here is my TT - http://fuonlyknew.com/2014/10/07/teaser-tuesdays-84-the-death-of-death/

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  4. I can't wait to read this one! I thought I had it coming from Vine, but then they notified me that they didn't have it in their inventory...guess I'll wait until it's released.

    Thanks for sharing. Here's mine: “THE BOOKSELLER”

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  5. This one's on my list. Hope you enjoy it.

    My Tuesday post: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2014/10/first-chapter-first-paragraph-78-and.html

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  6. I like Jodi's books and I'm an absolute sucker for anything that includes a psychic, so this is a double threat. My book this week is Don't Let Go

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  7. Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors, so I'll definitely read this book. This sounds like it will become one of my favorites.
    My Tuesday post features SAVING SHELBY SUMMERS.

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  8. That sounds like a great book. I want to know if she finds her mom or not. I really like Jodi as a writer, so I'll be adding this one to the TBR pile. Here's my TT. Happy reading!

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  9. Good opening... hope you like this one!

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  10. I remember someone posting about this one last week. :-) I like the intro and I have enjoyed the Picoult books I read in the past. I would keep reading.

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  11. Wow, this opening and teaser are so full of information and make me really curious about the rest of the book. Really cool pick! Thanks for sharing!
    Here's My Teaser.

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  12. This has been on my wishlist for awhile. It looks so good. I love Jodi Picoult's books.

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  13. I have not read this author, but this book's intro and summary grabbed my attention.

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  14. Okay, now I really want to know what's up with the elephant graveyard. Man, that was a great teaser!

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  15. that was a good beginning but I'm not a fan of Picoult so I'd probably pass just because she wrote it. Enjoy your book and Have a nice week! kelley—the road goes ever ever on

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