by Jodi Picoult
First published 2007
Jane Jones packs her teenage daughter Rebecca into the car and drives away from her marriage to Oliver, a renowned marine biologist who studies whale songs. Oliver's explosive temper has finally pushed Jane past her breaking point. As they flee across the country, Rebecca struggles to understand why her mother waited so long to leave and why her father's brilliant work with humpback whales couldn't translate into tenderness at home. Oliver follows them, desperate to win back his family but unable to see how his obsession with his research has damaged the people he loves most. Three perspectives emerge as the family navigates this crisis. Jane fights to rebuild her sense of self after years of walking on eggshells. Rebecca grapples with loyalty torn between her parents. Oliver confronts the gap between his ability to decode the complex songs of whales and his failure to truly hear his own wife and daughter. Their journey becomes a reckoning with love, forgiveness, and whether some relationships can be repaired.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, family-drama, found-family
Setting: United States
Period: Contemporary
352 pages · Paperback · Hodder & Stoughton
Content warnings: domestic-violence, emotional-abuse