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Salem Falls
Jodi Picoult Book Review

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Plot Summary of Salem Falls
"
Jodi Picoult
Pocket, Apr 2001, 24.95, 434 pp.
ISBN: 0743418700

    In Loyal, New Hampshire, teacher Jack St. Bride cared so much about his students, he tried to be there for them. However, good intentions and deeds do not go unpunished as Jack learns when he is arrested, tried, and convicted for sex with a minor. Jack insisted he was innocent and so did his victim, Catherine Marsh, whose diary hung Jack.

    After eight months behind bars, Jack settles in Salem Falls where his Ph.D. in history makes him qualified to wash dishes at the local diner owned by Addie Peabody. Jack reports to Detective Saxton as required by state law of any sex offender. Over time, Jack and Addie begin to fall in love, but lightning strikes again. Four teens accuse Jack of raping Gilly Duncan, daughter of the town icon. With his past and the evidence against him very solid, Jack appears to be heading for his second pediophile conviction even if it seems more like a modern day witch-hunt.

    SALEM FALLS is an exciting legal thriller that focuses on whether an accused person with a previous conviction for the same crime can receive a fair trial. The story line is fast-paced, as Jack seems like an ordinary person caught in maelstrom of his own making or just bad luck (read the book if you want to know). Addie is a great heroine, but three of the accusers sans Gilly fail to come across as genuine. Still, Jodi Picoult provides her audience with a well-written tale that leaves the audience thinking about the varying degrees of justice.

Harriet Klausner
"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Salem Falls
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of story - scarey (primal ax-wielding fear)
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Legal Thriller Yes
Legal Plotlets - finding out whether someone is really guilty

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - teacher
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - a teen
Profession/status: - student
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount
Motive of antagonist - revenge
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to Salem Falls
Primal Fear by William Diehl
Retribution by Jilliane Hoffman
Body of a Crime by Michael C. Eberhardt
The Innocent Man by John Grisham
Not Necessarily Murder by F. Eugene Barber


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