Salem Falls

I'm starting my first post with a confession...
I like reading Jodi Picoult.
Like, a lot.
Yesterday, I went to the library and picked up all these great books, and the first one I grabbed, over the historical novel and the selected short stories, was Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult.
And I read it already.

I think I like reading her so much because she's a good, solid, easy read. Her writing flows nicely, and she creates wonderful word pictures. Plus she tackles some really interesting subjects in her novels--school shootings, infidelity, teen pregnancy, kidnapping--and she weaves characters skillfully. There's no black & white, no complete protagonist, which I find refreshing.

Salem Falls centers on a man who has been convicted of sex with an underage girl, his student, in fact. He plea-bargained his way into an 8-month sentence and the novel begins with him leaving the prison and trying to begin again in the small town of Salem Falls. He begins work as a dishwasher in a small diner and finds a true friend in the owner of the diner. Unfortunately, his good looks also spark the teenage passion of one of the town's most lovely--and troubled--girls.

It's a fascinating read, and it's obvious that Picoult does her research. Except in her Spanish phrases, which are grammatically incorrect. Sorry, but that just bugs me. (And I find it somewhat fitting that I initially misspelled the word "grammatically")

So, on to more challenging reads. Until I find a Picoult novel I haven't yet read. :)