I am a sucker for any book that has elephants in them. When I saw that Judy Picoult had written Leaving Time in which elephants play a very important part, I had to read it! This book has increased my zeal for reading more about elephants. I will admit that was my favorite part of the book and it read and reread the information on these very intelligent and sensitive creatures.

This is a many layered book with several different themes running through it. The characters were richly drawn and it was very difficult for me to lay down. The only trouble that I had was the ending. I just wasn’t up for all the changes and felt confused. But that was only a small part of the book.

The grief of a mother elephant for her dead calf and for a daughter for mother, a mother for her daughter seemed to mirror each other. The book starts off with Jenna Metcalf whose mother disappeared after an accident in an Elephant Sanctuary. She spends her time searching for her on the Internet and studying her mother’s research journals on elephants. She hopes so much that she was not abandoned by her mother. Even though she lives with her grandmother, she receives no emotional comfort from her. She enlists the help of a burned out psychic, Serenity Jones and failed private detective, Virgil Standhope. The chapters alternate between those three characters plus her mother, Alice Metcalf. As the three try to find out what really happened with Alice, Jenna’s memories start coming back. I love the Jenna character and could easily understand her feelings and preoccupation with finding her mother. Even though I don’t seek out books on the paranormal, I thought that the portrayal of Serenity Jones was very sensitive and believable.

Under all the emotional currents of this book were more mysteries than just what happened to Jenna’s mother. I am thankful to the author, Judy Picoult for bringing to light research on elephants and the terrible results to elephant population from loss of habitat.

I highly recommend this book to all Jodi Picoult fans and elephant lovers. If you detest elephants then you may want to skip this one.

This is my second reading of this book! ( )

This was the first Picoult book I read so I didn't know what to expect. It was chosen for our library book club to read. I liked the pacing and the story line for the most part. I did not like all the info about elephants and felt at times I was reading a nonfiction book. I also don't believe in psychics or that mumbo-jumbo, or ghosts except the Holy Ghost. I would not have finished it if it hadn't been for book club. ( )

Well... About that ending...
Enjoyable enough. ( )

This book was recommended to me by a friend... after skimming the reviews, I was not sure what I was getting in to, but I started reading anyway. I am so glad that I ignored the bad reviews. This book was surprising, fast-paced, and rich with interesting little stories-within-the-story. There was nothing predictable about it, and characters are beautifully developed. Leaving Time is well worth the read. ( )

In terms of character secrets and plot twists, this book is so characteristic Jodi Picoult. However, in terms of development and types of characters this book was not what I would have expected. I found this book riveting. I was unable to put it down, at first because I really really love elephants, and later because I really needed to know what happened to the people who cared for them so much. There were elements of the ending that I saw coming at various points of the book, but I was never convinced until the end. And remarkably, as many Jodi Picoult books as I have read, there was still one part of the ending I never would have guessed in a million years. ( )