Hollow Bones – Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult is famous for her topical novels, but I’m not sure even she could have predicted just how timely her latest, Hollow Bones, would be. The story revolves around 9/11 and post-partum psychosis, two subjects that have dominated headlines in the U.S. for the past month. I was thrilled to dive in when my friends at Macmillan Australia sent me a copy for review.

Hollow Bones starts in the (very) present day, September 2026, with emergency response coordinator Molly Fitzgerald reflecting on the loss of her mother. She was just two months old when Eloise went to a doctor’s appointment at the World Trade Center, and never returned. Molly grew up in the shadow of that tragedy, but she turned out okay. She loves her job, she’s happily married, and she’s just found out she’s pregnant.

And there’s a fun little Easter egg for fans of Picoult’s earlier novel, My Sister’s Keeper: Molly’s husband is Jesse, the older brother from that story, and the books take place in the same universe.

Part One of Hollow Bones ends with the mother of all twists, then the story skips back to 2001. Over the course of the rest of the story, the truth is unravelled.

Hollow Bones has long chapters, but they truly fly by. It’s an incredibly tense and moving story, guaranteed to evoke all kinds of emotions. As per Picoult’s Author’s Note, it’s a story about the intersection of public and private tragedy. (Don’t skip the Author’s Note by the way, as Picoult is very generous and insightful in describing how the various elements of this book came together.)

I will concede that Picoult overshoots slightly in the final act, with a couple of Twists that don’t feel entirely necessary in an otherwise vital and timely read. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Hollow Bones, and it gave me a lot to think about.

Read Hollow Bones on audiobook via Libro.fm here. (affiliate link)