This is the book that made me want to be Amish. While I was unraveling the mystery of what really happened (and lolling around in my PJs), I also yearned for the kind of work ethic that the Amish possess.

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Product Description

A shocking murder shatters the picturesque calm of Pennsylvania's Amish country -- and tests the heart and soul of the lawyer who steps in to defend the young woman at the center of the storm....

Plain Truth

The discovery of a dead infant in an Amish barn shakes Lancaster County to its core. But the police investigation leads to a more shocking disclosure: circumstantial evidence suggests that eighteen-year-old Katie Fisher, an unmarried Amish woman believed to be the newborn's mother, took the child's life. When Ellie Hathaway, a disillusioned big-city attorney, comes to Paradise, Pennsylvania, to defend Katie, two cultures collide -- and, for the first time in her high-profile career, Ellie faces a system of justice very different from her own. Delving deep inside the world of those who live "plain," Ellie must find a way to reach Katie on her terms. And as she unravels a tangled murder case, Ellie also looks deep within -- to confront her own fears and desires when a man from her past reenters her life.

Moving seamlessly from psychological drama to courtroom suspense, Plain Truth is a fascinating portrait of Amish life -- and a moving exploration of the bonds of love, friendship, and the heart's most complex choices.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #91978 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-03
• Released on: 2001-04-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Though it begins as the quietly electrifying story of an unmarried Amish teenager who gives birth to a baby she is accused of then smothering, Picoult's latest (after Keeping Faith) settles into an ordinary trial epic, albeit one centered intriguingly on an Amish dairy farm near Lancaster, Pa. Katie Fisher, 18, denies not only having committed the murder but even having borne the baby, whose body is found in the Fishers' calving pen, and she sticks to her story, even when she is quizzed by Ellie Hathaway, the high-powered Philadelphia attorney who undertakes Katie's defense as a favor to Leda, an aunt she and the young woman share. Ellie, who has retreated to Leda's farm in Paradise to reconsider her life--she successfully defends guilty clients--embarks on the case reluctantly: at 39, she wants nothing more than to have a child. However, to meet bail stipulations, she volunteers as Katie's guardian (since Kate's strict parents reject her) and moves in with the Fishers. Living with the Amish necessitates some adjustments for both parties, but Katie and Ellie become fast friends in spite of their differences. Very little action occurs beyond the initial setup, though the questions remain: Who was the father of Katie's child? And did she smother the newborn? Told from both third-person omniscient and first-person (Ellie's) vantages, the story rolls leisurely through the trial preparations, the results of which are repeated, tediously, in the courtroom. Perhaps the story's quietude is appropriate, given its magnificently painted backdrop and distinctive characters, but one can't help wishing that the spark igniting the book's opening pages had built into a full-fledged blaze. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-Philadelphia defense lawyer Ellie Hathaway retreats to her great Aunt Leda's home in Paradise, PA, to get a break from her high-pressure job. Almost at the same time that she arrives, a dead baby is discovered in the barn of an Amish farmer. A police investigation reveals that the mother is an 18-year-old unmarried Amish girl, Katie Fisher, and that the infant apparently did not die of natural causes. Even in the face of medical proof that she recently gave birth, Katie denies the murder charge. Ellie reluctantly agrees to defend her, even though she does not want to be defended. To better understand her client, Ellie moves into the farmhouse with the Fisher family where she begins to see firsthand the pressures and sacrifices of those who live "plain." As she searches for evidence in this case, she calls upon a friend from her past, Dr. John Cooper, a psychiatrist. As Coop and Ellie work together to unravel fact and fiction, they also work to resolve issues in their relationship. Readers will experience a psychological drama as well as a suspenseful courtroom trial. The contrast between the Amish culture and the "English" provides an interesting tension. This study of opposites details much information about a way of life based on faith, humility, duty, and hon-esty.
Carol Clark, formerly at Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Ellie Hathaway is a successful but disillusioned defense attorney who needs to get away from the often guilty people she has been defending in court. She flees Philadelphia for Paradise, PA, the small town where she spent idyllic childhood summers. Shortly before Ellie arrives at her aunt's house, a young Amish girl is accused of murdering her newborn son in her parents' barn. Ellie's aunt, who is related to the family, believes that the girl is innocent and asks Ellie to defend her. The judge orders Katie to be released into Ellie's custody, and Ellie reluctantly moves onto the dairy farm that Katie's family operates while she prepares her defense. Picoult (The Pact) offers an interesting look into Amish culture and beliefs and the effect they have on various people. Her courtroom scenes are exciting and realistic, but a surprising twist at the very end just doesn't ring true. Nonetheless, public libraries will want this well-paced story, which focuses on a unique way of life.
-Penny Stevens, Centreville Regional Lib., VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Customer Reviews

Plain Truth
This is the first book I read of Jodi's. I loved it it was a page turner from the start. I liked the reserch she did with the amish religion and community. she really makes you think and her books are real life reading. I can't wait to read another.

Interesting and Enjoyable Despite Some Literary Faux Pas
The story had some really original components, including an accurate but simple depiction of Amish life. Piccoult didn't spend more time than she had to with novelty details, or romanticizing the Amish. She gave us a balanced glimpse of both the pros and cons of the Plain Lifestyle, and how different Amish individuals interpret and respond to their unified beliefs and what's expected of them. This was really the most important point for me, since I was reading the novel as part of my research for a nonfiction article on the Amish. I believed, correctly, that I would find subtle characteristics in a novel that might be absent from text books, or even short stories by the Amish themselves. Things only an "Englisher" would notice. (And, as it turns out, Piccoult did spend a week on an Amish farm, which I had guessed from the writing, so that's a definite boon).

The storyline kept me guessing as well. Despite being reasonably good at guessing endings, I floundered a few times during the book in terms of what I thought had happened and what would become of the main characters.

The title "The Plain Truth" sounds like a superficial play on words about courtroom truth, but is actually a complex, fitting title, because much of the book is, in fact, about what the Amish hold to be true, vs. what the general U.S. population thinks "truth" is. Those distinct differences create a lot of tension, confusion and mystery, inside the courtroom, and out.

The ending I only enjoyed because it took me by surprise. I don't think it was the right one, if I take it literally, as most readers have. I chose to interpret this revelation with Amish ethics in mind, assuming that it was not the drastic situation it's made out to be, but more of an acceptance and aid to what was already transpiring. (I'd like to be more clear on that, but don't want to toss out any spoilers here!)

While a lot of this novel is subtle and original, there are some cliches that could have been played down a little, and not announced so blatantly, as if by a narrator who thinks the audience is a tad slow. Ellie's relationship fears, for instance. That courtroom scene where they are really talking to each other personally, and not about the case, or the scene where Coop explains how some people leave before they can be left. These were short snipets compared to the whole book, but the manuscript could have been all the better if those issues had been presented through actions and dialogue that wasn't so glaring.

The final of my few complaints is a big one. I may be a lot more sensitive to this than other readers are. It's kind of a pet peeve of mine. But... how many times in the same book can the entire cast of characters narrow their eyes and snort? It literally seemed that every few pages, "he narrowed his eyes," or "Katie narrowed her eyes," or "The judge narrowed her eyes slightly," or "she narrowed her eyes." It was so prevalent that I pictured all these bad actors in a film version of Plain Truth, all working very hard to narrow their eyes. There are so many different ways a face can look when its owner is wondering whether or not something sounds odd or suspicious. And such a variety of ways to describe that facial expression. The same goes for "snorting." Most every time in the book that anyone laughs, they "snort." The shy Amish girl snorts. The savvy tough-as-nail lawyer snorts, the prosecutor snorts, the good Amish wife snorts, the hopeless romantic psychologist snorts. All this snorting isn't terribly appealing and seems inconsistent with most of their personalities. Sure, once in a while, we all laugh a little too loudly and end up sounding like a hungry hog, but would this not distract you terribly if, in a two-hour movie, someone snorted every five minutes? I wish they could just simply "laugh." If the words used excessively were simpler, more common words, I wouldn't have noticed their high frequency as much, if at all. Sometimes a writer has written and rewritten and read and reread her own material so often, that the pages all blend together. That's why there are editors. These really minor fixes are things that an editor should have caught. Doing so would have made a good book great.

Loved it
Just like all the others, this Jodi Piccoult novel kept me hooked til the end!