The 10 Best Jodi Picoult Books to Devour on Your Next Vacation

Families are always complicated, and the one at the center of Lone Wolf is no different. A father's accident puts his two children at odds as they each fight to make decisions about his health. The son has long been estranged from his dad, while the daughter is by his side when the accident happens. Their differing viewpoints on who their father is and what he would want drive this family drama toward a surprising conclusion.

From the outside, Alex and Cassie's marriage is perfect, but from within, the turmoil is palpable. Picture Perfect isn't a love story. It's a well-crafted examination of a toxic and abusive relationship and what it takes to extract oneself from such a heartbreaking situation. For Cassie, leaving isn't simple, not only because of her feelings for her husband, but also because he's a beloved film star. That extra layer of drama is what earns this book a place in Picoult's top 10.

Leaving Time is a mystery with a big heart. The story follows a woman, Jenna, in search of her mother, who spent most of her life studying elephants until her disappearance. Now Jenna's determined to prove that her mother didn't choose to leave her all of those years ago. In order to finally find the truth, she teams up with a psychic and a former private investigator, leading to the formation of a trio of characters that you'll wish you could spend time with even after the story ends.

Not many of Picoult's books can be classified as romance, but Sing You Home comes the closest. It's the story of two women who fall in love and their fight to build a family together, even when those around them don't seem to understand the love that exists between them or their desire to have a child. As an added emotional bonus, the author collaborated with her friend Ellen Wilber to produce a soundtrack to compliment the beautiful romance at the heart of the book.

A man on death row wants to donate his heart to save a child, but first he needs permission from the family that his crimes tore apart. In true Picoult fashion, there is a twist though: the child he wants to save is the daughter of the woman whose husband and other child he killed. Add in a thoughtful examination of faith and some ruminations on the power of forgiveness and you have Change of Heart, a book that will make you ache and keep the tears flowing until the final page.

Set in Pennsylvania's Amish country, Plain Truth follows a lawyer caught between two different cultures as she represents an 18-year-old woman accused of killing her newborn child. The details of the case aren't as simple as they may appear, leading to plenty of twists and turns for the reader and the central heroine who is trying her best to unravel the truth. Of course, winning the trust of her client is no easy thing, especially since the young woman has grown up in a world so far removed from the one we know.

Sage is a baker who is still dealing with the grief of losing her mother in the surprising The Storyteller. In hopes of moving forward she attends a grief support group where she meets an elderly man who confesses a dark secret — and then asks Sage to help bring him to justice. This novel stands as one of Picoult's best for the ways in which it grapples with loss and what the sins of the past mean for those who encounter them in the present day.

Salem Falls is by no means an easy read. It's the story of a man who relocates to a small town after spending eight months in prison for carrying out an alleged underage relationship with one of his students. In truth, he's innocent, but the idea that there's a predator living among the close knit community sets off a chain of events that will change not only his life, but the lives of a group of teens forever.

Picoult tackles the subject of sexual assualt in The Tenth Circle, a searing novel about a 14-year-old girl whose life is shattered after she's raped. Her father's anger at the man who hurt his child becomes all-consuming leading to an emotional trial by fire that isn't always easy to get through. Despite being heavier than some of her other books, the story is told with so much care that it represents the author at the height of her talents.

The first Picoult book that often comes to people's minds is My Sister's Keeper, and that's for good reason. This novel is her undisputed best. The story of two sisters, one of whom was born to save the other, is utterly heartbreaking. Anna isn't sick, but since her birth she's been through countless surgeries to help her sick sister, Kate. However, when her parents want her to donate a kidney to Kate, Anna pushes back as she seeks autonomy over her own body and life even though it puts her in a state of conflict with her family.

Full of twists and grounded by the all too human concerns of the family at its center, My Sister's Keeper remains the gold standard of Picoult novels.