Jodi Picoult Books in Order (Updated 2026)

Jodi Picoult writes standalone novels built around moral dilemmas, family bonds, and high-stakes questions with no easy answers. Her books do not form a series or shared universe, so you can read them in any order without confusion.

A true “books in order” guide here is about orientation, not obligation, publication order lets you see how her themes and ambition expand, while mood-based starting points make choosing your first book easier.

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How to read Jodi Picoult (without rules)

• There are no sequels. Every novel is complete on its own.
• Publication order is optional, but it shows how her storytelling grows more complex over time.
• Later books do not spoil earlier ones.

If you only want one book, skip ahead to the “Where should you start?” section.

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All Jodi Picoult novels in publication order

(Each line below is an original, one-sentence orientation written for this guide.)

1. Songs of the Humpback Whale (1992): A fractured family is mirrored by the fragile bonds between humans and the natural world.
2. Harvesting the Heart (1993): A young mother confronts abandonment, identity, and what love costs when it asks too much.
3. Picture Perfect (1995): A glamorous marriage hides control and violence behind a carefully curated public image.
4. Mercy (1996): A murder trial forces a town to ask whether love can justify ending a life.
5. The Pact (1998): A teenage suicide exposes the fault lines between friendship, parenting, and blame.
6. Keeping Faith (1999): A child’s supposed miracles pull science, religion, and motherhood into open conflict.
7. Plain Truth (2000): A lawyer defends a young Amish woman accused of killing her newborn, confronting cultural silence and truth.
8. Salem Falls (2001): An accusation shatters a quiet town and questions how quickly belief turns into certainty.
9. Perfect Match (2002): A prosecutor must reconcile her career with a crime that hits painfully close to home.
10. Second Glance (2003): A ghostly mystery unearths buried histories of cruelty and erased lives.
11. My Sister’s Keeper (2004): A family unravels when a child conceived to save another asserts her own right to choose.
12. Vanishing Acts (2005): A daughter discovers her father’s past is built on a crime she can’t ignore.
13. The Tenth Circle (2006): Trauma, revenge, and parental instinct collide after a violent act against a teenage girl.
14. Nineteen Minutes (2007): A school shooting forces a community to confront bullying, responsibility, and collective failure.
15. Change of Heart (2008): A death-row inmate’s final wish raises impossible questions about redemption and forgiveness.
16. Handle with Care (2009): Parents sue for the right to afford caring for their child, risking the truth along the way.
17. House Rules (2010): A family navigates justice and love when a teen with autism is accused of murder.
18. Sing You Home (2011): A woman’s fight for parenthood becomes a broader battle over faith, law, and love.
19. Lone Wolf (2012): A coma decision forces a family to decide who gets to define mercy.
20. The Storyteller (2013): A friendship uncovers a hidden Holocaust legacy that demands reckoning.
21. Leaving Time (2014): A search for a missing mother becomes a meditation on grief and belief.
22. Small Great Things (2016): A labor-room crisis exposes racism, silence, and moral courage.
23. The Book of Two Ways (2020): A near-death experience splits a woman between the life she chose and the one she left.
24. Wish You Were Here (2021): A woman’s pandemic-era awakening reframes everything she thought she knew about happiness.
25. Mad Honey (2022, with Jennifer Finney Boylan): A murder trial intersects with questions of identity, gender, and parental love.
26. By Any Other Name (2023): A Shakespeare authorship debate mirrors a modern woman’s struggle for recognition and voice.

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Where should you start? (Mood-based picks)

• If you want her most iconic book: My Sister’s Keeper
• If you want courtroom tension: Nineteen Minutes or Small Great Things
• If you want historical depth: The Storyteller
• If you want something reflective and personal: Wish You Were Here
• If you want a recent, ambitious novel: By Any Other Name

You don’t need to “work up” to any of them.

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Is there a chronological or recommended order?

There is no internal timeline across Jodi Picoult’s novels.
In practical terms:

• Chronological order = publication order
• Recommended order = whichever premise pulls you in first

Many longtime readers bounce between early and late novels without issue.

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FAQs

Do Jodi Picoult’s books connect to each other?
No. Characters and plots do not cross over.

Will reading a newer book spoil an older one?
No. Each novel stands on its own.

Which book shows her style best overall?
My Sister’s Keeper remains the clearest snapshot of her emotional, ethical storytelling.

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Final takeaway

Jodi Picoult doesn’t require a reading plan, just a starting point. Pick the premise that challenges you most, then read another when you’re ready to ask a different hard question.