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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
None
No violence; a medical situation is at the center
Language
Some
Some profanity in the adult literary register
Sexual Content
Barely any
Brief sexual content in the literary fiction register
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Strong psychological content: the weight of judicial power over a child's life, and the unexpected emotional consequences of Fiona's ruling for both herself and Adam
What this book is about
Fiona Maye, a family court judge, is assigned the case of Adam Henry — a seventeen-year-old Jehovah's Witness whose parents are refusing a blood transfusion that would save his life. McEwan's precise novella deals with the conflict between religious belief, parental authority, and the law's obligation to protect children — and the unexpected aftermath of Fiona's ruling for the brilliant, strange boy at the case's center.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
A child's life-or-death religious belief conflict — disturbing in its implications
A judge's emotional entanglement with a case and its subject
Reader Verification
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