Oh, Lord, Picoult... Yeah, I had the exact same experience with another book of hers (Sister's Keeper) with the exact same reaction: never will I read this author again. At the end of "Sister's Keeper" there's an interview with Picoult and she said her twelve year old son hated the ending, thought it was a cop-out, but she told him that the ending was the ending. Which... she's got a tin-ear on endings is the feeling I took away from that interview. And you've now confirmed.