Review: My Sister's Keeper

Just finished reading: My Sister's Keeper: A Novel By: Jodi Picoult

Yesterday I read a whole book!  And it felt so good.  I couldn't put it down, so I found a way to finish it. 

This book is about two sisters: 13 year old Anna and her 16 year old sister Kate.  Kate was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia when she was 2.  After Kate's Brother Jesse fails to be a match for Kate's donor needs, their parents set about to conceive the perfect donor...and thus Anna is born.  Anna begins being Kate's donor at birth with her cord blood and it continues from there is Kate cycles through remission and relapse. Anna feels invisible as Kate is the beloved daughter who all the attention is lavished upon and Anna is the spare parts warehouse. As Kate's kidney's are failing it is assumed that Anna will donate a kidney to her sister.  This time however, Kate puts her foot down and files for medical emancipation from her parents. This is a decision that will force everyone in the family to be honest about how Kate's health crises have affected them all. 

As a mother, sister and cancer survivor this book touched a lot of emotions for me.  It was really interesting and has given me a lot of things to think about. Although I felt sorry for Anna that she had basically been brought into the world to make her sister well, I initially had a hard time understanding why she wouldn't give her sister her kidney. If my sister needed a kidney, I wouldn't think twice.  I would be at the hospital ready for surgery.  I also had a hard time liking the mother Sara in this book.  Although I can understand how fearful and desperate she felt for her daughter Kate, she neglected the other two children for Kate. But as with all of Jodi Picoult's books that I've read, things are not always what they seem...there are always twists and turns. As I said, I couldn't put this book down and I'd also say it's one of my favorites by her so far. By the end of this book I was sobbing....also not new to me after reading one of this author's books. I would give this book a solid A.

Currently reading: Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons: A Novel By: Lorna Landvik Release date: 2005-03-29