Book: My Sister's Keeper

[Retriever Mama]

by Jodi Picoult.

I didn't see the movie (so glad - Cameron Diaz makes my skin crawl) but I wanted to read the book. Wrenching story about a family coping with cancer. Their oldest daughter, Kate, was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia when she was a toddler and the parents decided to have another child who was genetically engineered to be a donor for Kate. At the beginning of the story we see Anna meet with an attorney to try to sue for emancipation from her parents. After years of donating blood and bone marrow they now need one of her kidneys since Kate is sick again. Should the 13 year old be forced to undergo the medical procedure to save her sister when it might not work?

Each chapter is written from the point of view of a different character: Anna who it torn between her desire to help her sister and keep her family happy and the uncertainty of her place in the family - was she just born to be a donor for Kate? Sara, the mother, who is doing everything she can to keep Kate alive. Brian, the father, who loves his children and can't stand to see any of them suffer, but is trying to stay strong for them. Jesse, the older brother, who feels invisible to his family and acts out. You also get a whole other story from the attorney and the guardian ad litem who have a history together and are tasked with helping Anna present her case.

You feel sympathy for every character in this book. You can see all the different arguments for who is doing what and why. Tough read, but highly recommend.

[HarveysMum]

Great book, the best she has written IMO. Something tragic happened after i read this book and maybe one day i will be able to share it, but it led to me contacting the author a year after i read it. There was a question that was just burning me up as a result of having read this book and the personal circumstances that followed. She did respond personally to my email which was very nice and it brought me some peace, but i am still questioning some of it - that probably doesn't make sense as you (anyone reading this) dont know the 'circumstances' but i dont know how else to phrase it.

I have 2 copies of the book, and one day i will read it again, not sure if i will ever watch the film.