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Sunday, September 13, 2009

My Sister's Keeper

I cried. The ending made me cry. What a book. It was intriguing and kept me wanting more. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult is such an emotionally charged book that raises so many questions about family, love, sisterhood and so much more. We have the story of Kate and Anna. Kate is a 16 year old APL (leukemia) patient who has endured several painful procedures, surgeries, medicines, etc. in order to stay alive. Anna is 13 years old and is Kate's younger sister who has provided the blood, platelets, bone marrow, umbilical chord blood, etc in order to help keep Kate alive. Both sisters love each other dearly and want nothing but the best for each other, but both have secret desires: Kate no longer wants to endure anymore medical procedures and just wants to live as she is; Anna no longer wants to provide any of her body parts to Kate and wants to be free of these expectations from her family (that she is supposed to give Kate her kidney because that is her sister and that is what you do, especially when you are the perfect match). So begins the story of Anna filing for emancipation from her parents in order to obtain the rights to her own body with regards to medical procedures/decisions. Shocked by their younger daughter's actions, Sara and Brian are swept away in a tug of war between what to do, who to listen to and how to handle the situation. Both parents settle on doing things differently; Sara chooses to believe that Anna merely wants attention and that is why she decided to file this lawsuit, whilst Brian believes that it is time to listen to what Anna wants and accept that maybe it is time to stop expecting Anna to donate so much of herself to Kate. We also have Jesse, Anna and Kate's brother, who seems to have a penchant for getting into trouble. All in all a family breaking apart at the seams, which typically ensures a good read. And let me tell you, it was indeed a good read. Picoult has created a wonderful cast of characters, a heartbreaking storyline and an ending that made me weep! I suppose this Picoult book makes up for The Pact (a book I did not like), which means that I will definitely read more of her work. For now though I must move on to something a bit more Halloweenish for the R.I.P. Challenge. I was going to read Tana French's In The Woods, but truth be told I just cannot get into the book - the writing is bad and so I just cannot bear to read anymore of it. Ugh! I think I will have to put that book in my bookmooch inventory. Oh well. Perhaps I should read Dracula or some Poe. Hmmm. Not sure. I'll figure it out. Anyhow, must get back to work. Hope everyone is having a fab week! Happy reading!!!



7 comments:

Mishel (P.S. I Love Books) said...

I really love Jodi Picoult. I haven't read this one yet. I'm reading them in order of publication - don't ask me why lol I'm up to Plain Truth and I haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet.

I'm definitley gonna read this one before I see the movie. Great review!

Nadia said...

Thanks Mishel! What other books by Picoult would you recommend. I've seen the movie of The Tenth Circle, was that a good book? By the by, I totally get why you are reading it by publication date, I do that too sometimes. Cheers!

Steph said...

How much of the French have you read? I found the first bit (Prologue and maybe the first chapter) a bit hard to get into, but then I got into the rhythm of her writing and really enjoyed it; it will probably be one of my favorite books of the year (well, maybe French's "The Likeness" will beat it out, because I liked that one even more). In the end the writing might not be for you, but I'd say that if you haven't made it past the first 30 pages or so, you should maybe give it another shot!

If you're curious, here's the review I wrote about In The Woods: http://www.stephandtonyinvestigate.com/?p=1514

Nadia said...

Steph thanks for the link to your review - I just read it and I think I am going to give In The Woods another go. It does sound like it has its problems, but that overall it is a good book. I hadn't made it past the first 20 pages so maybe I wasn't giving it a fair shot. We'll see how it goes this time round. Cheers!!

Steph said...

I'll be interested to see how it goes for you. I'm not saying it's the best book ever written (and there are a few problems with it), but I think if you get a few chapters in you'll find it pretty compelling. At least, I hope you do!

Holli said...

I loved this one too! I thought it was a very moving book shown from each person's perspective....wonderful way to write it!

sarah pekkanen said...

I loved The Tenth Circle.. but haven't read In The Woods yet. I do tend to find Jodi's stuff really compelling. She keeps me turning the pages!