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!!!