Second Quarter Outside Reading Book Review
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Washington Square Press, 2004.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult is a compelling novel. in the story you meet Anna Fitzgerald. Anna lives with Sara, her mother, Brian, her father, Jesse, her older brother, and Kate, her older sister. Most sisters share clothes, and nail polish, and a couple pairs of heels if they're lucky enough to have the same shoe size. Anna and Kate are different. Anna is the product of preimplantaion genetic diagnosis to "share" her organs with her sister. Kate, Anna's sister, was diagnosed with Leukemia at age three and the doctors figured that the only way to save her was to grow a child that would be able to donate genetic material to Kate whenever she needed it. When Anna turned 13, she was asked to donate a kidney to Kate. She doesn't want to put herself through anymore pain, or procedures so she saves up and hires a lawyer to sue her parents and file a petition for medical emancipation. The Fitzgerald family struggles to stay together, and help Kate throughout her sickness. At the end of the story, Anna wins the case and gets emancipated. Even though Kate is the one who is now suppost to die because her donor has given up on her, Anna is the one whose life slips away.
The inside cover reads, "Picoult's thoughtful, thought-provoking and readable work is... arguably her best and most accessible effort to date." -The Denver Post
Jodi Picoult grabs her readers' attention and hearts and demands for interest in her writing. Although this is the only book that I've read by the author, I have fallen in love with her writing. she makes the characters so believable and realistic. They're like real people with problems, fears, and flaws.
Jodi Picoult's writing remings me of Nicholas Sparks' writing. They both write in depth about their characters, to make their readers fall in love with the characters. Also, they both typically have some kind of romance laced into their writing.
Page 210. "Leaning forward with my own napkin, I clean the small spot__but then I don't move away. My hands rest on her cheeck. Our eyes lock, and in that instance, we are young again and learning the shape of each other."
I found it very easy to relate to this story. Even though the sister i have is healthy and not dying from leukemia, I can relate to how Anna feels in not knowing who she really is and tryinf to please her parents as much as she can. I would enjoy reading more of Jodi Picoult's novels. I think that reading this novel made me appreciate my life a little more than I had before. I respect the Fitzgerald family for being so strong throughout their daughter's sickness, a long battle in court, and the loss of their youngest daughter.
