Those of you who don't know the general plot of this book, what rock have you been hiding under? (I'm kidding!) It has been in the spotlight a lot lately because recently this book was made into a movie. Basically the book's plot goes a little like this: Anna was conceived very specifically by her parents so that her cord blood could be donated to her sister, Kate, after Anna's birth. Kate has been diagnosed with APL, a kind of leukemia that is both rare and hard to cure. Even with the cord blood donation, Kate's leukemia goes in and out of remission and as Anna grows she continues to donate things to help Kate: blood and bone marrow. Kate now needs a kidney, and Anna decides for her own reasons to sue her family for medical emancipation, meaning that she has the right to make the medical decisions regarding her own body, despite the fact that she is only 13 years old. The remainder of this book tells the story of Anna's lawsuit from her perspective and the perspectives of her mom and dad, her lawyer, her brother, and her court appointed aide.
Wow. What a ride! This book exceeded every expectation that I had in the beginning and steam-rollered me while it was at it. Throughout the book I had no idea who to root for, because every perspective was covered so thoroughly. I can't say that the book turned out how I was hoping that it would, but that was a good thing- it surprised me. Oh, and I cried. Lots. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is like myself and has been avoiding reading Picoult for a silly reason, or to anyone who loves her already and hasn't read it yet. Just be prepared and have a box of tissues handy. I'll definitely be reading more of her books in 2010. Anyone have a favourite of hers to recommend?
My Sister's Keeper was the very first Jodi Picoult book that I read and since then, I have read almost all of her others.
ReplyDeleteAnother of her books that I REALLY loved was The Pact. It's an extremely emotional book as well.
I recently picked up her newest book, Handle With Care, and can't wait to read it! I've heard a lot of great things already, and just reading the synopsis I know it's going to be yet another tear jerker.
Hope you enjoy more of her books!
Jessica W.
wow, that sounds so... depressing. but also fearless, for an author to do that to her characters. i think of my characters as people, so i naturally think "who would make them suffer like that?" wow...
ReplyDeleteI guess I may have to read this one. I'm with you Jonita -- don't like Nicholas Sparks. But if you liked this one, then I bet I would too even though I'm not into "tear jerkers." I LOVE reading your opinions and reviews!
ReplyDeletep.s. - I did start my Sheri Sheperd Permission Slips book tonight and I am enjoying it! :-)
I still read Nicholas Sparks even though his books get cheesier and cheesier. Why do I torture myself so?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I thought this was a pretty good book. Picoult does cover every angle, so you get a good idea of what each characters thinks of the situation and understand their actions.
Another Picoult book I liked was "Nineteen Minutes."
--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric