Book Review: My Sister's Keeper


My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult is moving up the best seller lists. A contemporary struggle makes this book a profound read, in my opinion, for both the young and the old. With the new movie version coming out of this compelling story, I thought it would be appropriate to give you some insight on the book caused controversy and conversation.
My Sister’s Keeper captures the raw emotion of a young girl named Anna. From before she was conceived, Anna had a purpose. Her older sister Kate was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia called APL, and thus needed continual transplants to remain alive. Her parents, Brian and Sara, decided to conceive another child, but with her purpose in mind: a perfect genetic match for Kate.
So, as grows older, Anna learns that even though she is a perfectly healthy little girl, she’s been in and out of the hospital since she was born, and had over 20 surgeries, just as many as her sister. By the time she is 13, Anna is questioning her purpose in life, and if she has a life at all. She knows why she was born, but doesn’t that mean she has a right to live her own life, too? When Kate suddenly needs another transplant, this time a kidney, Anna is struggling with the motivation to say “yes”. In an amazing act of defiance, young Anna decides to sue her parents for medical emancipation; she wants to make her own decisions about what her body is doing.
Sadly, Anna is torn for the love of her parents, the want for her sister Kate to live, and her own life and dreams. She goes through an emotional battle with herself and her family, and at such a young age. I love to read, and I have to say, this book was one of my favorite. Picoult’s does an amazing job of capturing the real emotion of a thirteen year old girl fighting for everything and against everything. Also, she captures the essence of family dealing with this problem as well. I could not put this book down, and the story kept surprising me until the last page. I highly recommend it for a mother, daughter, grandmother, and even you, dad. The story can be inferred from all kinds of views, and would make for great dinner table conversation.