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My Sister's Keeper: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Category: Book
Buy Used: £11.85
Used (2) from £11.85
Rating:  295 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 448
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 1.2
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
ASIN: B000OV170W
Publication Date: February 1, 2005
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Published by Allen & Unwin (2005) Slight wear to cover but otherwise as new
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| Customer Reviews: Read 290 more reviews...
 Too much courtroom drama for my liking! October 9, 2008
Mooglies
It was the premise that intrigued me to pick up this book and the easy-reading prose that kept me reading. This book is rife with ethical debate and when it got to the root of the argument, I have to admit, I couldn't decide what I would do if I were in that situation. Is it right or wrong to `design' a baby ? Should you do everything and anything to save the one you love? Where is that line?
It is most defiantly a thought-provoking topic, but with the morale debate swept aside, however, the story is more or less your typical courtroom drama - complete with clichés, clichés and yet more clichés!
- Spoilers Ahead! -
The most blatant one is the I-hate-you-no-I-love-you romance between Campbell (the cliché embittered yet heart-of-gold attorney) and Julia (once punk, now ad liduem, who once had her heart broken by Campbell but now has to put all that aside as they work together on the case for Anna).
This was a subplot that could have easily been removed and not detracted from the story at all. It just seemed to prolong the novel to an uncomfortable length that just made me impatient to finish. And the, `Jesus Christ, will you just shut up already?' moment, complete with a passionate kiss from Campbell that sweeps Julia off her feet and into his bed, made me cringe.
And then if the character wasn't a cliché, they didn't have a character at all...
The mother had absolutely no personality. All the reader knew was that she was just obsessed by her desire to cure Kate. The father became a workaholic (another cliché) because he simply couldn't deal with it emotionally.
And Kate - she has no voice! The whole point of this story was that Anna should have the choice to decide what she wants for her body, but what about Kate? Everyone ignores what Kate wants. She says she's had enough and has asked Anna not to donate her kidney, but we are never given Kate's point of view until the very end.
It was the ending that was the greatest disappointment. I could get passed some of the cliché, the flat characters, and all the cringe-worthy metaphors, but the ending was just a deus ex machina if ever I saw one - in comes the hand of God and makes the decision for them! And Campbell, who is calm and quite rational for someone who has just killed someone and been in such a traumatic accident, states, `there is a girl upstairs who needs that Kidney.'
It appears to me that Picoult didn't know what the right decision was and the accident was not only a ploy to avoid making a decision, but yet more drama. A plot twist - they never saw that coming! It just doesn't make very good reading. When you commit yourself to making a decision and then wimp out at the very last moment, the reader ends up feeling cheated. I can only assume that Anna decides to give up her kidney when her last comment is, `ten years from now I want to be Kate's sister.'
- End of Spoilers -
I have given this book 2 stars. Who would I recommend it to? Although the book deals with some controversial topics it deals with them in a comfortable and familiar way, so I would recommend it to anyone who was looking for an easy read. It is the sort of book for those rainy Sundays or the bath.
 Great Read September 19, 2008
ClubPit (Highlands, Scotland)
This book was quite unlike anything else I have read, it is completely gripping and had me close to tears on more than one occasion. The style of writing is brill each chapter is the perspective of a different character. Definitely recommend to anyone.
 An emotional tale well told.... September 18, 2008
K. Neale (UK)
My first Jodi Picoult - having just finished this book and am hungry for more reading experiences like it! A tear-jerker with a surprising finale. Its well written and is hard to put down as each page makes you want to find out more - you feel that you really get to know all the characters as the story unfolds. A serious emotional journey with the odd splash of humour to bring it all to life. Highly recommended!
great concept, boring writing August 29, 2008
J. Southern (London)
A great idea and thought provoking story. However, I found the style quite laboured and I wasn't engaged in the story as so much of what was there was repetetive and obvious.
Excellent Read August 15, 2008
Ms. K. Marsh (Brighton, UK)
What a lovely book. Another Jodi Picoult book, My Sister's Keeper was not a let down at all.
Amazon synopsis:
"A major decision about me is being made, and no ones bothered to ask the one person who most deserves it to speak her opinion." The only reason Anna was born was to donate her cord blood cells to her older sister. And though Anna is not sick, she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since she was a child. Anna was born for this purpose, her parents tell her, which is why they love her even more. But now that she has reached an age of physical awareness, she can't help but long for control over her own body and respite from the constant flow of her own blood seeping into her sister's veins. And so she makes a decision that for most would be too difficult to bear, at any time and at any age. She decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body.
I had read a few reviews that stated the reader's did not enjoy this book, or did not like the ending, but for me, I was not let down at all. This is another tough issue thatPicoult has chosen to write about, and again, she has had success.
The story follows the Fitzgerald family. Jesse has gone off the rails, Kate has leukaemia and Anna was a "designer baby" created to help Kate.Controversial topics are discussed, from being an organ donor, to parents making medical decisions for their children to acting out by arson. Picoult discusses these issues so well and sensitively, I don't think anyone could fault her.
In terms of her medical knowledge, Picoult seems to have read up and properly researched the issue of leukaemia in different forms and was not afraid to use medical language confidently. I know very little about the disease but what was written I was able to follow.
The ending was incredibly sad, but I liked it. I think it fitted with the story perfectly. I did not guess it at all, and there were other twists in the book that although I tried to guess, I didn't get right, and again, I was not disappointed with them. I felt they just added and enhanced the story.
My favourite character was probably Jesse, the eldest child who went off the rails. I felt I connected with him to a certain level, but that might have been because we both like fire - although him more than me - and sometimes we both just feel invisible. His acting out was for attention and his sister's illness broke him, and that really moved me.
I recommend this book strongly.
8/10
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