“My Sister’s Keeper”
by Jodi Picoult
Published: February 2005
ISBN: 0743454537

(Updated: March 18, 2008.)

From the Publisher…

New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult is widely acclaimed for her keen insights into the hearts and minds of real people. Now she tells the emotionally riveting story of a family torn apart by conflicting needs and a passionate love that triumphs over human weakness.

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate — a life and a role that she has never challenged…until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister — and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.

My Sister’s Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child’s life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? Once again, in My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Picoult tackles a controversial real-life subject with grace, wisdom, and sensitivity.

Being such an avid reader, whenever I find a good book written by “new to me” author, I rush out and see what else s/he has written. Such was the case with Nineteen Minutes and Jodi Picoult. This book, My Sister’s Keeper was the fourth book of hers that I picked up.

I really like the fact that Picoult tackles moral concerns head on. I think this is brave and important and I like that things are clearer in their shades of grey after reading one of her works. I was able to accompany Picoult in Nineteen Minutes, Picture Perfect and Plain Truth and began reading My Sister’s Keeper with much what? Curiousity, maybe. Readyness is likely better. And, after a few chapters, I found that I didn’t have the courage to continue on through it.

I love to read. I love that reading is a way to explore, learn about, discover more about life/oneself. And/but… there is some stuff that is too hard. This was true for me for this book.

I’m still not sure whether it was the subject, the writing or the combination of the two but… reading this felt a little bit like the exploration of some heavy-duty stuff while in freefall mode. So… I bailed. My reading has to, in my approach to it, make me feel better even if the topic/subject itself doesn’t. Perhaps I didn’t give it a fair chance but in this instance I felt better choosing to not continue on with it.

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