'A major decision about me is being made, and no one's 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 leukaemia 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 read this while I was in Cape Town, I was scared of finishing The Time Traveler's Wife before my 2hr flight home. I gather that this was her first (her first in a very long list of quickly turned out books) and was (from what I've heard) the one everyone loves (even if you're not really a Picoult fan like myself). So I had to read it and mom had bought it for her flight in May.
I did enjoy it, it makes you think about things from a different perspective (like The Pact, which I actually didn't enjoy that much). I must say after reading it (and it's atrocious ending!) I wouldn't know what I would do in a similar situation (touch wood that I'll never find out!). I think it's such a moral conundrum that there really is no right answer that a parent could give. This story makes you think ... and if you like that in a book (which I do) then it's one you should definitely be reading, even tho it's not going to help you make your own mind up about the rights or wrongs of the situation, it'll make you think about the difficulty of parental decision making and how to balance your love of two (or more) children. Which is probably impossible in a life or death situation anyway.
Oh, and I gather they're in movie making mode already for this one (staring Cameron Diaz, I think?)
Friday, July 25, 2008
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
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8 comments:
hhmmm... i like to read books that don't make me think too hard!
@angel - then I suggest you steer clear of this one, esp as a mom ;)
I loved that book. Truly does make you think hey. Like you, I really hope I'll never be in the situation where I would have to make a decision like that
@supermom - completely agree :)
Fabulous book, but I agree with you about The Pact - it felt very wishy washy to me.
So far the best of hers I've read is 10th Circle - give it a go, I think you'll like it if you enjoyed this one.
@lopz - thanks for the heads up on 10th circle ... will check it out ;)
I hated this book, becuase it made me cry so much. But you're right - it really doesn't give you any easy answers and makes you think a lot, which I guess is a good thing.
@tamara - books don't really seem to ever make me cry ... movies don't either. So either I'm heartless or am just lucky (could be both ;) ).
I love books that make me think about things I wouldn't ordinarily consider or what make you see a different side to something, so in that sense, this was a good story for me.
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