My Sister's Keeper (Jodi Picoult)

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 questioned… 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?

I have no idea why, but I expected this book to have a happy ending. I was wrong! If you don't like tearjerkers, this certainly is not the book for you.


My Sister's Keeper certainly brings up some thought provoking moral issues. All the way through reading this book, I was thinking 'If I was Anna, what would I do?' It really did make me question myself as a person.


Picoult wrote this book in the first person, implementing the points of view of several characters, and she does it well, which surprised me, as I was slightly skeptical of the multiple points of view when I first started reading. 


The Good: I love how this book doesn't just focus on Anna and her family. It shows that although they're going through a hard time and making tough decisions, other people's lives go on as normal.


I like that the ending was unexpected. At least it was to me. I'm not good at guessing where books are going. But I saw three possible outcomes for this book, and was surprised when none of them happened.


The Bad: The book flips from past to present which I found a little confusing.


If it were not for the flipping from past to present, I would have given 'My Sister's Keeper' four stars, but this irritant brings it down to three stars for me.