My Sister's Keeper

I read this book years ago and recommend it to anyone I can. It is in my list of top 5 all time favorite books. Unfortunately, it was the first Jodi Picoult book I read and none of her others (and she's had some really good ones and really bad ones) have lived up to this book.

This was the first book I can remember reading from various character's perspectives and I found it fantastically interesting. Picoult's use of various fonts to set each character apart is brilliant. I felt instantly connected to Anna - really all of the characters. The story of a little girl fighting against the will of her parents to stop being a medical supplement for her dying sister is riveting and very thought provoking. I was often pulled in all directions show more based on whose perspective I was reading.

In no way will I give away the ending of the book which is by far the best ending to a book I have ever read. I literally had tears running down my face. Which leads me to my soap box and the movie of the same name - I was so mad when I left the theater and in awe that Picoult would allow the ending to be changed to the predictable ending that the movie-makers ended the movie with. Read the book - it puts the movie to shame! show less

Anna is like any ordinary 13 year old girl. Except that she was genrically concieved so she could be a donor for her sister, Kate, who is suffering from cancer. Everytime Kate needs anything from bone marrow to blood, Anna is the one it comes from. Thheaded is asked to donate a kidney and for the first time Anna stands up to her parents and refuses to do so. She hires a lawyer to sue her parents which in the end leads to a court trial whilst Kate lies dying in her hospital bed. But what is the real reason behind Anna's refusal? And does forcing your child to donate organs to your other child make you a good parent or a bad one? I made a mistake in watching the film version of this first, the ending shocked me so much I nearly screamed. show more I love the way the book is written from everyone's point of view, the way all their lives entwine together create a meaningful and poignant novel and you will definitely find yourself reaching for the tissues as the plot twists and turns. show less

This is probably the most devastating book I've ever read. Jodi Picoult has never been one to hold things back in her books, but this one rises above all of her other books. Her novel about two sisters who are emotionally and physically tied to each other. Kate is 16 when the book opens, and she has been suffering from a rare form of leukaemia since she was two. Anna is three years younger, and to quote her, she says that she's never had to wonder about who or what she is, or why she was born. She knows she was genetically programmed to be a donor for her older sister. As a result, Anna states that she's been in the hospital more than most people who are really sick. There was always another donation to be made to help her sister fight show more her leukaemia. When this book opens, most options are no longer open to Kate, and it looks like the only thing that may serve her is a kidney donation from her sister. Anna is not prepared to go through with this invasive surgery, so, after some research, she approaches a lawyer named Campbell Alexander and asks him to help her to become medically emancipated from her family. Campbell finds he can't say no to this girl, and agrees, even though he has enough of his own medical problems to deal with. The friendship and trust that develops between this girl and the lawyer is the glue that binds this book together, and the ups and downs of their relationship push the book forward to its unexpected and devastating close. I found that I couldn't put the book down, and just to had to see what was on the next page or the next chapter. The book is told from varying viewpoints, but Anna's character and her viewpoints is what binds them all together. The book will make you reexamine all your preconceived notions about family dynamics and responsibilities. After the emotional rollercoaster it puts you through, the end will break your heart but it will also inspire you. show less

Like Picoult's other books that I have read, this is an amazingly well-crafted novel dealing with a tough moral issue where there is no black and white. Perhaps because of my own health situation, this one was emotionally harder for me to handle. I can closely identify with Kate and her feelings. Kate, the "black hole" of the story, the one who even though she is a peripheral character, in that she never narrates until the very end, everything remains centralized around her, and she has no control over the "power" that she possesses. Picoult does an incredible job at developing each character and their realistic reactions and own internal struggles. She provides a poignant window into the very personal lives of a family struggling with show more a chronically/terminally ill child.Each character's actions are debatable, but that's because there is no truly right answers. Whether or not the reader agrees with a a character's actions, they can understand each character's motives. This novel is a lesson in sympathy/empathy.In Picoult's follow-up interview, she said that the ending was necessary. This is the one place, however that I feel the story becomes unrealistic.SPOILER: I understand why Picoult decided that Anna must die and Kate survive - to demonstrate that in the family's efforts to preserve Kate and her memory/in preparing for Kate's death, the family failed to do the same for the child who does die. The ending is a final perspective-check. However, I'm not sure just because Anna was dying that Kate would have had the transplant or that it would have been so successful. Sadly, but more realistically, the family probably would have lost both daughters, or continued to live with a very ill Kate. Picoult chooses to create a scenario where it for once isn't about Kate, so that the reader can reflect solely on Anna and her role/experiences. In reality, "life," would continue to be about Kate. For Picoult's purposes, perhaps this unrealistic ending was necessary. However, I think it does feel slightly out of place. The novel is based on the complex inter-woven needs of the characters. This would continue to intensify after Anna's death, whereas Picoult simplifies it after making it abundantly clear that nothing is simple. I believe the novel could have withstood a more complex ending, although it certainly would have changed the final feelings.I am looking forward to seeing how the movie handles the complex topics of this book. show less

Sí, este libro habla del cáncer, pero la parte central y que guía la historia es todo el entorno familiar, que no es tan dulce como lo vimos en la pantalla grande. Las implicaciones morales de este libro se traspasan no sólo a Anna y Kate, sino a toda la familia, a la situación desde que Kate enferma hasta cuando se inicia el juicio, los problemas de los hijos en relación con ellos y sus padres...finalmente es una historia que tiene más de lo obvio.

Para que mentir, sí llore, principalmente por aquello que no esperaba que pasara, y porque terminas sintiendo cariño por los personajes, entiendes el infierno, alegría y decepción de cada uno de ellos (o al menos de los tres hijos).

Sí buscas una historia lacrimógena, show more horriblemente realista y que muestre no sólo a un paciente con cáncer sino la travesía de aquellos que lo acompañan en su enfermedad, sería bueno que le dieras un vistazo. show less

Controversial

Así comenzaría definiendo este libro, pero, eso no lo hace menos humano.

Sufrí, llore, porque soy madre

¿Hasta dónde está dispuesta a llegar una madre para que su hija no se muera? ¿Hay límites?

Pues este libro me demuestra que si los hay, porque no se vale manipular, utilizar, USAR la vida y el cuerpo de otra persona, que además también es tu hija, para salvar la vida de la otra.

El otro hijo pasa a ser invisible, pasa a ser quien no tiene derecho a llorar por una inyección ¿como? si su hermanita pasa por quimioterapias y exámenes dolorosos ¿como se atreve a quejarse? pero no solo eso, el deja de ser importante porque lo único importante en la vida de la madre es que su hija no muera, sus llamadas de atención show more pasan tan inadvertidas que se convierte en un peligro en potencia ¿alguien lo ve? no, todo gira en relación a continuar luchando por la vida de la que está enferma.

No digo que esta madre no quiera a sus demás hijos, pero es que se encierra tanto en la enfermedad, es su ancla, se convierte en su razón de ser, de vivir y de respirar, nadie es mas importante, ni siquiera la niña enferma, no importa qué opinión tiene ella tampoco.

¿Hasta qué punto tienes que llegar para decir "Hasta aquí" para dejar de luchar por la vida de un hijo?, no, no hay límites para esa lucha, pero en el medio ¿vale la pena el sufrimiento de años de tratamientos, quimioterapias, hospitalizaciones, sangrados, intravenosas, no hay vida, porque la vida es solo luchar contra una enfermedad? ¿Vale cada respiro de una persona toda esa lucha o tiene que llegar un momento en que te des cuenta que es mejor dejar ir que vivir sufriendo?

Así pues, este es un libro que nos deja pensando mucho, ¿es mala la madre? NOOO claro que no, es humana, una madre amorosa, una buena persona y una buena mujer.

El desencadenante de todo es cuando Anna, demanda a sus padres para solicitar su emancipación médica, entonces todos la ven, porque hasta entonces no era más que un conducto para un fin.

El Padre que intenta por todos los medios ser el punto de unión, pero no lo consigue del todo.

La historia del abogado, me pareció de más, honestamente, porque creo, que al final, esta es una historia sobre humanidad y sentimientos familiares.

¿Qué harías tu de estar en lugar de Anna? ¿Qué harías tu de estar en el lugar de Sara? Es difícil juzgar porque no estamos en los zapatos de ninguna de las dos, tampoco estamos en los zapatos de Kate, que es la que tiene que vivir con la enfermedad, luchar cada día, vivir un dia si y otro también en el hospital luchando contra una enfermedad fatídica, sabiendo que por tu culpa tu familia se desmorona y que al mismo tiempo eres quien la mantiene unida.

Un libro controvertido, doloroso, pero al mismo tiempo lleno de pequeñas enseñanzas de vida, realmente se los recomiendo, buenisimo, no pude parar de leerlo. show less

The writing in this book took my breath away, the subject tore my heart apart, and the ending left me stunned. This is one of the most gifted writers I have ever read, handling an almost impossibly difficult subject masterfully. Life is like that, everyone is right, yet everyone is wrong. Family is most important, except the individual is also most important. And also, the things we put in motion have outcomes unforeseen, yet so little is really in our control anyway. How much can you give before you lose yourself? How much can you love without losing everything? How can you hurt the people you love the most? The most important lesson in this book is that no decision/issue is really simple, and there is no such thing as black and white show more in situations; there are only grey areas. Even so, live and choose we must. show less