Product Description

Anna is not sick, but 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #149927 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 432 pages

Good Housekeeping
'This astonishing novel is beautifully and thoughtfully written, and focuses on difficult moral choices.'

People Magazine
'This beautifully crafted novel will grab readers with its stunning topic '

Publishers Weekly
'Picoult ably explores a complex subject with bravado and clarity'

Customer Reviews

great concept, boring writing
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
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

No words can describe it
This is a beutifully written story. It really captures your imaganation, while making it seem lifelike and realistic.
At some parts, it will make you cry your heart out, as it did for me when I read the end. I had become part of the story, so it felt ,as I had finnished reading it, that it hadn't ended because it couldnn't.
This is the first book of Jodi Picoult that i have to say that I think if all of her other sotries are like this, then I dont think anything else is going to be read much by me anyway. If you are looking for a great read then this is definatelly what you should go for.