have you read this? it's been a year or so for me. somebody brought it up, so I thought I'd share a comment...
Review:
Adult/High School - Anna was genetically engineered to be a perfect match for her cancer-ridden older sister. Since birth, the 13-year-old has donated platelets, blood, her umbilical cord, and bone marrow as part of her family's struggle to lengthen Kate's life. Anna is now being considered as a kidney donor in a last-ditch attempt to save her 16-year-old sister. As this compelling story opens, Anna has hired a lawyer to represent her in a medical emancipation suit to allow her to have control over her own body. Picoult skillfully relates the ensuing drama from the points of view of the parents; Anna; Cambell, the self-absorbed lawyer; Julia, the court-appointed guardian ad litem; and Jesse, the troubled oldest child in the family. Everyone's quandary is explicated and each of the characters is fully developed. There seems to be no easy answer, and readers are likely to be sympathetic to all sides of the case. This is a real page-turner and frighteningly thought-provoking. The story shows evidence of thorough research and the unexpected twist at the end will surprise almost everyone. The novel does not answer many questions, but it sure raises some and will have teens thinking about possible answers long after they have finished the book. - Susan H. Woodcock, Fairfax County Public Library, Chantilly, VA
I posted this once and it disappeared. :( I hope that was not indicative of its worthiness!
The ending of My Sister's Keeper... blah. really that just seemed too convenient for me. if that *hadn't* happened that way... things would have been a lot more complicated and harder to deal with. it also would have been more realistic. the right thing to do is often messy and strenuous and doesn't leave you feeling satisfied or even assured that you *have* done the right thing at all.
if it were a true story (which it is Not), then I could be inclined to accept the ending, since that's what really happened, as a kind of cosmic statement that Anna's purpose in life was to help Kate and you can't escape your fate. or something like that. but it is not a true story, it is a novel, and instead I am left thinking that Jodi Picoult just wanted to wrap things up already and start another project.
also I will never understand the mother in My Sister's Keeper. to me she seems obsessed to the point of heartlessness. it has gone beyond caring for her one daughter, to the point of forfeiting the well-being of her other daughter and son and even Kate herself, not to mention the family peace, just for the completely unrealistic hope of "fixing" what is wrong with Kate... assuming that if you fix that one problem, then everything (Jesse, Anna, Kate, the family dynamics) will heave a sigh of relief and fall back into proper order, and years of being pushed aside or used without permission or carrying a burden that is far too heavy will leave no trace whatsoever. I do not see this as a act of motherly love at all, although that is what it started out being.
quite frankly she risked Anna's life to save Kate's life--- but they both could have died from complications (surgery is not all magical as it is often portrayed), and then she would have been left with no daughters, a son who she doesn't even know and who doesn't feel like he has ever been important to her, and a husband who felt pushed out of the picture as well. in short, nothing.
she risked everything for her child, but really she risked her other children (who are just as important!) and her entire family as well.
obsession.
it is not about her love for her child anymore, it is about her thinking that she should be able to fix things, she should be able to make things all better because she is a mom, and losing all sight of what is important in trying to do so.
maybe it just strikes a nerve with me, because I know of mothers like this who are on a crusade to save their autistic child. they give up their jobs, their homes, their other children, their husbands, their friends and family, pursuing some off-chance that this new research has uncovered the miracle they've been looking for. and after years of this, living from one crisis, one miracle, to the next, they end up with nothing, alone with a grown child who is still very much autistic and never has been understood.
course autism is very different from cancer, but in this case what I mean is that every operation, every treatment was supposed to be The One. and when it isn't, then the *next* one will be. but none of them are Guaranteed to be. and this is a reality that the mother (in the book) could never accept. she's really damn lucky that she never had to, in the end.
sorry people, sometimes humans can't fix things and sometimes things don't work out in the end, no matter how hard you try.
ah but I am a very jaded soul ;)
but I thought the side story of Anna's defense lawyer was very interesting...
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