Book Report: My Sister's Keeper

This one has been a long time coming; After a few years of picking up Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper in the book store and then putting it back down, my neighbor loaned me her copy. I dreaded reading it (although everyone said it was awesome) because I knew it would make me sad. But I needed something to read, and this one was just in an arms reach. After that, well, I couldn't put it down for long.

It took me a few nights to read through it - and I found that it also was not one of those books that helped me sleep. I had previously read her Keeping Faith which I liked, so I decided I was brave enough to read this one. Plus the movie came out a while back and I wanted to see it after having read the book.

Her stories are heart-warming, and understandable, even when you haven't gone through any similar situations like that yourself. I did guess the ending, well about 95% of it, which made it somehow less emotional for me. It was hard, though, reading a book about a sick child when I'm currently baking the mcNugget.

I think the book's strengths were in capturing perspectives from a variety of characters, particularly Anna, whose entries were well crafted and smart, then the stories for Campbell & Brian. I thought Jesse and Julia were a little forced and Sara a little expected. I could appreciate all of the situations for the characters, though I didn't like the Sara character. I understood the struggles between being moral and ethical; I understood the value of caring for someone so much you'd ask and do anything to help them.

I just spent some time reading back through my other "Book Reports" and this quote jumped out at me from The Teahouse Fire - "This seems like such a great time to make your own decisions and form your future. And no one can do it for you." It is hard making decisions for yourself, let alone involving your kids futures. I think that because Picoult setup Anna to be so smart - and a lot of 13 year olds are smart these days, especially the ones who were asked to grow up so quickly - they make the right decision in the end for her, or with her rather. Another quote from my entry? "Its such a liberating feeling to know that we have some control over our own destinies, even if I still believe God has the ultimate say." With that in mind, I think the book ended quite well.

I liked the window Picoult created to peer into this story, and I don't know if I would have made any other decisions regarding the book's plotline than Picoult had, and I would recommend it as a good read to others.