My Sister's Keeper

Thanks to Laurenda for being first this time. ;-)

I didn't read the end of the book first. And I didn't see the end coming, which is very unusual for me.

For me, the book evoked many different STRONG emotions:

I had some time to kill in Orem before another appointment, and didn't want to drive all the way home and back again, so I stopped into Barnes & Noble to finish the book. So, I'm in the reading area of B&N crying my guts out at the end of the book. I found the ending very interesting... Anna WON her case, and yet still saved her sister's life. It seemed a little coincidental, maybe even forced, but interesting.

I did not like Sara (the mom). I can't even imaging bringing a child into the world simply to benefit another child - I'm sure the feelings are more complex than that, and granted, I don't have a dying child, but it seems very preferential. There's a line on page 100, "I have thought of this daughter only in terms of what she will be able to do for the daughter I already have." Sara hadn't even picked out names for Anna, yet.

I did like the side story of Campbell (lawyer) and Julia, even though I hate story lines where a person leaves or breaks up with another because "oh, I'm sick and I don't want to burden you with my illness" without giving the other person a say in the matter. I've always hated that.

The relationship between Sara (mom) and Brian (dad) seemed fairly true to life. I've often heard that parents of sick or handicapped children often find that, later in life, they have nothing more in common than the illness of the child. And, unfortunately, these relationships end in divorce.

I liked the writing style. Jodi Picoult had some interesting imagery ("silence has a sound"), and I liked the story from the different perspectives.

Of all the children, I think I felt most sorry for Jesse. I found his story heartbreaking. He resorted to drastic actions to get noticed. As Kate said, "...imagine [if] you were a squirrel living in the elephant cage at the zoo. Does anyone ever go there and say, 'Hey, check out that squirrel?' No, because there's something much bigger you notice first."

Were the conclusions a little pat? Yes. But I enjoyed the read, and enjoyed meeting the different characters. Thanks, Michelle!!