"Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate -- a life and a role that she has never challenged... until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister—and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.
A provocative novel that raises some important ethical issues, My Sister's Keeper is the story of one family's struggle for survival at all human costs and a stunning parable for all time."
Okay. What the hell did I just read?
The book starts off with Kate thinking she killed her sister or was about to kill her sister. A great opening, and it's definitely one that draws my attention. This book reminds me of a few books but none that is really, really similar. (Unless we are looking at the rest of Jodi Picoult's books, or so I have heard.)
Anna, a mature thirteen-year-old girl, is suing her parents for control over her own body. Yes, it does sound weird, but it is exactly what's happening. A designer baby, Anna is forcibly being subjected to blood removals, shots, and needles even though she doesn't want them. It's a difficult fact to swallow, not to mention its ugliness.
And Kate. She remains frustratingly silent on this entire issue. Does not speak. Does not talk. I just wish that she says something to protect her sister. But alas, the things that the author does for more plot and angst and surprise and twists. Oh, and for Campbell to have a seizure.
Despite the lengthiness of the book and the revolving doors of narrators (Anna, Jesse, the lawyer, the lawyer's ex-girlfriend, Sara, Sara's husband), the plot is easy to keep up with. It thrills and absolutely revels in angst. A lot of angst. And I must give one more warning, for the sake of three (don't think I'm telling the truth? Count it). A whole bunch of angst.
The ending. What in the world just happened? I don't get the point of the author making the characters go through a whole bunch of mess, just for one girl to die. And I'm not going to name that one girl (though I'm sure you all suspect her name).
Overall, My Sister's Keeper is definitely not what I expected at first. It is really good around the beginning and middle, but it goes downhill at the end. The end just makes everything... pointless. And I'm so pissed by it. Totally pissed. Despite its great characterization, its writing, and its start. How disappointing.
Rating: One out of Five
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