My Sister's Keeper: Summary and book reviews of My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, plus links to an excerpt from My Sister's Keeper and a biography of Jodi Picoult.
My Sister's Keeper
by Jodi Picoult
Hardcover: Apr 2004,
423 pages.
Paperback: Feb 2005,
448 pages.
Winner of the 2005 BookBrowse Diamond Award for Most Popular Book
New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult is widely acclaimed for her keen insights into the hearts and minds of real people. Now she tells the emotionally riveting story of a family torn apart by conflicting needs and a passionate love that triumphs over human weakness.
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.
My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? Once again, in My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult tackles a controversial real-life subject with grace, wisdom, and sensitivity.
My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
People (Critic's Choice)
[Second Glance] is a fast-paced, densely layered exploration of love, the pull of family and the power of both to transcend time.
People (Critic's Choice)
[Second Glance] is a fast-paced, densely layered exploration of love, the pull of family and the power of both to transcend time.
USA Today
Picoult's characters are so compelling that the reader hopes this won't be the last time we meet.
The Washington Post - Katherine Arie
Picoult is at her best, and most moving, when writing from the perspective of Anna's mother, Sara. Exhausted by Kate's recurrent illness, Sara is often on edge and overwhelmed. But she is also focused Her tenacity, her vigilance and her support during Kate's aggressive cancer treatments all give Kate a reason to live. Mothering takes on new meaning, and the mundane becomes surreal Kate's goldfish, according to the oceanologist Sara consults in a desperate effort to save the pet's life, requires bottled water, and the mere thought of buying Jesse a new pair of soccer cleats after Kate relapses seems downright obscene.
The Boston Globe
Picoult writes with a fine touch, a sharp eye for detail, and a firm grasp of the delicacy and complexity of human relationships.
Publishers Weekly
The difficult choices a family must make when a child is diagnosed with a serious disease are explored with pathos and understanding ..... Picoult ably explores a complex subject with bravado and clarity, and comes up with a heart-wrenching, unexpected plot twist at the book's conclusion.
Kirkus Reviews
There can be no easy outcomes in a tale about individual autonomy clashing with a sibling's right to life, but Picoult thwarts our expectations in unexpected ways. Despite overplotting, then, a telling portrait of a profoundly stressed family.
Library Journal - Kim Uden Rutter
Picoult's timely and compelling novel will appeal to anyone who has thought about the morality of medical decision making and any parent who must balance the needs of different children. Highly recommended.
Booklist - Kristine Huntley
Starred Review. Told in alternating perspectives by the engaging, fascinating cast of characters, Picoult's novel grabs the reader from the first page and never lets go. This is a beautiful, heartbreaking, controversial, and honest book.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Katie Excessively long and incredibly predictable I read this book because people raved about it--I cannot concur. The book was full of flat characters, and the children were not written at all like children, just stupid adults. The 'stunning plot twist' could be guessed from the beginning, the... Read More
Rated of 5
by Cloggie Downunder A perfect ending twist My Sister’s Keeper is Jodi Picoult’s 11th novel. It centres around Anna Fitzgerald who has retained lawyer Campbell Alexander to sue her parents for the right to her own body. Anna was conceived to provide (initially) cord blood for her older... Read More
Rated of 5
by Stephanie Another great title from Picoult Jodi Picoult is by far my favorite author, and once again with My Sister’s Keeper she does not disappoint. In this story, Picoult deals with the issue of “savior siblings” and what happens when the created sibling no longer wants to be poked,... Read More
Rated of 5
by Hellany excellent idea, poor execution What makes books like these particularly painful is that at its heart, it's a fascinating topic. Donor rights, children's medical rights, how long and how much a family should have to sacrifice to keep a family member alive... these are compelling... Read More
Rated of 5
by Lesley Definitely read it Overall, I found this book very compelling. The emotional telling truly reels you in, and hearing the story from every characters perspective enhances the complexity of what this family is facing.
The only thing keeping it from being a 5 for me... Read More
Rated of 5
by Jem My sister's keeper. I liked the book overall but some things about this novel could have been much better.
First of all I found Sara (the mother) to be very annoying. Throughout the whole book she never acknowledges her son Jesse.
She also never does anything... Read More
A powerful exploration of the music and silences of family life, the unhinging forces of desire, the wrenching power of secrets unrevealed, and the bewildering territories of betrayal and loss.
The story of Tessa, a young teenage girl who has only months to live ... a brilliantly crafted novel, heartbreaking yet life-affirming.
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(362 words).
The Washington Post - Katherine Arie
of 5
by Katie
of 5
by Cloggie Downunder
of 5
by Lesley
of 5
by Jem
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