30.Mar.2008 My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

This is the third Picoult’s book that I read. Like usual, it’s easy quick reading, dealing with difficult issues. In this title, we get to know Fitzgerald family, who has a son, a sick daughter, and Anna, the last daughter who was born for the purpose to be a genetic match for her sister. When she’s thirteen, she sued her parents for medical emancipation (means she has the last word for any medical decisions involving her body).

Great idea, but I’m not sure if the author has written it well. The book switch point of views around several characters, sometimes I forgot whose thoughts I was reading. At the end I don’t feel any empathy for any of them. Somehow the author wanted to make all the characters goody-goody, they became extremely boring. Basically everybody is good, everybody has good reasons why they’re “bad”, everybody hurts inside, everybody deserves to do “crazy” things because of all the pain they bury inside. Everybody from the mom, dad, brother, sick sister, suing sister, lawyer, guardian ad litem. Yawn.

From the first chapter, I could guess how it would end. Either Kate (the sick sister) dies before the trial ends, or Anna wins the trial and gives her kidney to Kate anyway. Although it ended with a bit of twist, the rest of the other stuff was predictable. [spoiler]I almost gagged when Anna says in court that she did it for Kate, because that’s what Kate wants. Great. Another miss goody-two-shoes.[/spoiler]

I don’t know why I keep reading Picoult’s book. Her formula is getting old for me. I hate how she often ends a paragraph with a made-up dramatic moment. It’s sooo soap-opera like. I like how she always picks up interesting contentious issues (which is the reason why I read her books), but she could’ve written them better!

Rating: 2.5 out of 5
terrible » poor » mediocre » okay » good » very good » excellent » superb
Again, interesting subject matter. Could’ve been written a lot better. Characters are boring and some unbelievable. Picoult managed to make a truly great idea into a mediocre book.

First line

In my first memory, I am three years old and I am trying to kill my sister.

Last line

I take her with me, wherever I go.

Quote

“Kids don’t stay where they’re supposed to. You turn around and find her not in the bedroom but hiding in a closet; you turn around and see she’s not three but thirteen. Parenting is really just a matter of tracking, of hoping your kids do not get so far ahead you can no longer see their next moves.” ~ Brian, p147