My Sister's Keeper

[BTB]

Anybody read this, by Jodi Picoult? The premise is fascinating - a sibling to a girl with leukemia is conceived using PGD to be a donor, but at the age of 13 the younger sister is tired of being a "harvest crop" and sues her parents for medical emancipation.

Just started it - can't put it down!

[Jennifer]

I thought it was pretty facinating. I won't spoil it for you - but I'll check back to see what you thought!

[tenofcups]

Fh bought it for FMIL for Mother's Day. She really liked it and just passed it on to me to read, but I haven't started it yet. Will check back when I do...

[JillyBean]

I really enjoyed it. I couldn't put it down until I finished it. I haven't read any of her other books, but I plan to once I get the chance.

[KarenS]

Loved it. I'm a big Jodi Picoult fan. Her books are so well written and she writes about some really difficult subjects. She also doesn't feel the need to have the Hollywood happy ending if the book demands something more real. I think My Sister's Keeper was the first book of hers I read and I promptly went out and got all the others from the library - read them back to back over a period of a couple of weeks. :)

Karen

[msnicolea]

I really loved it. I don't think of her as a great "writer" but she is a wonderful storyteller--I couldn't put it down!

[twinnyme]

Loved it. I'm a big Jodi Picoult fan.Karen

Me, too! I've read most of her books. My sisters, mother, and I have all read MY SISTER'S KEEPER (we passed it between us). It was very good. I was fascinated by the premise, too, and IMO, the book lived up to the premise.

Enjoy!

[Txfish]

Had to have been one of the best books I've read, as far as making me think and feel and question my own thoughts and set ideas. This was the first one of hers I read also -- definitely got me hooked on her. She deals with the emotions so well and so matter-of-factly; you don't feel like you're being forced to cry or hate through careful (or blunt) manipulation. It's wrenching, being able to put yourself in everyone's mindset and understand why they have made the choices they have.

After that one, the ones that have gotten to me the most were Plain Truth (awesome, awesome story -- did they make this into a movie? They should.) and the one about the lawyer who's little boy won't talk. Cannot remember what it is called, but pretty powerful (and obviously disturbing, considering subject matter.)

She's incredible as a writer. I wish I could read these again, for the first time. (And yes, I've outed myself as a book geek. :o )

[Heather719]

I adored this book as well- but I will say, it broke my heart. I haven't cried that hard since Where the Red Fern Grows in 5th grade.

[red_canuck]

I adored the book, it was so wonderfully written that i fell right into the storyline and could hardly put the book down. i cried like a baby, oh boy was it good. I've gotta say too that the book is a major contribution to my thought process of storing the cord blood of my baby.

[pocket]

wow - i totally hated this book. it was really manipulative, the characters totally flat, and the ending really made me mad. if you are going to write such a maudlin book at least end it consistently. I am so surprised that people like this book.

[laura]

ITA w/ pocket. It did suck me in, but I hated that it did, and the ending made me mad, also.

[bookworm]

I'm with pocket and laura on this (as discussed on the "what are you reading" thread), but I won't comment on the end since you're not there. I didn't want to put it down while I was reading it, but I felt cheap--the same feeling (though different story) as with Bridges of Madison County. Blech.

[Cali_Katy]

I read this last year. I'm with the previous three posters. I thought it was a really interesting premise, and I did get hooked, but I also don't think it was a great book. The writing was only OK, and I did think the ending was a cheat.

My book club is discussing this next month, and I'm looking forward to the discussion -- not so much of the book itself, but of the questions it raises.

[MaineBelle]

I just picked this book up from the library yesterday, so I'll be able to join in the discussion after this weekend.

[MelodySoul]

Best book I've ever read by far. I read it in less than 24 hours because I just couldn't put it down. The story was compelling and thought provoking. I know some people have a problem with the ending being unrealistic but I thought of it as a kind of fate. I won't say too much more because I don't want to spoil it.

[AmyAmy]

Overall I really enjoyed this book, although I will have to say I was somewhat disappointed with the ending. It was an addicting read though. My husband picked it up off of the table one day and got in to it while I was still reading it. We were fighting each other to finish the book. :) That doesn't happen often. :D

[BTB]

I finished the book Friday, and I wouldn't say I loved it, but I did enjoy it. ITA w/ msnicolea that Picoult, while not a great writer, is a fine storyteller.

Not sure which part of the ending people are disliking - the car accident, or Kate doing so well after the kidney transplant? The latter is, I agree, incredibly unrealistic, and I would've preferred she die too, a few months after receiving Anna's kidney. But the irony of Kate outliving Anna - is it wrong to say I liked the car accident part? Somehow that just doesn't come out right...

[Golightly]

I listened to this book on my iPod and I think Jodi herself does the narrating. I too thought it was wonderful...

[katmg]

I've read several of her books and I feel like they've become a bit formulaic for me. The first one I read, I really enjoyed, but now. Not so much.

I agree with the other posters who felt a bit manipulated.

[Myra]

I thought the car accident was a cop-out so the sisters (and the author) never had to make the decision.

[bookworm]

What Myra said. I couldn't put the book down (not that I'd say I liked it, but I had to keep reading), and the whole time I was trying to think of what possible outcome would make me happy, and how the heck do you decide something like that, and all the reprecussions and blah blah blah.

Then wham (so to speak.). Not quite deus ex machina, but pretty close--an "I can't be bothered to resolve this" ending.

I was annoyed I spent time reading it, and energy wondering, and then she didn't bother to finish the damn book.

[KarenS]

Spoilers ...

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See I totally did not think it was a cop out or a way of not ending the book. I thnk it very much painted the irony of the younger daughter's (I can't remember her name since it's been a while since I read the book) struggle to not be used as a donor and the older daughter's desire to just be left to die rather than be subjected to more and more procedures.

So you find out near the end that the older daughter was actually encouraging her sister to file and to fight it and really wanted it to just be all over with ... and then fate takes the decision out of both of their hands.

or Kate doing so well after the kidney transplant? The latter is, I agree, incredibly unrealistic, As to this - I didn't find that terribly unrealistic. My aunt donated a kidney to her mother (my grandmother) several years ago and it didn't take my g'mother long to be up and around and healthy.

Karen

[BTB]

or Kate doing so well after the kidney transplant? The latter is, I agree, incredibly unrealistic,

As to this - I didn't find that terribly unrealistic. My aunt donated a kidney to her mother (my grandmother) several years ago and it didn't take my g'mother long to be up and around and healthy.

Karen, does your grandmother have APL? THAT is the part that makes Kate's scenario incredibly unrealistic. For her, a kidney transplant is a stopgap measure, and does nothing to cure. To include a chapter from 2010 where she's still remission-free is too "happy ending" for my tastes.

As far as different ending scenarios, I think I'd have found an alternative unsatisfactory after the big wind-up. I liked the irony that the family was so focused on the death of the one daughter, and was blindsided by what fate had in store - life often is surprising.

[QT Pie]

I really enjoyed this book, but I couldn't stop thinking about the ending. I don't think I had expected what had ultimately happened, but I didn't think it was a cop out. I actually prefer books that don't wrap things up with a happy ending all the time. Jodi Picoult is a wonderful story teller.

[wine_o_girlie]

I think the whole book was pretty bad but especially the saccharine-sweet ending. Blech. I thought it was an interesting premise but I didn't like the writer's writing style. I never really felt drawn into the book. I completely agree that the ending was a cop-out. I felt the book was on par with a Lifetime movie.

FWIW, I have never read any other Picoult's books - are they all similar? Should I give her another chance?

[kcgray]

I have heard of this book but haven't read it yet but can I ask. Does anyone know..wasn't this a movie on tv at one time. Like on lifetime or something? I remember seeing a commercial. It just seems so familiar. Anyway its next on my list of books to read.Right now I'm reading The Devil Wears Prada. My sister's keeper sounds very very interesting.

[KarenS]

No ... the book was only published in 2005. There was a movie called "My Sister's Keeper" and a quick check on imdb.com showed that it had Kathy Bates, Elizabeth Perkins, Lynn Redgrave, etc. in it. But it wasn't at all the same plot or story.

As to the bit about the kidney - as I've said it's been a while since I've read the book and I don't remember the details about the whole transplant thing. I don't remember being unusually shocked out of my suspension of disbelief by the results of the transplant ... but then I don't have a huge knowledge of APL. So who knows. I just didn't think it sounded that unrealistic to me ... and normally something sounding unrealistic is the first thing that will sour me on a book of this nature.

Karen

[kcgray]

No ... the book was only published in 2005. There was a movie called "My Sister's Keeper" and a quick check on imdb.com showed that it had Kathy Bates, Elizabeth Perkins, Lynn Redgrave, etc. in it. But it wasn't at all the same plot or story.

oh ok thanks I knew I'd seen the name somewhere else.

[nixer]

I just finished reading this book and I also felt the ending was a bit too neatly wrapped up, especially in a sudden manner. I also didn't really get the point of all the extra drama in there with the relationships between the side characters (e.g. Julia and Izzy, Julia and Cameron).

I did think that the author did a good job of showing the inner workings of a family dealing with such an illness without sidestepping "heavy" issues. However, I'm not sure if I'd read another one of her books unless I had some prior information that the story's end went better with the preceding flow of the book chapters.

[mommy2AlliWill]

I agree 100% that I loved the book & thought the ending was brutally contrived & unrealistic.

[eponymous]

I absolutely hated the ending when I first read this book, which is one of my favorites, but I can't figure out what a more feasible way to end it, as much as I hate to support the ending.

I agree with BTB that Picoult is a wonderful storyteller, but I think her books have become too reliant on the "OH WOW sudden plot twist out of nowhere" to end them. It works in "Plain Truth" and maybe "Songs from the Humpback Whale," but really, really not in her most recent one, "Vanishing Acts."

[njdiva]

Ok - so I finally can post in this thread b/c I just completed the book a few days ago.

After reading some previous posts - I would have to say that I agree for the most part. I liked the book but not loved it. The ending did take me for a surprise b/c I never imagined the author ending the way she did... I would have to agree that the car accident was sort of a cop out for the author not having the characters end the way we intended it to. I would have to agree the epilogue in 2010 was more of a happy ending in a sort of way. It was not happy to see Anna die as a character but happy in a way that she ended up donating her kidney to her sister Kate in the end.
What I did enjoy were how the range of characters were so intriguing. I really liked how she wrote Anna's character to be so grown & intelligent for her age. I was quite shocked at the revealing secret of Campbell and that darn dog "judge" of his and the dynamics between Sara & Brian (the parents) and how this one decision could split a household. I truly like medical dramas because they deal so often with medical ethical situations such as this so that is why I wanted to read in the first place.

My next book is Oprah current selection "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey... maybe I could start a thread on that if there is none already (b/c I heard this book was also crazy)...

[Rose]

My next book is Oprah current selection "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey... maybe I could start a thread on that if there is none already (b/c I heard this book was also crazy)...

There is already one. I will bump it up.

[njdiva]

thanks ... I saw it right after I finished posting... duh :confused:

[TMat13]

I just finished this book last night and I was not expecting the ending. It was also just ok for me.. not great and not horrible. :confused:

[filmgirl7]

Well, I read the book and I didn't dislike it, but I found myself getting irritated by the way that the author would have random breaks in a chapter and it was obvious that she was trying to pack a dramatic punch in the last couple lines each time, but it came across to me as melodrama and it annoyed me. It was like she was trying too hard. I also found some of the dialogue between the girl and the lawyer SO unrealistic....and I thought "wow, this is contrived."

That being said, I did FINISH the book, and I cried at the end...but that's nothing too exciting for me, since I cry watching Hallmark commercials.

Would I read another one of her books? Probably at some point, but I'd rather go back to Pat Conroy or Wally Lamb first.

[EmilyZA]

I just finished this book this morning.

I really, really liked this book, and I didn't think I would. I have read two other books by Jodi Picoult (Plain Truth and Picture Perfect) and neither of those really blew me away-- I didn't like Picture Perfect at all, really.