Hello! My name is Chie. I am likely to be the girl you'll see whose eyes would bulge out of their sockets at the sight of a book store and be seized by waves of epileptic shock whenever there is a book bargain. I'll probably be the one pushing you out of my way to get through the book bargain bins and tediously combing through the pile. (I forget my manners when it comes to books). I am tone deaf and have two left feet. But I would endure the embarrassment of a performance in exchange for books (terms and conditions apply). I have created this blog in order to find kindred souls. Those who would gladly share the same passion for books and reading because although reading is solitary task most of the time, it's no fun having no one to ramble to after..
Synopsis: 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 pre-implantation 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 most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.
Review: I knew that her stories are not the happiest stories out there and that they can be depressing. At least this one definitely is depressing and I know some people who should not read it because it would just not be right for them. This book is not recommendable for people who enjoy stories with happy endings or funny stories - This book definitely isn't that.
But it is something different - it talks about something that can happen to all of us. It talks about having a serious deadly illness and many families are forced to deal with this situation day by day in real life. Jodi Picoult describes the situation from all different perspectives of all family members and all people involved in the issue. Mainly, it is about Anna who is the healthy sister of Kate who has leukemia. Anna does not want to be treated as a stock of body parts to keep her sister alive. As much as she loves her sister, she just want to be treated as a normal person and wants to feel as loved by her parents as they love Kate.
For the reader, the book is quite challenging since you kind of understand all positions of all people involved. It is clear that Kate and her parents want to anything to keep Anna donating for her sister but on the other hand, there is Anna and her feelings. You see where she is coming from. She does not want to be the donor for Kate. She just want to be with herself. She wants her parents to understand that she has her own life and that she cannot just be there to save Kate's life.
Many parts of the book made me think about what is ethically and morally correct. Should we have a kid that is created with specific genetics? Some people would argue that this is not the natural way and thus, unethical. Also the situation of the lawyer seems pretty bad. Sometimes it is hard to see that he is just trying to do everything to get through with his client's case even if that means Kate has to die. But he manages to explain quite well why he does not really have another chance.
This story made me think alot. It made me thing about what is right and what is wrong and in the end I ended up in a dilemma that I would never be able to solve. I could understand all situations of all people involved which means that everyone is right if you look at the situation from their perspective. In the end, the problems solves itself in a really unexpected way. I had never imagined the book to finish with such a surprising ending.
I enjoyed My Sister's Keeper very much but not because of the story itself which in fact is really sad. It is more about the fact that the books made me think and I really like books like this. I could not read them all the time since they are really deep but once in awhile I like challenging myself and get myself into thinking about dilemmas such as the one described in this book. I am definitely going to read more of Jodi Picoult's novels.
Synopsis: 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 pre-implantation 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 most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.
Review: I knew that her stories are not the happiest stories out there and that they can be depressing. At least this one definitely is depressing and I know some people who should not read it because it would just not be right for them. This book is not recommendable for people who enjoy stories with happy endings or funny stories - This book definitely isn't that.
But it is something different - it talks about something that can happen to all of us. It talks about having a serious deadly illness and many families are forced to deal with this situation day by day in real life. Jodi Picoult describes the situation from all different perspectives of all family members and all people involved in the issue. Mainly, it is about Anna who is the healthy sister of Kate who has leukemia. Anna does not want to be treated as a stock of body parts to keep her sister alive. As much as she loves her sister, she just want to be treated as a normal person and wants to feel as loved by her parents as they love Kate.
For the reader, the book is quite challenging since you kind of understand all positions of all people involved. It is clear that Kate and her parents want to anything to keep Anna donating for her sister but on the other hand, there is Anna and her feelings. You see where she is coming from. She does not want to be the donor for Kate. She just want to be with herself. She wants her parents to understand that she has her own life and that she cannot just be there to save Kate's life.
Many parts of the book made me think about what is ethically and morally correct. Should we have a kid that is created with specific genetics? Some people would argue that this is not the natural way and thus, unethical. Also the situation of the lawyer seems pretty bad. Sometimes it is hard to see that he is just trying to do everything to get through with his client's case even if that means Kate has to die. But he manages to explain quite well why he does not really have another chance.
This story made me think alot. It made me thing about what is right and what is wrong and in the end I ended up in a dilemma that I would never be able to solve. I could understand all situations of all people involved which means that everyone is right if you look at the situation from their perspective. In the end, the problems solves itself in a really unexpected way. I had never imagined the book to finish with such a surprising ending.
I enjoyed My Sister's Keeper very much but not because of the story itself which in fact is really sad. It is more about the fact that the books made me think and I really like books like this. I could not read them all the time since they are really deep but once in awhile I like challenging myself and get myself into thinking about dilemmas such as the one described in this book. I am definitely going to read more of Jodi Picoult's novels.
