a love for a sister

"Anna Fitzgerald was definitely not a mistake. She was especially designed from her parents genes to provide a match for her elder sister Kate's rare blood type. Kate has Leukemia, and when Anna was young she donated bone marrow to help with the treatment. Soon however, it was more marrow, blood, stem cells and now, when she is thirteen her parents want her kidney.

The book jumps straight into the story where Anna begins to fight against her parents control, and adamantly against giving Kate her kidney she convinces a lawyer to take her case against her parents - she is suing them for the rights to her own body.

The plot follows Anna's family's struggle, not only within the legal system but the emotional trials they all must now face; her parents struggle to understand Anna's motives, as Anna seems also to do at times. At thirteen years old Anna rebels against her parents in one of the most heart wrenching ways possible for both parties, and in particular her alienation of her mother causes all sorts of difficulties within the family. A well-rounded story, more emphasis is placed on the family side of Anna's battle with the underlying influence of Jesse, the girls' older brother who has been slightly neglected, and perhaps due to the strain of having two frequently hospitalised sisters has become delinquient and isolated.

Interestingly, Kate does not seem to voice much opinion about Anna's choice to deny her sister a life-saving organ, which adds to the intrigue of the legal battle. Anna's relationship with her lawyer is at times one-sided, as she begins to increasingly rely upon him, and he gets frustrated as he begins to feel like a babysitter. He does however recognize the influence of her controlling mother, and puts her under the care of a legal guardian, which naturally strains family relationships further.

Anna's case finally reaches the court, but her battle is far from over. More emotional manipulation and typical insecurities follow, as she stands up for herself in a world of adults. " 

my sister's keeper

Thirteen year old Anna Fitzgerald knows why she was born in vitro with a near perfect genetic match so that her body can serve as spare parts to keep her older sister Kate alive ever since her sibling was diagnosed with leukemia. As Kate suffered numerous relapses, Anna's platelets, bone marrow, and umbilical cord stem cells have been used to keep the older sister alive. 

Their parents Sara and Brian demand that Anna donate a kidney to Kate. As her older brother Jesse turns to arson over his frustrations with his family's motto of Kate only, Anna has grown tired of being a harvest. She hires attorney Campbell Alexander to represent her in court in an attempt to get a judgment stopping her parents from using her body anymore. Sara, who is obsessed with keeping her beloved Kate alive at all costs, feels betrayed by her youngest child while her husband understands the immense pressure on his youngest daughter. Anna wants to help Kate because she loves her sister, but knows that it must be her decision not a mom who sees her as a biological feeder mechanism. 

MY SISTER'S KEEPER is a reflective deep look at a family in crisis due to a long term health problem of one of the members. The story line is at its best when Jodi Picoult inspires readers to ponder intense philosophical questions on right and wrong that would turn Ayn Rand's head spinning in moral dilemmas. Though the melodramatic ending is too neat a wrap-up even with a twist, readers who appreciate a novel that provides a profundity that few tales possess will want to peruse this thought provoking drama.