Anyway, I chose My Sister's Keeper and Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, plus The Condition by Jennifer Haigh. So far, I've only finished My Sister's Keeper. I know, sis, that you are slightly annoyed by the fact that I finish off the book in 3 days. Which is apparently too short a period for you. Haha. The book is so engrossing that I just can't help but keep on reading. But how many days should reading a book take? I think 3 days is pretty much the norm.
Okay, back to topic.
In My Sister's Keeper, Anna Fitzgerald was a thirteen-year-old girl born into this world through in vitro fertilization. She was specially designed to be a genetic match for her older sister Kate, who was diagnosed with a rare type of leukemia at the age of two. All her life, Anna had been a donor to her sister. She had undergone surgeries, shots and transfusions just to help Kate fight her leukemia. When Kate's kidneys started to fail her, their mum Sara expected Anna to donate one of her kidneys to Kate too. Anna, who had never really been asked whether she wanted to go through all the pain since it was expected of her to save her sister's life, started questioning about her purpose in life. She decided to sue her parents for the rights to her own body.
This story is narrated by the various characters in the novel, so that readers can see the different perspectives of each character toward the issues they have to face. This novel mostly revolves around the Fitzgeralds, but also touches on Campbell, Anna's attorney, and his past with former lover Julia Romano. I really like how Jodi Picoult manages to give detailed memories of the characters' past in between telling about the present time while still allowing the novel to flow. Through those memories, you can see how they affect the characters' actions. Despite the predicament the family has to face, Picoult succeed in incorporating humor amidst sadness, frustration and anger.
I really enjoy this novel because it gets you thinking about what is right and what is wrong. Sometimes, you read the thoughts of two characters that totally oppose each other, but yet you are able to understand why each act and think this or that way. The novel also portrays the undeniably close relationship between Anna and Kate. As the story progresses, we will come to know the real reason why Kate decided she doesn't want to donate a kidney to her sister. Besides Anna suing her parents, there are also sub-plots of Brian's (Anna's father) life as a firefighter, Jesse's life as a juvenile delinquent and as I said earlier, Campbell and Julia's love life. Sadly, this story does not have a fairytale ending.
Anyhow, I really recommend this novel. It is insightful, heart wrenching, funny and it has an interesting storyline. And though most teenagers at some point in life have thoughts of suing their parents, how often do you see one really doing it? So yes, read it!
And just to sound professional, I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
