I read My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult on a recommendation, now that I have finally been able to (a) get my hands on it at the library, and (b) make time for some dedicated reading. What a great recommendation it was! I couldn’t put it down.

It is the story of Anna Fitzgerald, a girl who was “genetically engineered” to be a bone marrow match for her sister, who has been diagnosed with leukemia. Anna has essentially spent her life being subjected to numerous medical procedures, some painful, aimed at keeping her sister alive. Now, it is her kidney that is needed. Anna, tired of being a medical guinea pig and wanting an identity apart from her sister, finally proclaims that she wants her body back and sues her parents for medical emancipation. It poses a thorny medical and ethical dilemma. Can a 13-year-old be forced to donate a kidney against her will? Is what is right for one sister in the best interest of the other? Are the parents so focused on the medical needs of one daughter that they have lost sight of their other children along the way? Is this even what Anna really wants? These are complicated questions that have no clear right answer. I was riveted, and kept changing my opinion as I read. The story alternates between the varying points of view of all characters, and through this narrative treatment Picoult sensitively conveys all sides of a complex issue. No one is exactly right, and no one is exactly wrong.

I have read in other reviews that some people feel it challenged credibility that the mother would choose to represent herself in the case after not having practiced law for years. This didn’t bother me, since I happen to subscribe to the “if you want something done right do it yourself” school of thought. A couple of things did strike me as peculiar, though. First, Anna seemed too precocious for a 13-year-old. Her “voice” as written by Picoult often seemed indistinguishable from the adults. Then again, it’s been a long time since I was 13, so what do I know? And I suppose she wouldn’t have filed her lawsuit in the first place had she not been precocious. Second, there was a romance between the lawyer and guardian ad litem that felt a little out of place. Don’t get me wrong; I love a good romance. In this case however, I couldn’t see the reason for it. It added nothing to the resolution of the story.

I won’t spoil the ending other than to say that I wished for it to end differently than it did. At the very least, I would have liked more narrative from the other characters about their reactions to the final events. The conclusion seemed so…abrupt.

I had never read anything from Jodi Picoult before, but I really enjoyed her story and found her writing style to be easily digestible. It wasn’t quite a tearjerker for me, but I was engrossed and I’ll absolutely be looking for more from her.