I have a list of books that are my favorites. Books that make me feel all the feelings: happiness, sadness, anger, and heartbreak. My Sister’s Keeper is at the top of my list because of the emotion it’s written with, the well-thought out characters, and the eye-opening lesson it teaches.
Jodi Picoult has written an extraordinary, emotion-provoking novel in My Sister’s Keeper. In this YA novel, Kate, the oldest daughter of the Fritzgerald family, is battling acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Anna, the protagonist and youngest child, is her sister’s lifeline – literally. When Kate was diagnosed with APL, the family learned there wasn’t a safe bone marrow match for her. So the family came up with the idea of having a genetically modified match for Kate, hence Anna being born solely as an answer to her sister’s medical situation. Anna, at 13 years old, decides to hire a lawyer, seeking ‘medical emancipation’ from her parents. Anna feels that her parents are ignoring her and only focused on Kate’s wellbeing; and she has had enough. The book follows Anna and why she’s making the choice to not be an organ donor for Kate anymore, even though it would save her sister’s life.
This book is about love and loss, and a valuable lesson between a family, between two sisters, and between a mother and daughter. The sisters learn about being there for each other, and taking advantage of all the opportunities they have together. Anna and Kate’s mom learns a big lesson about valuing both children, instead of favoring one over the other.
The characters’ details are so well thought-out, from their hopes and fears to their backstories. Picoult adds some personalized touches for her characters, like Anna’s full name, Andromeda, the constellation princess. Not only is this a unique trait about Anna as a character, but it is also significant throughout the story. All these inspiring characters definitely made this an easy-to-get-through read. Each and every character’s personality is carefully crafted, and Picoult talks with such detail about them. When I dive into the book, I am immediately pulled into this world the author has created, and when I am reading the characters’ dialogue, it’s like I am standing in front of them, hearing it with my own ears.
This book is a well-planned story; from the clever writing to the rounded-out ending. Throughout the book, Picoult chooses a unique style of writing in two ways. One is switching the point of view from character to character, even going the extra step to have dedicated fonts for each individual character, which I think is awesome. Each character talks about similar events, all of them getting closer to the issue at the center of the story. Every one of them has their own point of view, experiences, thoughts, and ideas about the shared events. Not only are the different fonts and character perspectives exciting, Picoult also does something different by introducing the problem right at the very beginning of the book and as the story goes on, unpacks events that will eventually lead up to Anna’s medical emancipation, and the reasoning behind her decision. This is a fun read which definitely kept me on my toes with each new event introduced.
The general theme of the book is knowing what you have while you have it, because one day, it might be gone, and you won’t realize you miss it until you can’t ever get it back. In the Fritzgeralds’ case, Anna and her family know they are going to lose their eldest daughter. Picoult addresses this in the best way. She doesn’t attack it, instead she handles it in a way that is gentle and thought-provoking. It really draws the reader’s emotions and ideas by inviting them to think about what happened, and encourages them to relate the story back to their own personal lives.
My Sister’s Keeper is 100% worth the read. I think that every young adult should read this book at least once in their lives. So often our generation loses sight of how precious people are to us and I believe the story of the Fritzgeralds will help us realize it again. While you are trying to navigate life just like the person sitting next to you, this book will be a big eye-opener, one that will make you think about this world and the people around you differently.
