Throwback Thursday: My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Throwback Thursday is a meme created by Renee at It’s Book Talk to share old favorite books rather than just the new shiny ones. This is a great idea to bring back to life some much-loved books. Please feel free to join in.

My choice for this week is: 

 

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Published May 18th 2004 by Atria Books

 

Goodreads Description:

 

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 preimplantation 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 for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.

A provocative novel that raises some important ethical issues, My Sister’s Keeper is the story of one family’s struggle for survival at all human costs and a stunning parable for all time.

 

My Thoughts:              

 

I’ve used a few of Jodi Picoult’s novels for Throwback Thursday. I can’t help it, I love her books. Today my TBT is “My Sister’s Keeper”.

I have enjoyed all of her books but this is one of my favorites. When I first read it in 2005, I tried to force everyone to read it.

Jodi Picoult has written books about many controversial subjects. This novel focuses on genetic engineering. Kate Fitzgerald has a rare form of leukemia. Her parents conceived her sister, Anna as a donor match for procedures that Kate required.

This book was so engrossing that I read it in two sittings. I would have finished in one if I hadn’t had to go to work.

It is hard not to be sympathetic to everyone in the book. It raises so many questions, and all these years later I am still thinking of the possible answers. How far would you go to save a life? Especially the life of a child?

Jodi Picoult handled issues sensitively and wrote a thoughtful, moving story that kept me interested from start to finish. This is a book that I will always hold close to my heart.

Highly recommended!