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My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine.

Anna and Kate are sisters and share a seemingly typical bond most of us can relate to. However, they also share a bond that creates a lifeline for Kate. From the age of three, Kate has suffered from a deadly form of cancer. The only chance of saving her was a transplant, but none of her family were a match. In a desperate attempt to save their daughter, her parents conceived Anna, a designed to be a match for treatments and transplants for Kate.

Anna continues to be a donor for her sister for 13 years until she makes a surprising decision: she files a lawsuit against her parents to liberate herself as Kate's donor. Her decision will nearly tear her family apart as they struggle to keep Kate alive.

I stumbled upon this novel at the time the movie adaption was released. Since I usually read the book before seeing a movie, I read a summary and had the ending spoiled. Nevertheless, I read the book. I'm still in disbelief at the ending.

In My Sister's Keeper, Picoult takes you on an emotional roller coaster. One minute you're seeing a happy family in a flashback and the next, we are in a hospital where Kate lies, close to death. We see the whole family suffer. Anna and her mother clash constantly, and you can't help feeling sympathy for them both as they struggle for Kate's sake.

Many of the scenes are played out dramatically and are what you would expect in real life. This book even changed my opinion about the important ethical issue of stem cell research. But still, after reading this parable, I cannot imagine how heartwrenching it would be to make a decision that could harm your sister.

This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine. This piece has been published in Teen Ink’s monthly print magazine.





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This article has 7 comments. Post your own!

cat15 said...
Jul. 6, 2012 at 11:46 pm:
I thought some parts were okay, others good, some downright bad. I thought that Sara's monologues were really well - written and true, but that the entire Julia/ Campbell thing was completely unnecessary and ridiculous. 
 
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elarebadaxe said...
Mar. 21, 2012 at 7:34 pm:
Excelent review!  I loved how you explained enough of the book to catch the reader's attention, but left out the best details for the reader to figure out on their own.  Try to watch out for suttle grammatical mistakes, as those can really take away a lot from your work.  This really made me want to read the book, and I have already read it before!  
 
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KatsKThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine. said...
Mar. 21, 2012 at 6:21 pm:
Good review. This book is one of my favorites. I must say, I feel like I can connect to the book because my sister and I have that always-linked bond, to the point where it almost parallels Anna-and-Kate's. It really is a fabulous book.
 
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KatsKThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine. said...
Mar. 21, 2012 at 6:21 pm:
Good review. This book is one of my favorites. I must say, I feel like I can connect to the book because my sister and I have that always-linked bond, to the point where it almost parallels Anna-and-Kate's. It really is a fabulous book.
 
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IrishWriter said...
Sept. 15, 2011 at 1:51 pm:
Nice review! I loved the book too but did anyone think that sometimes Picoult seemed to be using bad language for the sake of it or am I just too PG haha
 
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Wordscantsay said...
Sept. 9, 2011 at 5:47 pm:
very good review =]
 
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sasha1996 said...
Sept. 7, 2011 at 12:13 pm:
i read this book two years ago and it was excellent and i almost cried. i got it for a book reort thet i had to do for an english assighnment in 6th grade. then i got the movie and the movie wasnt bad but i really perfer books to movies
 
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