My Sister's Keeper

I planned on giving this book to my fiancee's sister for Christmas, and I probably still will, but she has recently gone through quite a tragedy, so I wanted to go over the books I had chosen for her in order to prevent bringing this tragedy up again.

I chose to give My Sister's Keeper because it was popular and has recently been made into a movie. It is quite a long book, also, and should provide for a few hours of escape. I just finished a class on medical ethics, as well, so I thought it might be interesting. And it was.

The thing that gets me about this book is that it is not predictable. There are shifts from character to characters and I found myself wondering if the shifts were not made simply because Picoult is a subpar author and isn't quite capable of creating an entire story line with just one narrator. I still think this might be a part of the puzzle, but it was refreshing to pry into each character's mind a bit. The interesting part is that you are never allowed to see what the "main" character, Kate is thinking. Anna is suing her family for medical emancipation because she does not want to give Kate, the sister who is dying of cancer, a kidney. (This is revealed early on, so don't worry, I am not giving anything away.) There is a definite reason for not revealing her thoughts, but when you finish the book, it does seem strange that you are able to feel what everyone feels except for Kate, who is the most central character, the reason for the story.

I read the book in about three days. It captured my attention, and I found myself finding small increments of time to lock myself in my bedroom and read. I think it will be the same for most people who choose to read it. I don't think, though, that it is a great work of literature or that it will be remembered ten years from now, just as most of the books I read through probably won't. That doesn't take away from the value, though, and I think it will prove to be an entertaining read if you want to delve into a world that is a little different than that which you are used to.