My Sister's Keeper: A Novel (Wsp Readers Club)

***** Ages 14 up? This book....Heartbreaking. Tear jerking. Moving. Poignant, Touching, Tragic, Beautiful, terrible.Basically, Anna sues her parents for the rights to her own body - medical emancipation - when they want her to donate a kidney for her sister Kate who is dying of acute something leukemia .About a family that is broken apart by a terminal disease but manages to glue itself back together again, all the while learning and discovering new things about each other.It's a very complex story, and the reader doesn't know every aspect of the story and lawsuit. Anna has hidden reasons for the lawsuit that aren't known until the end of the book, and it will surprise you.The POV alternates between Anna; the main character, Sara; her mom, Brian; her dad, Jesse; her brother, Campbell; her lawyer/attorney, and Julia; her guardian ad litem - she is brought in to see what the best choice is for Anna and her family. Each of the characters have such a developed backstory that it is conceivable to think that they had lives before Jodi Picoult weaved them into this story.Sara's POV mostly consists of flashbacks starting from when Kate is diagnosed leading up to the present, which really explains Anna's past 'donations' and Sara's choices.Anna is a very realistic character, wondering about things I wondered about when I was 13, like what age are we in heaven and more. She is mature but still a kid, and I felt such sympathy for her sometimes, like when she is not allowed to go to this really prestigious hockey camp with an Olympic champion trainer with a full schlorship just 'in case'. In case Kate is sick again, in case Anna is needed to give up another part of her body for her.Brian's POV shows his uncertainty about Anna's decision: he kind of supports her and her rights, but hates to see this tearing apart his family. We also get to see Jesse's POV, and observe his life as the forgotten sibling: not the sick one or the needed one.My favorite character was actually Campbell. He had a great stinging sense of humor and sarcasm and had that whole mystery going on with Judge, his service dog. Every few chapters he would be asked what Judge if for because "You're not blind." He always had some funny retort, and I wanted to know just as bad as his inquisitors. His History with Julia and their relationship was also another aspect of the book I enjoyed. Also, since we don't read from Kate's POV, we don't actually know how she feels until the end.All the characters developed and grew and learned about each other and become closer. (I know, a serious need for commas in that sentence). They were my favorite part.OH, THE ENDING! In the words of Draco Malfoy in the Prisoner of Azkaban, "Oh, it's killed me! It's killed me!" <-That's only 'cause you were idiotic and arrogant and confronted poor Buckbeak. Ok, back on the topic. I almost cried. Most people bawl, I've heard. It was a twist, for the book, and for my heart. In the back of the book, the author writes that after reading it her son wouldn't talk to her except to say "WHY?!?!" I wasn't expecting it, and ... I can't really say more without spoiling the whole book. FOR MORE GO TO [...]

I've read a few Jodi Picoult books and this is one of the ones I've wanted to read for awhile. Anna wants to fight for medical emancipation, which means she doesn't want to divorce her parents, she just wants to be in charge of what happens to her medically. She's been a bone marrow donor to her sister who has had APL a form of leukemia as well as gone through other medical procedures. Now she's fighting for control over what happens to her own body, just as her sister is in need for a kidney transplant. With some money she's saved up she shows up at Campbell's office. She's seen that he gets things done. While she can't afford his actual services there is something about her that compels to agree to take her case. And the publicity that could result can lead to other high profile clients in the future. Taking on her case is not going to be easy as opposing council is Anna's own mother and so she's assigned a professional to decide what's in the best interest of her, which also ends up being Julia(a woman from Campbell's past).There is a bit of a mystery to Campbell as he has a service dog, but he's not blind. Which is what everyone he runs across assumes what the dog is for once they are informed it's a service dog. Some of the man's responses to their questions about it are pretty funny. Representing Anna is not easy as there are many times it looks like she's not sure exactly what she wants and there are moments whether or not he questions whether he's still pursuing the lawsuit. Which is a challenge because if she doesn't know what she wants then how can she prove that she's capable of making her own medical decisions, which is the whole point of the case that she wants to be free to make her own medical decisions. In the end she may end up giving her sister her kidney, but after years of having various medical procedues done she finally wants to have a say with what happens with her own body. She also wants to be finally be heard.The story unfolds over the course of the book with various points of view by various members of Anna's family along with her lawyer and Julia. Part of the mother's story is set in the past as we get various details about Kate's medical history. Her whole life since she was about two years old has been divided between being sick and some moments of being absolutely healthy. Unfortunately she's been sick more then she's been healthy. She's beaten the odds big time where her disease is concerned but now her kidney's are failing and the dialysis she undergoes is no longer working. If she doesn't get a kidney transplant real soon then she's going to die. It's revealed in the book that even if she gets the kidney there are no guarantees. After years of facing her death, her parents are no better prepared to say goodbye then when she first got the diagnosis when she was a little girl. An awful lot of the family's life has revolved around Kate and sometimes the other two kids have fallen through the cracks, especially Jesse as he's neither the one who is sick nor is the one who has been able to do something about it. The only reason he gets any attention at all is that he's the family screw up.The book unwinds itself around a two week period of time, as Anna's case works it's way through the courts leading up to the day of the hearing. The hearing which can determine whether or not she is legally emancipated. Things are pretty strained in the family as each member struggles to hold it together between Kate's hospitalization and Anna's court case. Not being able to breathe between the court case and what's going on with her sister, Anna ends up temporarily moving in with her father at the firehouse he workss at as a firefighter. Over the course of the few days the hearing takes place we are treated to a few surprises. You find out what the service dog is for and the real reason Anna filed the lawsuit. Not to mention what happens after the verdict in the case is read and makes you wonder if the family would have done anything differently if they had known what the ultimate outcome was going to be. As is usual based on the other Jodi Picoult books I have read, there is one heck of a twist at the end of the book. Whether or not it ruins the rest of the story, is really up to the individual reader. But after reading this book I will continue to read Jodi Picoult books in the future.