This was my first Jodi Picoult, and I found this book very hard to put down. The story kept me thinking (much to the chagrin of my husband who had to deal with me posing the questions going through my head) about the ethical issues presented by modern science and by the idea of "who do you choose" when it comes to the well-being of your children? The story is about Anna, a 13 year old girl who hires a lawyer, Campbell Alexander, to sue her parents for medical emancipation. What is her motivation for doing this? She was essentially genetically engineered to be a donor for her older sister, Kate, who is suffering from a rare form of leukemia. At birth, Anna donated her cord blood, and later on she kept having to donate blood, bone marrow, etc., to help prolong her sister's life. She was never asked, it was just expected of her and it resulted in her not having a normal childhood- example, she couldn't go to a hockey camp because she would be away from her sister for too long. Now, she is put in a situation where her sister needs a kidney, and her mother wants Anna to donate hers since, due to Kate's illness, can't come from a regular donor. Anna loves her sister, they are best friends, but this decision is something that is truly difficult for both of them because they want different things.
Also caught up in this whole mess is Jesse, their older brother who is forgotten in the medical shuffle and finds other ways of expressing himself & releasing his anger, their firefighter dad who is so used to saving lives but can't save Kate and wonders if Anna might be right to bring this case to trial, and Julia, Anna's court appointed guardian, who needs to figure out what's best for Anna, but can't even figure out what's best for herself because Campbell was the guy who broke her heart in high school. Finally, there's Judge, Campbell's service dog who, to me, is symbolic of a few things, but it takes a very long time to find out what his service role actually is (Campbell gives a different answer every time someone asks). For some reason, I really liked the character of Campbell, perhaps because to me he's that Han Solo, bad boy type with a wisecrack for everything, but a soft side underneath.
Anyway, as others have stated, I didn't necessarily agree with the ending, but then again, like the issues the book presents, there really isn't a right way to end this book. As with the situation itself, it is what it is. It was a little confusing at first to have each chapter from a different character's POV, but you get over that really fast. All-in-all, I highly recommend this book. It is very engaging, hard to put down, and will make you think about a number of different medical & moral issues that you thought you knew the answers to.
Also caught up in this whole mess is Jesse, their older brother who is forgotten in the medical shuffle and finds other ways of expressing himself & releasing his anger, their firefighter dad who is so used to saving lives but can't save Kate and wonders if Anna might be right to bring this case to trial, and Julia, Anna's court appointed guardian, who needs to figure out what's best for Anna, but can't even figure out what's best for herself because Campbell was the guy who broke her heart in high school. Finally, there's Judge, Campbell's service dog who, to me, is symbolic of a few things, but it takes a very long time to find out what his service role actually is (Campbell gives a different answer every time someone asks). For some reason, I really liked the character of Campbell, perhaps because to me he's that Han Solo, bad boy type with a wisecrack for everything, but a soft side underneath.
Anyway, as others have stated, I didn't necessarily agree with the ending, but then again, like the issues the book presents, there really isn't a right way to end this book. As with the situation itself, it is what it is. It was a little confusing at first to have each chapter from a different character's POV, but you get over that really fast. All-in-all, I highly recommend this book. It is very engaging, hard to put down, and will make you think about a number of different medical & moral issues that you thought you knew the answers to.
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
