My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Tears rolled continously while reading this book. Picture this, Anna, a 13 year old girl asking for medical emancipation from her parents because she refused to donate one of her kidneys to her 16 year old sister. Kate, who is dying of leukemia. Anna, has been her sister's donor since she was born. In fact, she is a designer baby. A baby created especially to match her sister so that she can give blood, bone marrow and platelets to her sister. It seems a clear cut case of a child who yearns for attention because her parents are caught up with Kate's never ending ailments. Yet, it is not so. As the book is written from the perspectives of every main character in the story you get insights into their thoughts and feelings. And from Anna's perspective, there is some great mystery and big secret that she bears. When all is revealed in the court, the truth is so much more sad than speculation and assumptions. It is easier to be angry than to see and accept the truth and letting a loved one go. The ending is cliched, but because of the emotional roller coaster one gets from reading the book, it is totally unexpected. Questions on what Anna would do in the end is answered in one fall sweep of fate.

This is my first Jodi Picoult's book ever and she is a good author. Her style is simple, yet her words brings about emotions of empathy and sympathy. She manages to get you involved as the character and feel their emotions. In this book she sketches simply the lives of children and teenagers who suffer from terminal diseases. A place where the healthy would never thread, much less think about. The world of disease is sad enough but when it happens to innocent young lives, it is tragic. What do children with such a fate do, think and feel? What about their families? If you want to find out and get a glimpse, read the book. It is not a tear jerker kind of book because it is sad....The words make you cry only if you can identify with the emotions they convey.