© 2007
by Jodi Picoult
Reviewed by Dorothy Black
To be able to know the inmost thoughts of the people around us is enticing. A suspense novel that uses that method of story creation has automatic appeal. But in this case, the plot is the main attraction. For who can resist a story about life as it impacts on death, and vice versa? Who can resist a tale that struggles with legality versus morality? Who can be indifferent to the struggles of love and caring that we see impacting on others? For “there, but for the grace of God, go I.”
Anna was conceived in the hope of saving her sister’s life. Kate has leukemia, and a bone marrow match might save her. As Anna grows, she provides the blood and marrow that keeps Kate functioning until, finally, they no longer work well and Kate requires a kidney. But Anna is now a teenager, with all that implies, and she wants control of the life others have always had control over – hers. Should she refuse to give a kidney, and risk Kate’s life? If she gives one, the operation may risk her own life, either with the operation or down the road when she is older.
Sara, mother of Kate and Anna, cannot see how the kidney could be refused. Anna’s firefighter father, Brian, can better understand Anna’s position, and this difference of opinion between husband and wife impacts on their marriage. Then Anna decides to sue her parents for the right to run her own life, shocking everyone. What is the right thing to do? Will Kate live, or not? If Anna refuses to donate the kidney, and Kate dies, would she be able to live with herself?
The book goes into detail about Kate’s illness, with medical terminology and related explanations. The chapters go by the names of the personages each focuses on and the print even changes from person/chapter to person/chapter. Apart from the basic story, there are nuggets of happenings that charm and intrigue. Why, for example, does civil attorney Campbell Alexander keep his dog, Judge, with him at all times? He is not blind or deaf but calls the dog a service dog. “Oh,” he may say flippantly, “he’s a chick magnet!” And imagine the scene when a lady turns up at the fire station wearing nothing but an octopus costume, waving her arms about in agitation. It turns out her house had burned down and that was the only clothing she managed to save!
Her Sister’s Keeper examines dilemmas and challenges that humans fall heir to. What is a good parent, for example, and how does one become one? What are the bonds between siblings, and what are the challenges of them? What is a good person, and what are the limits of that, stretching perhaps to not-good? Are there circumstances which justify infringing on one person’s life for the sake of another’s? Life is full of such scenarios, and we all have them. The intricacies of modern life and medical and scientific developments also add new versions, such as this example of embryonic manipulation.
By Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author, this is a book highly readable and full of insight. In each chapter, we feel as though we are the current personage, absorbing feelings of fear, sorrow, love, compassion. If you want mystery and surprises and unexpected turns of plot, this book has them. This is a “can’t put it down” book, one that will both grab your interest and keep it.