"A major decision about me is being made, and no one's bothered to ask the one person who most deserves it to speak her opinion." The only reason Anna was born was to donate her cord blood cells to her older sister. And though Anna is not sick, she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since she was a child. Anna was born for this purpose, her parents tell her, which is why they love her even more. But now that she has reached an age of physical awareness, she can't help but long for control over her own body and respite from the constant flow of her own blood seeping into her sister's veins. And so she makes a decision that for most would be too difficult to bear, at any time and at any age. She decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
AMAZING book, but the ending RUINS it:
Like so many other reviewers, I would like to reiterate that this book is wonderful. Jodi weaves a web of conflict that is both beautiful and terrible, where the answers are never right and never wrong. I applaud her for her characters that come to live inside of you, characters you learn to love and hate. When it comes down to it, the book teaches so many lessons about the human condition. I cried a few times and stayed up most of the night trying to get to the end. That being said, the ending was so... more info
Read it:
Having not read any of Joid Picoults other books and hearing all the hype i was a bit sceptical. But the book has really made me question some of my beliefs that I thought were so obviously well founded. Definately a tear jerker for me, but that could have been due to the impact on my thinking. The end is slightly disapointing but surprising. It would have been great to have a happily ever after ending.
Riveting yes, but.....:
Picoult is a marvelous story teller with an incredible knack for pulling you over to her own prejudices on an issue. The book was a page turner. I started it late Friday night and completed it by 4:30pm on Sunday. I needed to know what would happen to Anna's court case while strongly leaning towards her right to her own body. I alternated between anger and understanding of a mother caught in the trap between the life of one daughter and the right to a normal life for the other. I was angry that the parents... more info
More than I had hoped for!:
This book is written beautifully. It started with a single story line (a family conceives another child to be a donor match for a sick one - but have no fear...this is no plot spoiler!) so I wondered how a whole book could be written on this one theme. It is to this author's credit that it did indeed take a whole book to explore this theme and others that were intertwined. I found it sensitive and thought provoking, and unlike another reviewer, enjoyed almost every page. It has inspired me to read more from... more info
