has ALL you need!

A community for book lovers to create their own bookshelves, share and explore books.

Google Preview

• 11 people find this helpful

  • 

  • I haven't read such a good book for a long time. No wonder why so many readers across the world love Jodi Picoult. She is one of the few writers who are not afraid to tackle controversial social issues and present them nicely in an enjoyable read.

    The story is about Anna, a 13-year old who h ... Continue

    I haven't read such a good book for a long time. No wonder why so many readers across the world love Jodi Picoult. She is one of the few writers who are not afraid to tackle controversial social issues and present them nicely in an enjoyable read.

    The story is about Anna, a 13-year old who hired a lawyer to file a petition to the court to seek medical emancipation from her parents, Brian and Sara Fitzgerald. Anna's elder sister, Kate, was diagnosed with chronic leukemia, and Anna was conceived for one purpose - to act as a donor of matching blood cells to Kate. Originally, Brian and Sara only wanted the blood from Anna's umbilical cord immediately after Anna's birth. But then over the years, Kate had relapses, and her parents had to take blood and bone marrow transfusions from Anna repeatedly. When Kate suffered from renal failure and only the donation of a kidney from Anna could save her, that was too much for Anna to take.

    The book is narrated by the major characters, telling the story from their respective perspectives. It is ingenious for the author to tell the story in this way because with such a controversial theme, you have to listen to what each party has to say in doing what they think is justified. Different readers may have sympathy for different characters and take opposite sides. At the end of the day, it comes down to whether you think parents have the right and the ability to make informed decisions for their children. In this story, the decision is painful: the well-being of one child is sacrificed for the benefit of the other one, and the decision is life or death.

    I have always been an advocate of freedom of choice, and I cannot tolerate people, be they parents or not, violating that freedom of a minor, even though the minor is their child. I think Anna has every right to say no to the organ donation - we are talking about HER kidney. The kidney is hers and of course her consent must be obtained before it can be removed from her. It's just that simple. How would her parents be in a position to make that decision for her?

    But of course there are many complicated issues here, especially since Kate's life depends on it and Anna is the only one who can save her sister. I can understand what their parents thought: that Anna's donation of a kidney can save both their children. That's the argument put forward by Sara, the mother, who used to be an attorney (and she represented herself in the trial). Sara always claimed that she loved both her daughters and the organ transplant could save them both.

    I find her argument so lame that I hate her from the start (it was so frustrating reading her narratives that I had to curse her). Obviously, she was making the decision in favour of Kate, the sick one, at the expense of Anna. Anna has been a donor to Kate all her life, and it was not until she turned 13 that she asked people to just pay a little more attention to her and listen to how she felt.

    Maybe there are problems with the US medical and legal systems, and Anna somehow fell through the cracks. I just don't understand how people can take organs from a human being without the individual's consent. The issue in the book is whether Anna at 13 has the capacity to make the right decision for herself in the circumstances. Of course she has. Even if she hasn't, her parents won't be in a better position to make the decision for her because their judgement is clouded by the welfare of their dying child and their decision will be biased.

    Why would a 13-year old need to go through a trial in order to claim a basic human right of not having her organs harvested against her will?

    I would say that nobody has the right to take an organ from a human being, starting from the individual's birth (and not from as late as the age of 13). The umbilical cord blood is alright because we don't need it anyway. But after that, would all parents please stop taking body parts from the children without their agreement no matter how noble that cause will be.

    Maybe because I am not a parent, I can't empathise with those parents caught in a similar situation as Brian and Sara. But I am sure that if my child is already dying, I would make every effort not to let my other child suffer.

    The book is poignant and harrowing, but it really makes you pause and think.

    It's a terrific read and highly recommended. I don't like the ending though ...

    

    Is this helpful?

• ― Tracy W said on Aug 5, 2007 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

• 5 people find this helpful

  • 

  • 看這本書時忍不住拿來跟前陣子看的石黑一雄的"Never Let Me Go"作比較。主角同樣是某種類型的器官、血液捐贈者(一個是被用 來當做器官備胎的複製人、一個是經基因設計篩選生下來以便救生病的 姊姊)石黑一雄擅長一種深沉的、不一定流露於表象、卻像融於血液與 呼吸中，再真實不過的悲哀；Picoult把主角放在一般人熟悉的 家庭生活、法律規範、倫理道德標準下，採用書中不同角色對事件的觀 點，從情感、倫理、人權、法律、醫療...等層面提供了深廣探討的 可能性，相較於石黑一雄不著痕跡的鋪陳，Picoult的My Sister's Keeper多了點連續劇的元素，很多的巧合、伏筆、意外...這 是我 ... Continue

    看這本書時忍不住拿來跟前陣子看的石黑一雄的"Never Let Me Go"作比較。主角同樣是某種類型的器官、血液捐贈者(一個是被 用來當做器官備胎的複製人、一個是經基因設計篩選生下來以便救生 病的姊姊)石黑一雄擅長一種深沉的、不一定流露於表象、卻像融於 血液與呼吸中，再真實不過的悲哀；Picoult把主角放在一般 人熟悉的家庭生活、法律規範、倫理道德標準下，採用書中不同角色 對事件的觀點，從情感、倫理、人權、法律、醫療...等層面提供 了深廣探討的可能性，相較於石黑一雄不著痕跡的鋪陳，Picou lt的My Sister's Keeper多了點連續劇的元素，很多的巧合、伏筆、意外... 這是我比較不喜歡的，尤其是最後1/10的部份。這仍是一本很好 看的書，還好我不喜歡的部份出現在很後面。這本書請盡量別看中文 譯本，原文不難，中文翻得不好。

    

    Is this helpful?

• ― 大貓 (luckycat) said on Aug 30, 2007 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

• 4 people find this helpful

  • 

  • 我很喜歡這本書說故事的方法，多重觀點的敘事，把故事中的每個角色 的內心都剖開，讓人閱讀。因為對這樣的故事而言，光是安娜的故事是 不夠的，傾聽每個人，才可能稍稍懂得這個家庭的悲傷以及拉扯。

    

    Is this helpful?

• ― Hsin (pathos) said on Mar 17, 2007 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

• .

  • 

  • I watched the movie before read the book. I like the ending of the movie better, though it's what the audiences could expected. But overall, the book is worth reading. The topic is controversial and there's no absolute right or wrong, all people involved have their considerations and pain. If you de ... Continue

    I watched the movie before read the book. I like the ending of the movie better, though it's what the audiences could expected. But overall, the book is worth reading. The topic is controversial and there's no absolute right or wrong, all people involved have their considerations and pain. If you decide to start this book, please don't just read it, but think on it.

    

    Is this helpful?

• ― Georgina said on Sep 22, 2009 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

• .

  • My Sister's Keeper

  • It should be familiar to those who like reading. A hot and popular fiction about a family and particularly 2 sisters who share contradictory interests. The plot is interesting and the writing style is very unique. The fiction is divided by chapters of different narrations - narrations of different c ... Continue

    It should be familiar to those who like reading. A hot and popular fiction about a family and particularly 2 sisters who share contradictory interests. The plot is interesting and the writing style is very unique. The fiction is divided by chapters of different narrations - narrations of different characters. It allows the reader to explore the inner world of each character and to see the story from various angles. I particularly appreciate this!

    

    Is this helpful?

• ― Bus Reader said on Sep 1, 2009 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

• .

  • My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

  • A heartbreaking story; moral, ethical and medical dilemmas facing a family with a terminally ill child.
    Sara and Brian Fitzgerald, son Jesse and daughter Kate seemed the perfect happy family; until at age two Kate is diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia.
    Sara and Brian decided to ... Continue

    A heartbreaking story; moral, ethical and medical dilemmas facing a family with a terminally ill child.
    Sara and Brian Fitzgerald, son Jesse and daughter Kate seemed the perfect happy family; until at age two Kate is diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia.
    Sara and Brian decided to conceive a child genetically programmed to be a future donor for Kate. Of course her parents were full of good intentions when they conceived Anna, believing she would add to their family's happiness while literally keeping her sister alive.

    Anna has always known since she was old enough to understand that she was brought into this world for the benefit of her sister's well being.
    A huge responsibility that weighs heavily on her shoulders, one that she can no longer endure and leads her to sue her own parents.
    Traditionally one expects parents to make decisions for a child that are in the child's best interest. However this does not appear to be the case for Anna, as she now questions the choices her parents have made.
    The big question is it ethically right for Anna Fitzgerald's body to have been used without her consent, to donate repeatedly for thirteen years to her sister.

    Was it legal, immoral, cruel, foolish, crazy, yes all those things, but it felt right to the parents. Let's remember as parents you always put your children first and want to do what's best for them. However you love all your children so how an earth do you decide, when something that helps one child, may just harm another.
    If this novel does not tug at your heart strings, then I do not know what will.
    http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4582265

    

    Is this helpful?

• ― Lindyloumac said on Aug 25, 2009 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult is widely acclaimed for her keen insights into the hearts and minds of real people. Now she tells the emotionally riveting story of a family torn apart by conflicting needs and a passionate love that triumphs over human weakness.

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate -- a life and a role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister -- and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.

My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? Once again, in My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult tackles a controversial real-life subject with grace, wisdom, and sensitivity.

Groups with this in collection

Networking Book Club (6)

Teen Books (31)

Malaysian Bookworms (56)

Jodi Picoult Books (53)

50 Book Challenge! (449)

Margin notes of this book

• 外文小說思考Fiction買的:)外國小說有聲書英文小說fictionsnovel文學
• See all (117)