Feb Book: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

[cookiemom]

I feel the book was very thought provoking.

If my own daughter was in the same situation, would I conceive a baby just to be the donor for her? I think I would.

Maybe the mom never felt that attachment to Anna because she only conceived her to be the donor....

I thought the book was hard to follow at times going back and forth from the future and then to the present. This may have been because I didn't have long stretches of time to read; only about 15 minutes at a time.

I liked that there were other minor stories (Jesse and the fires, Campbell and the mystery dog) taking place at the same time as the main story. I'm not sure how I would have handled Jesse and the fires if I found out that they all had been caused by my son. I definitely think he needed counseling!

Overall, I liked the book, and hope everyone else enjoyed my selection.

[Paulette]

I did enjoy the book. And you know, I had 3 kids myself and you don't love them all the same; you don't always treat them all the same. But I don't know if I would have pushed the others aside had one of my kids "needed" me more. I would like to think that I would have still been able to guide the others through their growing pains. Hard to know till you've walked a mile in the shoes I guess, but I would like to hope...

[Bethers]

This book really effected me - I love most of it - loved how detailed the family was - including how dysfunctional they were. Unlike some of you, I loved the way it was written - especially it going between the different people so that we were always getting their different points of view. But, as I said before, I hated the ending. And it's been bugging me ever since I read the book, so today I looked up the auther and emailed her. In 1/2 an hour she responded. I emailed back and got her permission to post what she sent me - and, while I still disagree - I like not only that she explained her reasoning, but that she responded! So here goes (I'm taking off last names, email addresses, etc.)

On Feb 17, 2009, at 5:45 PM, Beth wrote:


Thank you very much for writing My Sister's Keeper. However, I must admit, that while My Sister's Keeper took me through just about all the emotions and thoughts and back-and-forths on the issues involved, I was so terribly disappointed in the ending to the book. I don't know if you've thought of it from this persepctive, but the book ends with me feeling that the mother "won". The daughter that she put above all else in her life including her other children miraculously lives after a kidney transplant that medically could not have cured her disease. This happens by losing the daughter that never really was considered as anything but a human guinea pig, human donor.

I'm not sure why, after such a thought-provoking book, the ending had to be almost a fairy tale, that didn't fit. It would have been ok to end it without us ever knowing what happened, but this ending just completely disappointed me. The book itself wasn't a fairy tale and I didn't believe the end should have been either.

Thank you so much for everything until the end - for all the thought and research that you did. And I'm sure there are others who would disagree with my feelings about the ending, but I also know that there are others who share my feelings.

I'm sure I'll read other of your books, but I'm almost afraid to as I don't know if you do the same with them.

Thanks for listening,
Beth

From: Jodi
To: Beth
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 4:54:15 PM
Subject: Re: My Sister's Keeper

Beth, I couldn't disagree more. This ending is the ONLY one that prevents the family from making the same mistakes over and over - Anna's death forces Sara, especially, to realize that she has been so busy worrying about Kate's future she's missed what's here now (Anna). Ultimately, Anna was created to save her sister...but she winds up saving her family.

I hope seeing it from this point of view will help you understand why I wrote it the way I did.

Jodi Picoult

On Feb 17, 2009, at 6:22 PM, Beth wrote:


Jodi,
I'm going to think on this, as I don't see that at all. I know you thought it through in writing it this way, but most of us aren't lucky enough to have our families saved. Life just doesn't work that way. Again, it just feels like a fairy tale ending to me, which is what I looked for as a young child, but quickly realized rarely happens in real life. Maybe part of my feeling is how much I disliked Sara throughout the book and as I stated, it seemed too much like Sara won - the daughter she wanted to save, is saved, and the one that was disposible, was disposed of. (Rather harsh way to see it, but how I do view it.) So, it makes me think that while Sara might wish Anna was still alive, she can live without Anna as long as Kate is still with her. Had Kate died and Anna survived, Sara would have never forgiven Anna. So, in that sense, yes, it saved the family. It and a medical miracle that wouldn't have happened.

Thanks for listening to me and replying. I really didn't expect to hear back from you. If you don't mind, I'd like to post your reply to me on a women's forum I belong to where some of us have been discussing your book. I'll wait to hear back from you on that.

Have a great day,
Beth

From: Jodi
To: Beth
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 5:48 PM
Subject: Re: My Sister's Keeper

Post away!

[Sparkle]

I am impressed with the fact she took time to respond, especially as it was a mixed review. I still don't agree. I didn't see it as saving the family. Jesse still had problems that weren't resolved. Surely Anna's father had regrets. It's the same result, Sara won, and she got her daughter all to herself. I notice Jodi didn't address the health issue. Kate still had the disease. Maybe the kidney transplant put her in remission, but who's going to save her the next time she is sick. Then Sara will have no one.
Hey, that was fun. Can we do another by that author for March?

[Bethers]

Would love to, Sparkle. She has a brand new book out - or we could do an older one, but we'll have to skip March - to give people time to purchase and read. Pick one - start a new post with the name, etc - and off we go.

I must say, that I do like her writing as much as I disliked the end of the book. She gave me lots and lots of food for thought. Good thing to keep my brain cells working - and this book worked them overtime.

[mtngal]

Good idea Sparkle, if you pick a book this week, I can go by Half Price Books before leaving town!

Beth, interesting to hear Jodi's reasoning behind her ending of book. She must be very dedicated to respond to emails! It would have never crossed my mind, but what a super way to send comments to authors!

[AlmostThere]

I'm sure the author was overjoyed to receive your critique. That shows her that people are reading her work and her work is thought provoking to us. That way we talk about her books and others get interested. Case in point; you are all interested in reading more of her work now and she sells more books.

[Sparkle]

Beth just told me that they are making a movie of the book...with a different ending!