This is the first Jodi Picoult book that I have read, having had her name suggested to me several times by friends that know the sorts of books I like to read. I had heard about this book and it's basic storyline and thought that it sounded like an intriguing read, so set about getting started. Once I had picked up the book it was hard to put it down. Definitely one of those books where you want to keep turning the pages!

=== Plot Summary ===

Imagine a world where you have two beautiful children, then one day you discover that your gorgeous little daughter has leukaemia. How would you react? What would be your next steps? How far would you go to save her?

Brian and Sara are in that world. What they do next is have a third child. A child (Anna) genetically matched to their existing daughter (Kate). As soon as Anna is born she unknowingly makes a blood donation to Kate. This is the first of many various donations that Anna will make throughout her life. Kate is fighting to survive. Anna is subjected to many operations throughout her life. Older brother Jesse is left on the sidelines to become a bit of a tearaway and go off the rails. When Anna, at thirteen, decides enough is enough she decides to take her parents to court to fight for the right to her own body.

As the case makes it to court there are many family issues that come to light. Some are relevant to 'normal' (whatever that really means) life, whereas others are more linked to the medical issues.

=== THE Ending of all Endings ===

How does the court case end? Well, I'm not going to tell you - you'll have to read the book! The ending of the book is not one I'm going to forget in a hurry. It did really make an impact on me. I couldn't help but cry at the end. Actually, recently I had the opportunity to go see Jodi and go to a talk (question answer style) that she did about My Sisters Keeper. When discussing the ending of this book she said that she allowed her son to read the story and when it came to the ending she apparently found him crying on the sofa, at which point he stormed off upstairs and was really angry with her! She also mentioned that she put a clue to the ending right at the beginning of the book. After being told that I promptly went home and re-read the opening of the book. I do see this clue, but it's definitely not something I would have picked up on without her prompting! For those that have read the book - re-read the prologue and have a think.

=== My Opinions ===

I think the book is very well written. It is written in such a way so that all the characters get to voice their own point of view, sometimes repeating their interpretations of the same event. An interesting style of writing, one that I don't normally tend to get along with, but Jodi Picoult writes in this way fantastically. I found myself sympathising with Anna, and felt her emotions in relation to her mothers biased love towards Kate. But then you read Saras narrative and can't help but feel the emotions that she has for both of her daughters and how she felt being in the situation that she was in. Jodi has captured every single character brilliantly in this style of writing, and puts a lot of emotion into the storyline. Every character in this book has a vital role to play in making this story what it is. Each character really has a voice. This character development really helps make this book what it is.

As well as brilliant characters the book really does have a brilliant storyline. There are a few things that make this the case. A key point to mention is the amount of research Jodi does for her books. She does a lot of research for all her books - for this one her research was obviously mostly based in the medical and law sectors. The fact that she uses this research to create such a 'real' scenario really does help make you think about what you would do in that situation.

I was reading this on the bus on my daily commute. This is fine for most of the book, but there are parts where emotion is written so fantastically that it was impossible to read on the bus if I didn't want my mascara to run before I got to work. Although, reading this book on the bus was also a great conversation starter. Met a girl who asked me about the book as she wanted to read it herself, and I definitely recommended it to her.

Overall, a fantastic read. Definitely has it's tear jerker moments, and Jodi tackles such a difficult ethical issue brilliantly and in such a way that makes the reader question what they would do in the same situation.