My Sister's Keeper
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| My Sister's Keeper | |
 Hardback cover |
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| Author | Jodi Picoult |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Atria |
| Publication date | April 6, 2004 |
| Media type | print ( hardcover & paperback ) |
| Pages | 432 pp |
| ISBN | 0-7434-5452-9 |
My Sister’s Keeper (2004), by Jodi Picoult, is a novel about a young girl who sues her parents for the right to make her own decisions about how her body is used when a kidney transplant is planned in order to save her older sister's life. The main themes surrounding this novel are family and bioethics.
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[edit] Plot summary
Anna came into the world via in vitro fertilization, so that she would be a genetic match for her older sister Kate, who was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia when she was 2 years old. When Anna was born, her cord blood was donated to Kate, but when the leukemia returned, Anna then had to donate blood and bone marrow. When Kate's kidneys fail, Anna is expected to donate one of her own, but she hires a lawyer to be medically emancipated from her parents and gain the right to make the decision herself. Her lawyer, Campbell Alexander, works for her pro bono.
At the end of the book, it is revealed that the reason Anna initiated the lawsuit was that her sister didn't want her to donate the kidney; Kate was tired of being sick and was ready to die. After the trial, Anna is granted medical emancipation but just as she is about to reveal whether she will donate, she suffers a closed head injury in a car crash and is left brain dead. As Campbell Alexander has power of attorney for Anna, he agrees to the donation.
In the epilogue, it is revealed that Kate survived the transplant, although doctors had thought she might be too weak. Kate believes that the reason she survived is that Anna took her place in heaven.
[edit] Characters
The book is narrated by seven different characters, six of whom narrate the main story, with Kate supposedly narrating the prologue and epilogue.
- Andromeda "Anna" Fitzgerald was genetically engineered and conceived by IVF. She was born to provide a genetic match for her sister, specifically conceived to provide stem cells for her. She files a lawsuit against her parents for medical emancipation. She played hockey but was not able to focus on it due to her commitment to Kate. She loves her sister Kate, and Kate loves her, but the lawsuit is tearing the family apart. Still, Kate and Anna maintain their close relationship. It is said in the prologue that she tried many times to kill her sister but in the end it is revealed that, it was in fact, Kate who tried to kill herself.
- Katherine "Kate" Fitzgerald is the sister who has leukemia. She and Anna are each other's best friends. She doesn't like all the attention being in the hospital constantly; she just wants to have a normal life. She enjoys watching soap operas and had only one romantic relationship, with a fellow leukemia sufferer who later dies. She loves ballet and in the epilogue has a job as a dancing teacher.
- Jesse Fitzgerald is Anna and Kate's older brother. Throughout the book we see him as a troubled pyromaniac teen who starts a series of fires, takes drugs and steals cars. He identifies with Anna because they both feel neglected by their parents in favor of Kate. In the epilogue, he appears to have become a reformed character after joining the police force, and helps in a drug bust.
- Sara Fitzgerald is the mother of Anna, Kate and Jesse. She believes that she loves all three of her children, but in fact she often neglects Anna and Jesse and appears willing to sacrifice them both to save Kate. She is a former lawyer and when Anna starts the lawsuit she decides to represent herself.
- Brian Fitzgerald is the father of Anna, Kate and Jesse. Brian is a firefighter and has a love for astronomy. He named Anna after the constellation Andromeda.
- Campbell Alexander, Anna's lawyer. He has a service dog named Judge, but hides the dog's purpose until near the end of the book. Campbell got into a car accident and had a seizure afterwards. The doctors told him he would have seizures the rest of his life. He left his girlfriend, Julia, so that she would not have to deal with his condition, although he still harbors feelings for her.
- Julia Romano is Anna's guardian ad litem for the trial. She is also the former sweetheart of Campbell Alexander and there is a subplot concerning their relationship. Towards the end of the book, Campbell and Julia resume their relationship and in the epilogue, it is revealed that the two get married.
[edit] Film adaptation
New Line Cinema has turned My Sister's Keeper into a feature film, released on June 26, 2009. Nick Cassavetes direct it.[1][2] It stars Cameron Diaz as Sara and Alec Baldwin as Campbell. Kate and Anna are played respectively by Sofia Vassilieva and Abigail Breslin.[2]
[edit] Critique
In a Washington Post review, Katherine Arie describes the book as "a thrill to read", however, some characters are "unconvincing" for her, such as Brian, who is "too good to be true", Jesse, "a poster child for self-destructive behavior" and Kate, who is "as weak and wispy on the page as she's supposed to be in life".
[edit] References
- ^ "Questions and Answers". Jodi Picoult.com. March 2, 2007. http://www.jodipicoult.com/faqs.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
- ^ a b Fleming, Michael (2008-02-12). "Breslin, Vassilieva to star in 'Keeper'. Duo replaces Fanning sisters in New Line film". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117980824.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
[edit] External links
- My Sister's Keeper at the author's site
- The BBC Radio 4 programme, Book Club, discussed My Sister's Keeper in May 2007. The programme may be listened to at Book Club's website
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