Reviews with content warning for Child death - My Sister's Keeper

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

72 reviews

gear3232's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I enjoyed the different perspectives in this book but at times they dragged a bit. I could have used more of Anna’s perspective but I understand why we needed to see her parents and her brothers point of view as well. There are some parts of the book I have trouble with though. The mom buying dresses to cope only came up at the beginning and then was never mentioned again.

the that Jesse was setting buildings on fire,” was interesting but the conclusion, with his father covering for him, felt off to me. Also, I don’t love the ending. What message is the author trying to portray? To me it feels like she didn’t know what to do, or was to afraid to write a deeper ending, so she just killed off Anna to make it easier. I’m not sure if I needed the Campbell and Julia storyline. I understand it dove more into their characters and gave us something more happy to focus on but I almost wish there had been more of a focus on Anna and her siblings.

Overall, I enjoyed the book but some parts could have been better.

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samcsmith's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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melissa_keen's review against another edition

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dark hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I watched the film, and wasn't expecting the book to have such a different ending!! Both endings are great, and it was an unexpected but good twist to read the book ending. It's a very sad book, because it centers around a little girl dying of cancer. The book tackles some really complicated and difficult subjects, but it does so beautifully. A very raw, realistic, sad yet beautiful story.

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xoxandiexo's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

this was unnecessarily painful. i hate the ending with all my heart and i want to punch the wall until my knuckles bleed. merry christmas!

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add_a_little_spook's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kdkenyon's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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nle278's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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juleskr02's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

as i read this novel, i constantly thought about how i could do nothing else but compare it to the film adaptation, but by the end, i was caught by such surprise that those comparisons didn’t even matter.

my sister’s keeper has been my absolute favorite film for the longest time. there isn’t a viewing where i don’t cry. so of course i was ecstatic when i could finally land my hands on a copy of the book, especially paying only $1 for it from a thrift store! i had no idea what was in store for me, truly.

there were plenty of similarities between the book and film. i mean, the plot has to stay the same for the film to be a true adaptation. and i found myself identifying a good chunk of lines in the book that were identical to those of the film. but as always, the book is way more gruesome and sad than one could even imagine, considering the film is already super depressing. by the end of the novel i was in tears as the ending completely threw me for a loop.

the way this book is written is so smart. my favorite books are always the ones written in first person, so having this book written in first person from a plethora of points of view was a treat. jodi picoult plans the story out with a specific schedule, the plot following consistent weeks with each character’s part in different fonts. it’s really clear in reestablishing the different parts of the novel. something i also really took notice of is how each character was written. like how sara’s parts were always from the past, up until the trial. i think that really symbolizes her lack of acknowledgment in moving on and letting go. and the last point of view being from kate is just so powerful. i also love that it’s jesse who has the first and only mention of the exact words of the title.

i really enjoyed campbell and julia in the novel. that’s something that doesn’t get touched upon in the movie, and i think it’s adds a bit of romance to a story that overall lacks that quality. and they also make the courtroom scene that much better, specifically campbell!

this book touches on such serious topics that are written yet in a beautiful manner. this novel wrecked me, but i expected nothing less since the film did the exact same.

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ellemwan's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

If you want to read a book with a good ending that makes sense and wraps up the story well don’t read this book. The ending was unnecessary and felt rushed and as a cash grab for a twist odd choice

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seawarrior's review against another edition

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2.0

The primary issue that I have with this book is its melodrama. Picoult seemed very deliberate in including plot points and phrases that heightened the emotional drama and distress that the characters were experiencing. By the final pages of the book, this was painful to the point of irritation.

I also felt that Picoult shied away from fully exploring the situation Anna was in. By making her subservient to her parents and a willing participant in the surgeries she was born to endure, Picoult never has to stare down the true horror of Anna's life.

Though she's granted medical emancipation, we later realize that even this decision was made to help Kate, negating any hurt or resentment between the family members. Anna's death serves this purpose even further. Though her family grieves her, she had a slim realm of identity and personality outside of providing for Kate, so in a way she exists as she always has.

I think this book did a disservice to its own mission by relying on plot twists that eventual solved the ethical and familial ramifications of Anna's fight for the rights to her own body.

Unfortunately I did not feel that the additional protagonists were written well either. It felt to me that Picoult stretched herself too thin, and managed to create characters who represented problems that needed to be solved within her narrative, but not much more. Though each character had different perspectives, most noticeably defined by their fields of study or past life experiences, their voices were not dissimilar and I didn't think they possessed the true complexity of human beings. I will say that Picoult's story was engaging, and seemed to have been researched well; yet I am not an expert in medicine, law, astronomy, fire science or any other topics Picoult needed factual support to make a part of her story. I would recommend this book to others who are interested in children's rights in the medical field, although do not expect the book to be too revolutionary, as I did. Instead it provides a starter for questioning the way we undermine children's consent in medicine, and ends with vague assertions that are ultimately meaningless for Anna.

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