Reviews

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Only show reviews with written explanations

bekacrook's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

What a hard hitting, emotional book. The characters were all flawed but genuine, they felt like they could be real people just stuck with an unfortunate lot in life. It was easy to understand where they each got their perspective on the court case and the way the author often dipped into their pasts while in their points of view really showed what key moments shaped them individually and as a family.

At times it was a hard read, there were so many feelings involved for all the characters, so many secrets and misunderstandings and lack of communication between characters in an effort to save them from more pain.

The ending absolutely gutted me, it differs from the film but ultimately I think it hits harder. It feels unfair and devasting and more in keeping with the unpredictable nature of life and peoples lives. It genuinely made me cry and gasp in shock. The timing of it was so effective but god, it was horrible. It felt like the whole story was for nothing.

The only bit that I wasn't the biggest fan of was the jumping between perspectives, different times and locations for all of them. Sometimes this made it hard to keep track and keep immersed in the story because you kept leaping to learn about it from another perspective. It was effective but just sometimes tricky to keep up.

Content Warnings

jennharrott's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious slow-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

4.5

build_a_bridget's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

thimsu's review against another edition

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2.0

I'm so disappointed. While the concept was great, the execution much worse.
I sympathised with Anna from the very beginning, I loved how bold she was to press charges and fight for the quality of her life... until she wasn't...
I hated this plot twist!
The author once again made it about Kate while, I think, the point was to give Anna her spotlight. I acknowledge the fact how young Anna is but still- it bothers me that she did it all as a ANOTHER favour to Kate.
I try to understand Anna. In fact I too have two amazing sisters that I would do everything for, but I believe that it shouldn't be the point of this story

I did not enjoy most of the flashbacks, I think that the author should've left only the necessary ones (like Sara's or Anna's) and just delete the rest. I believe it would make the experience way better.
And, oh boy, how many pov's could've the author squeeze there?
There were way to many perspectives and it made reading so exhausting.

schumkat's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

libertyc's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

pickyreader23's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.0

I did not like the book that much. I loved the initial concept of the book and believed that it all could've been resolved much better. All the different POVs are also unnecessary, and I did not like the ending of the book.