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jessica13zapata's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Blood, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Child death, Chronic illness, and Medical content
ande13's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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? Yes
3.5
A little long, a little predictable (yes, even the ending), but overall a good read. It definitely raises a lot of good and difficult questions, even 20 years after it’s original publication. The author does a fantastic job of capturing what it’s like to love you family but still want to do what’s right for you - all the conflicting emotions but still feeling the burning love for the people around you. I would have given 4 stars, but I think there was some extra “stuff” that could have been excluded like the love story between Campbell and Julia and all their history… but it didn’t totally distract from the main story, so I guess it’s kind of a wash. Just there to make the book longer imo.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Cancer, Addiction, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Car accident
jenn_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Every adult in this book is awful and Sara can go straight to hell.
The end is monstrously stupid. It's like M. Night Shyamalan for middle aged white ladies. The ending definite affects my assessment of this whole entire book.
The end is monstrously stupid. It's like M. Night Shyamalan for middle aged white ladies. The ending definite affects my assessment of this whole entire book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol and Drug use
Medical consent issues, Toxic parental relationship,samcsmith's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Blood
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Car accident
melissa_keen's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, and Death
xoxandiexo's review against another edition
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!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Cancer, Grief, Chronic illness, Blood, Child death, Medical content, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
add_a_little_spook's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cancer, Blood, Vomit, and Medical content
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
juleskr02's review against another edition
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!
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Terminal illness and Vomit
Minor: Child death
ellemwan's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cancer, Chronic illness, Car accident, and Child death
seawarrior's review against another edition
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.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Car accident, Grief, Medical trauma, Blood, Suicide attempt, Child death, Medical content, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Pregnancy and Excrement
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Drug use