My Sister's Keeper

Hey Guys!

So, I started reading a new story in the past week, and I just read sixty pages, and it has managed to make sort of a influence on my life. Here is just some basic information on the book:

Title: My Sister's Keeper 

Author: Jodi Picoult 

Number of Pages: 423

From the minute I laid my eyes on this book, I was stunned. The book grabbed my attention within a matter of seconds as soon as I read the title. What happened in the first forty pages was the Anna and her family were introduced to us. Anna's older sister, Kate,  suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia, a blood and bone marrow cancer. The reason why Anna was born is because she could save her sister's life. She had agreed upon do do everything her sister needed, until she turned thirteen and her sister needed a kidney. The surgery required for both Kate and Anna would be major; it is not guaranteed to work, as the stress of the operation may well kill Kate anyway; and the loss of a kidney could have a serious impact on Anna's life. Anna petitions for medical emancipation with the help of lawyer Campbell Alexander, so that she will be able to make her own decisions regarding her medical treatment and the donation of her kidney. In most of the pages I have read, Anna had not been born so they talk about how everything had started, the beginning of  Kate's leukemia. She was takin g a bath, when her mother notices a bruise on her spine, the next day she had been taken to do some tests. When her parents had taken her to the hospital the doctor they explained the whole process of actue promeyelocytic leukemia and the survival rates. Kate's older brother Jesse, could have been able to help her, but he was not a match. One night, While Sara and her husband Brian were sleeping, they here that something had fallen down, it was quite a smash. They run down to Kates room, when they feel her they see thats he is burning and that she needed to be taken into the ER. Her father,Brian, takes her and rushed to the car, then they noticthat one of the had to stay because of Jesse. Sara tells Brian to go with Kate, while she goes and gets Jesse and they all go together. When Kate had been taken into the ER, the doctors say that the chemo therapy treatment worked because Kate's immune system has no protection over any kind of virus or infection. After the long night, Sara scoots her chair closer to Kates bed and lifts up her hand and kisses it in the centre. Kates eyes slit open. For a moment she is unsure of where she is. "Your so brave" Sara says "When I grow up I want to be just like you". To her surprise, Kate shakes her head hard. Her voice is a feather, a thread. "No Mommy," she says. "You'd be sick." The everlasting nights continue, nobody is able to sleep, only Kate. They are filled with nightmares that will seem to haunt you for the rest of your life, they make you think about dreadful events (In this case). In Sara's first dream, the IV fluid was dripping to fast into Kates central line. All of a sudden, Sara had awoken from her sleep. 

Describing the Characters:

• Anna Fitzgerald: Anna believes that she was brought to earth just so she could save her old sister, Kate, who is dying. During her life, she has never really acted like a child, basically since the day she was born she had to undergo a transplant for her sister Kate. Even though she is perfectly healthy, it seems as though she is sick. When he sister is hospitalized, Anna is there as well just in case her sister might need anything. Her parents only notice her when her sister needs something, which is why she filled a lawsuit against them, say that she should have the right do decided what she wants with her kidney and all her cells, not her family. 
• Kate Fitzgerald: Kate is the first daughter born in the family, and probably the first one to leave them. From the age of two she had been diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia. The doctors say that people don't day because of the leukemia, they die from trying to stay alive and fighting for their lives... and then slowly, the body starts giving up on them... just as Kates lungs did on her. She had been fighting against her leukemia for fourteen years. 
• Jesse Fitzgerald: Jesse is the first born child in the family. In the book, his age had not really been confirmed, but her is over sixteen, perhaps maybe even eighteen. He lives above the garage so he does not have to pay rent, but he always has dinner with his family. He has had a history of obtaining drugs. 
• Sara Fitzgerald: Sara is the over protective mother in the family. She devotes all of her attention to her first daughter, Kate and rarely notices Anna. She worked as a former lawyer, and has been married to her husband for 23 years. 
• Brian Fitzgerald: Brain is the father, he is very close with all of his children, especially Anna. They have a way of understanding each other. He works at the fire department, and and during his late shifts, he sleeps there as well. When Anna has filled a lawsuit against her mother, she stays with her father at the fire station. 
• Campbell Alexander: Alexander is the lawyer that helps Anna with the problem about having to donate her kidney to her sister, Kate.

As you can see, this story is all about family, and the challenges you make. In order to keep something alive, a part of it has to die. That is one major thing I learned while reading this, it not easy at all...

Thanks for reading, and next time there will be a bigger summary, since the book is so interesting I think i will finish it by next week... :)

-Marija Bogdanovic, 7A