My Sister's Keeper

Jodi Picoult, a New York Times best-selling novelist, is well recognized for her astute perception of actual people's emotions and thoughts. She now shares the powerfully moving tale of a family split apart by competing demands and a fierce love that overcomes human frailty.

Even if Anna isn't ill, she may as well be. By the time she is 13 years old, she has had several injections, surgeries, and blood transfusions performed in an attempt to help her elder sister Kate battle the leukemia that has afflicted her from infancy. Anna, the result of a preimplantation genetic diagnostic, was intended to be Kate's bone marrow match; up until this point, she has never questioned this existence or this duty. Anna is starting to wonder about her true identity, much as most teens do. But unlike other teens, Anna has always been defined by her sister. As a result, she takes a choice that would be inconceivable for most people, one that would destroy her family and maybe result in death for the sister she loves.

In My Sister's Keeper, the meaning of being a good person, good sister, and good parent is examined. Is it ethically acceptable to violate someone else's rights in order to take whatever necessary action to save a child's life? If seeking your true self makes you dislike yourself, is it really worth it? Is it better to follow your own intuition or the advice of others? Once again, Jodi Picoult approaches a contentious real-life issue with grace, insight, and compassion in My Sister's Keeper.