My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

The novel My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult is a well crafted story of Love's challenges in the face of death. A young girl is caught in the death spiral of a vicious cancer. She is dying to live as her family scrambles to hold on to her and to hope. Caught in the mail storm of life are her mother, brother, sister, and father. They are consumed by a need to save her; they want more time. They struggle with acceptance and the desire to let go.

The narrator, her younger sister, was conceived for the sole purpose of supplying her sick sister with whatever is necessary for her continued survival. As the story unfolds, the reader is encouraged to examine this unusual circumstance of birth. They are included in the question and debate about parental rights versus a child's right to her own body. Is it morally right for parents to conceive a child for the medical needs of another? Do they have a right to make decisions about a child's body? Does the child have the right to say "No?"

At the story's center is a legal battle between mother and daughter. As the battle rages, the lives of each member of the family is revealed. Designing the story in this fashion allows the author to paint a picture of the emotional chaos that stems from the impact of terminal illness on a family. Through the eyes of each family member we experience the complexities of family love in the face of tragedy.

"My Sister's Keeper" draws you in and takes you on a bitter sweet journey of the highs and lows of family life. Embedded in the story is a critical perspective of medical procedures that involve life and death decisions. The reader will be captured by this touching story.

by Bacchus