- My Sister's Keeper
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For the film adaptation, see My Sister's Keeper (film).
My Sister's Keeper 
1st editionAuthor(s) Jodi Picoult Country United States Language English Genre(s) Novel Publisher Atria Publication date April 6, 2004 Media type Print ( Hardcover & Paperback ) Pages 432 pp ISBN 0-7434-5452-9 OCLC Number 54811160 Dewey Decimal 813/.54 22 LC Classification PS3566.I372 M9 2004 My Sister's Keeper is a 2004 novel written by New York Times Best Selling author Jodi Picoult. It tells the story of 13-year-old Anna, who litigates her parents for medical emancipation when she is expected to donate a kidney to her sister Kate, who is dying from leukemia.[1]
Contents
Plot
The story takes place in Providence, Rhode Island in 2004. Anna Fitzgerald's older sister, Kate, suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia, a blood and bone marrow cancer. Anna was conceived as a savior sibling, in order to harvest blood from her umbilical cord to use in treatments to help save Kate's life. Although the treatment was initially successful, Kate relapsed; ever since, Anna, the only compatible family member, has been used as a donor for any other bodily substance needed to treat Kate, who continues to swing between remission and relapse as she grows up.
Anna is usually willing to donate whatever Kate needs, but when she is 13, she is told that she will have to donate one of her kidneys. 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.
Anna's mother, Sara, is an ex-lawyer and decides to represent herself and her husband in the lawsuit. Over the course of the novel, she tries on several occasions to make Anna drop the lawsuit. Anna refuses to do so, but the resulting tension between her and her mother result in her moving out of the house to live with her father Brian in the fire station where he works. This is done on the advice of Julia Romano, the court-appointed guardian ad litem whose job it is to decide what would be best for Anna. Julia was once romantically involved with Campbell when they went to school together, but Campbell broke her heart when he left her. Unbeknown to Julia, Campbell left her because he discovered he had epilepsy and thought she deserved better.
Meanwhile, Anna's brother Jesse, who has spent most of his life being ignored in favor of ill Kate or donor Anna, spends most of his time setting fire to abandoned buildings with home-made explosives and doing drugs. He is a self-confessed juvenile delinquent. One moment when his parents pay him any attention is when Brian discovers that it is Jesse who has been setting the fires. Brian forgives him, and by the end of the book, he has reformed and graduated from the police academy.
During the trial, it is revealed that Kate asked Anna to sue for emancipation because she did not want Anna to have to transplant, and because she believes that she will die anyway. The judge rules in Anna's favor, and grants Campbell medical power of attorney. However, as Campbell drives her home after the trial, their car is hit by an oncoming truck. Brian, the on-call firefighter who arrives at the scene, retrieves an unconscious and injured Anna from the wreckage of the crushed car and rushes her and Campbell to hospital. At the hospital, the doctor informs Sara and Brian that Anna is brain-dead, that the machines keeping her alive may as well be switched off, and asks them if they have considered organ donation. Campbell steps in, and declares that he has the power of attorney, and "there is a girl upstairs who needs that kidney." Kate is prepared for surgery, and Anna's kidney is successfully transplanted. Kate survives the surgery and remains in remission for at least six years.
Kate believes that she survived because someone had to go, and Anna took her place. Six years later, she works as a dance instructor.
Development history
Publication history
Picoult, Jodi. My Sister's Keeper. Atria Books: New York, 2004. ISBN 1416549178. ISBN 141654917X.
Critical reception
In review for The Washington Post, Katherine Arie described some of the characters as unconvincing, such as Brian, who is "too good to be true", Jesse, "a poster child for self-destructive behavior", and Kate, who is "as weak and wispy on the page as she's supposed to be in life", but ultimately called the book "a thrill to read".[2]
In 2009 the American Library Association (ALA) and the office for Intellectual Freedom named My Sister's Keeper the seventh most frequently challenged book in the US. Schools and Libraries attempted to ban the book for the following reasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexual Explicity, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuitability to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence.[3]
Adaptations
Main article: My Sister's Keeper (film)New Line Cinema adapted My Sister's Keeper into a feature film, which was directed by Nick Cassavetes and released on June 26, 2009.[4][5] It starred Cameron Diaz as Sara and Alec Baldwin as Campbell. Kate and Anna were played respectively by Sofia Vassilieva and Abigail Breslin.[5]
The film, with an alternate ending and more emphasis on certain subplots while entirely eliminating others, has significant differences from the novel.
References
- ^ ReadingGroupGuides.com. The Book Report, Inc. http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/my_sisters_keeper1.asp Retrieved on 1/10/2011
- ^ Katherine Arie (2004-04-04). "Spare Parts". The Washington Post Company. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A43483-2004Apr1. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
- ^ "ALA Website List of top 10 most challenged book bans for 2009". abc. American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/2009/index.cfm. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "Questions and Answers". Jodi Picoult.com. March 2, 2007. http://www.jodipicoult.com/faqs.html. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
- ^ a b Fleming, Michael (2008-02-12). "Breslin, Vassilieva to star in 'Keeper'. Duo replaces Fanning sisters in New Line film". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117980824.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
External links
Works by Jodi Picoult Novels: Songs of the Humpback Whale • Harvesting the Heart • Picture Perfect • Mercy • The Pact • Keeping Faith • Plain Truth • Salem Falls • Perfect Match • Second Glance • My Sister's Keeper • Vanishing Acts • The Tenth Circle • Nineteen Minutes • Change of Heart • Handle With Care • House Rules • Sing You HomeComic Books: Wonder Woman (vol. 3) #6-10 (cover date: late May 2007 - August 2007)Related articles - Publishers: Categories:- 2004 novels
- American novels adapted into films
- Novels by Jodi Picoult
- Novels set in Rhode Island
- 2003 in fiction
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