My Sister's Keeper
Jodi Picoult
(Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan)
2004 Atria Books
ISBN: 0743454529

Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another?

Sr. Associate Reviewer Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:

Astounding, fantastic & totally rooted in reality.

After provoking the thinking reader with the marvelous legal thriller Perfect Match, Picoult returns in majestic form with another legal/moral thriller about a contemporary legal issue of genetic engineering & organ transplantation.

Not since the 70s Ira Levin thriller The Boys From Brazil have I been so enamored by a facti-on (what else would you call a novel, where the line between reality & fiction is, well, nil?) work.

Anna Fitzgerald is a normal child, she enjoys life & school just like any other kid. But Anna was born, rather conceived, or more rather created in vitro, as a ‘spare part’ for her sister Kate, who suffers from leukemia -- a perfect genetic match for the sick child.

Countless surgeries, countless operations & yet Kate is no better. Now a teenager, Anna begins to be self-conscious of who she really is, questions of individuality slowly creep up in her mind. & she is fed up with her status of a “spare part.” Now a kidney transplant is being planned, & Anna takes a heart-wrenching decision -- to go to the court against her parents & sister -- to protect her human right -- to ensure her right to make her own decisions -- the right to be no longer a “spare part factory” for her sister.

Anna hires attorney Campbell Alexander to represent her. But to make matters more complicated is the fact that Anna's mother (a former attorney) has decided to represent herself in court. What follows is great courtroom action & drama -- where questions of life & destiny are deliberated, making for a grand read & an exciting finish.

Picoult's ability to carve such legal thrillers, with razor sharp finesse is to be appreciated. This author has the ability to tickle the mind -- so much so that the essence of the novel remains with you for a long, long time -- the hallmark of any good book.

Loved My Sister's Keeper. Waiting for the movie!

More from Jodi Picoult:
Perfect Match
Plain Truth
The Pact
Keeping Faith: A Novel
Harvesting the Heart
Songs of the Humpback Whale: A Novel in Five Voices
Salem Falls.
(04/18/04)

Narayan
2004©Narayan Radhakrishnan
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I am a 26 years old lawyer practicing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Along with my legal practice, I have finished post-graduate studies for both Business Law & Human Rights. I am a self proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover & am the proud owner of all of Grisham's & Turow's novels. I enjoy John Mortimer's Rumpole & relish an occasional Martini & a rare Scot(ch)t-oline with a Patterson on the side.

My work A FICTION OF LAW is now about 500 pages in length & features 500 lawyer authors & 2000 legal thrillers covering a 300 year period - inclusive of entries from the USA, UK, Asia, Europe, China, Middle East etc. Still in search of a publisher.
www.keralatourism.org