Reviews with content warning for Child death - My Sister's Keeper

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

50 reviews

giuliana_ferrari's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book is an interesting ethical discussion on the implications of engineering a baby to serve as your child's donor. And although the borderline obsessive reasonings from the mother of the dying child are exposed in subtle and not so subtle moments, I felt like the author didn't want to take it as far as agreeing that Sara was in fact a bad mother. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but both mother and father made it clear throughout the book their terrible choices that led

Spoiler

to a young man becoming an arsonist

and a younger child becoming nothing more than a petri dish to save the other sister's life. No matter how strongly they tried to defend themselves in their narratives, they neglected their older child for the sake of the sick one and literally designed a baby to serve a specific purpose. That's why I'm so bothered by the ending:

Spoiler

Anna dies so Kate can live, and suddenly the mother is all grieving and suffering and wishing she could have Anna back, although she slapped her child for suing them and ignored and neglected her son

. Although I understand their situation was a terrible, unpredictable, emotionally exhausting one, the family basically gave me a crash course in what not to do when you have more than one child and one is severely ill. And in all of this the author seemed content in defending the parents and voicing that a mother would do anything for their child, even if that means being a terrible parent. On and all the book could have gone to a deeper discussion of morals and rights of choice, but instead focused a bit too much on the soap-opera moments of cancer devastating a white middle-class family with religious undertones. Am I being unsympathetic? Maybe. But it could have been much more.

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zoejjj's review

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Okay obviously I cried like a baby I have three sisters and if I was put in a position like this I have no clue what I would’ve done!! The part where Anna is in the shower and Kate is talking to her, saying I can lose you as a sister but I couldn’t handle losing you as a friend? I was trying to do chores while listening this and was cryinggg!!

Nobody in this book is hateable. Not even Sara. She is written as an incredibly driven woman who will stop at nothing to save her daughter. Unfortunately her other kids get forgotten in the process but she regrets, she makes it right. “This is her pond but my lily pads”? Shaving her head for Kate? Honestly Jesse got the wayyyy short end of the straw but he also almost killed someone.

The ending is… so so.

Spoiler

I wish Jodi would’ve committed to Kate dying. In the end, Anna’s choice was taken away from her AGAIN. Was the whole lawsuit pointless? Maybe! Sure it’s (possibly) realistic bc life does not care but this book isn’t meant to be realistic like that. The ending is out of left field for the topics this book is dealing with.

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heathermarie08's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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shamely's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Il y a pour moi 2 aspects dans ce livre qui s'opposent assez bien.

D'une part, l'histoire qui est à la fois palpitante et poignante. J'ai voulu gazer à travers ce livre tant je voulais savoir la suite. Le sujet, au goût du jour, est aussi très stimulant et donne matière à réfléchir.

Il y a aussi les personnages qui sont attachants malgré leurs défauts. On a envie de tout leur pardonner

Spoiler

... enfin sauf peut-être à la mère des enfants... quoi que ?

Il est à la fois aisé et compliqué de compatir avec ces personnages et cette dualité rend le livre tellement vivant et émotionnel !

D'autre part, il y a le style d'écriture qui pour moi n'est pas au rendez-vous. J'ai trouvé beaucoup de passages denses de mots et lourds. Ça ne se lisait pas de façon fluide et aisée partout au même moment.

De plus, chaque chapitre relate le point de vue d'un personnage différent, parfois de façon linéaire à l'histoire mais souvent pas du tout. Sauts dans le passé et retour au présent sont sensés nous aider à comprendre la mentalité de tous et le dilemme de chaque personnage... mais j'ai trouvé que l'exercice n'était pas fluide, souvent pesant et frustrant. Certains points de vue n'apportent rien, sont ennuyant et apportent du mystère mal exécuté (

Spoiler

le passé entre Campbell et Julia est complètement mal exécuté, inutile et leurs points de vue ne m'ont jamais aidé à comprendre mieux l'un ou l'autre personnage... Le mystère autour du chien est de même ridicule et la façon de faire penser que l'épilepsie est une tare très mal venue à mon sens

).

En réalité, sans cette histoire qui était moralement prenante, je n'aurais pas continué le livre tant le style ne me convenait pas. J'ai tout de même un sentiment très positif en le finissant car j'ai réussi à me faire une place au sein de la famille Fitzgerald et à rire et pleurer tout au long des drames et bonheurs qui ponctuent leur vie.

Je recommande tout de même de lire ce livre et de se poser à la fin pour tenter de répondre aux questions qu'il soulève... Une bonne claque morale qui nous rappelle que la limite entre le bien et le mal n'est pas si nette !

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lmy612's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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smackeykennedy37's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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ultraviolet98's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

While I won't spoil the ending here, this book doesn't have an answer to the question it poses, and while some may think that's a flaw, I rather think that's the whole point. It's a good ending--not satisfying, but good.

I also have no idea why the author included so much of the sordid past between Julia and Campbell, especially the more racy parts of Campbell's inner dialogue. Whether they were in love and what her skin smelled like, or the birthmark under her breast really had no relevance at all to the central question or themes of the book, was distracting, and felt really crass to include in a story like this.

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