I'm sure that I am not the only person who reads the news about a boy being killed in Massachusetts or a toddler being taken from his home in the middle of the night and thinks, Wow, how terrible for that family! or, How tragic! I don't doubt that if I came across a news story explaining how a 12-year-old girl sued her parents for the rights to her body (even though this may kill her cancer-ridden sister), I would think, How could she do that to her parents? When I began reading this book, that was my immediate reaction to Anna Fitzgerald's story. How could I possibly empathize with a girl who is willing to let her sister die just for the right to make her own decisions about her body? But Jodi Picoult really does make us empathize with Anna.

I never saw myself as someone who could enjoy a serious book. The point of this book is not just to paint a picture of the pain the entire Fitzgerald family has gone through since their older daughter Kate was diagnosed with cancer at four. It also focuses on the trial that Anna pursues to get the rights to decide how she will use her own organs.

Many authors write novels trying to get the reader to relate and to inspire. My Sister's Keeper does both. I can't help sounding cheesy but this book truly makes you appreciate the power of unconditional love and the amount of effort it takes to keep a family together.

After reading this I decided to read Jodi Picoult's other novels and one theme she often uses is viewing situations from the “bad” guy's perspective. It is difficult to read and hear Anna's side of the story and not feel for her. She is a young adult begging for the responsibility for and rights to her body. This isn't an insane request, except that by requesting this, she is risking her sister's life.

This is the kind of book that really affects the way you act and think. I know I am always fighting with parents or others for the right to be responsible for myself, so in many ways I can relate to Anna's story.

I would definitely recommend this novel for its outstanding ability to portray human emotions and unconditional love in the toughest of situations. Jodi Picoult did an amazing job at inspiring the reader in My Sister's Keeper.