I loved the book, and especially the way it was presented from different character’s viewpoints.

However,the ending.. was way too contrived for my taste. Too perfect, and unlikely to happen.

Overall though, it was a great read, and the great thing about this story, it makes one really think about organ donation, and the ethics of medicine.

This is my absolute FAVORITE book, ever.

This was just OK to me. It was definitely a page-turner, but a couple things irked me about this book. The most major one is that Anna’s dialogue is just way too mature. She says phrases and has the introspectiveness of someone twice her age. It was enough to stick out like a sore thumb. Another thing is that the characters are a bit stereotypical.

There is a nice twist at the end that I wasn’t expecting, but I didn’t cry at all.

I am usually deeply cynical about popular novels, and as such, Jodi Picoult caught me completely by surprise with this thoughtful novel about a serious medical issue that’s sure to come up more and more often as science advances.

I won’t pretend it was perfect, there were a few pieces that were a bit flat, and one that downright irritated the hell out of me, but overall, Picoult raises a raft of difficult questions and lets the reader see the complicated business of answering them – and, through a deft surprise turn, resists answering them herself.

I’ll look for more of Picoult’s work in the future.

I first read this book years ago. And I’ve read it several times since then. It is a book that consumes you. I did not want to put it down, it is easy to get carried away with it. I can honestly say that I love this book. Easily one of my favorites.

I’m almost half-way through this amazing book!!! I pick it up and can’t seem to rid it from my grip!!! An amazing read…like you’re the character…living each chapter!! I find myself taking my time with each chapter…digesting it slowly!!! A great read!!

This is probably one of my favorite books of all time. A great read with a suprising ending!

I really liked the way Picoult wrote this book from each characters viewpoint. I hope it makes people consider organ donation!

When a book generates a lot of buzz, I find that I usually just don’t get it. But, this book was certainly more compelling than I expected.
It was a fast read – I REALLY couldn’t wait to pick it up and read some more. The story sucks you right in, and no matter where you stand on the issue(s) raised, you will find yourself cheering for someone. I was touched not only by the girls, but by Jesse as well. I think it was a nice touch to have a character who could have been very periferal be as fleshed out and sympathetic as he was.
I too, was annoyed by the “love” story aspect – seems like that could have been a novel unto itself, and didn’t really add to the central drama going on.
And yep, I cried, too.

I actually intended to read one of the other books on my list first, but it was still packed away.

The book was a very easy read, but that didn’t detract from the novel at all. The characters were developed amazingly well and I got completely involved in this girls life. Definetly a novel to check out.

I enjoyed this book (it’s a quick read – I read it all in one day), but have some beefs with it. First of all, I think Anna doesn’t read very authentically as a 13 year old. Dialogue is too adult (even for a mature 13 year old). Second, the mom is flatter than she could be. Third, the ending is WAAAAAAAAY too tidy/perfect. It feels contrived to me.

But the plot is interesting and the ethical issues are certainly compelling. Worth a read.

”There is way too much to explain – my own blood seeping into my sister’s veins; the nurses holding me down to stick me for white cells Kate might borrow; the doctor saying they didn’t get enough the first time around. The bruises and the deep bone ache after I gave up my marrow; the shots that sparked more stem cells in me, so that there’d be extra for my sister. The fact that I’m not sick, but I might as well be. The fact that the only reason I was born was as a harvest crop for Kate. The fact that even now, a major decision about me is being made, and no one’s bothered to ask the one person who most deserves it to speak her opinion.” (Page 18-19)

Anna is three years younger than her older sister Kate, who has a rare form of leukemia. Anna was conceived by medical intervention to be an ideal donor for her sister. Her first contribution of stem cells occurs hour after she is born. As a five-year-old, she is haunted by needles when white blood cells are drawn for her sister’s care. Not long after, she’s put under anesthesia and marrow is drawn from her hips (an extremely painful procedure for the donor).

Now, at age 13, Anna will be going under anesthesia again, this time to give one of her kidneys to her sister – a step that may not even save her Kate’s life, but merely prolong it. No one asks Anna what she wants, so she pawns everything she cares about to collect $136.87 and sets off to hire a lawyer.

This novel alternates between the voices of the major characters: Anna, her mother Sara, her father Brian, her outlaw brother Jesse, her lawyer Campbell and Julia, the woman the judge appoints as a Guardian ad litem (to determine Anna’s interests). At first, I found these switches disorienting. Between different ‘voices,’ even the font changed. Later, I would find the font handy for remembering who was ‘speaking’ at any given time. On the plus side, these different voices allow the reader to experience the story from different perspectives. Sometimes, individual characters would recount an identical conversation, allowing the reader to see how the context changed with the individual.

I liked this book and the subject matter intrigued me. In fact, I would go as far to say it was a brilliant book except for one thing: the romance the author cooks up between two of the adults in the story feels contrived and silly. There were times when I just wanted to skip the relationship parts so I could get back to the story. These sections felt out of place and disturbed the flow of an otherwise well-told story.

This book anticipates that you will take sides as you read it. Because Kate, the older sister, is not allowed a ‘voice’ until the very end of the book, I tended to sympathize with Anna. The ending was unexpected and really made me think about families, compassion and medical ethics.

I still don’t know what I would have done if I was in Anna’s shoes, but the question haunts me.

Definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read. It was challenging with the medical and scientific issues. Lots of questions of morality. At the same time, the author writes from the viewpoint of multiple characters, which allowed me to relate with all of them. This made it even more difficult to choose a side! I couldn’t put it down. Rarely have a read a book that made me care so deeply for the people in it.

Sometimes I would have to put this book down as I could no longer read through my tears

an interesting story about a girl born to help her sister survive who eventually starts asking why she has to continue giving and how much more of her life she has to sacrafice for her sister to live. I liked the various characters and felt myself caring a lot. The end I felt was a bit of a letdown.

plain and simple, I could not put this down. challenged most everything I ever thought about illness and family dynamics.

i cried and cried.

I’d read some of the reviews on this book on Amazon before getting it out of the library, but none of them gave any true hint as to how powerful and thought-provoking the book actually is. I cried when I finished it this morning, and before that I hadn’t been able to put it down for two hours. Wow is all I can say…I’ll definitely be looking for more by the same author.