My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

This book came highly recommended from a lot of different people, and luckily Joselyn had it, so I could just borrow it from her.

The thing I liked the most about this book, was the way she spoke in the first person from the different people's perspectives. Usually books are from one person's point of view, or just the authors, but she'd change and speak in the first person and I really liked that.

This book is controversial in it's subject matter. It is about stem cell research, and genetically engeneering children to have organs ready to another person. It's subject reminds me of the beginings of the movies Gataca and The Island. Both of which I loved. When is it OK to put someone else's life at risk for another's? In this book, the oldest daughter, Kate, when she is 2 is diagnosed with APL, a form of leukemia, and not given too much time to live. Cells that can only come from the placenta and the umbilical cord will give her some of what she needs to survive. So, the parents, with help of a geneticist, genetically program and artifically inseminate .... (see, I finshed this book like a month ago, and I can't remember the mom's name, we'll call her Judy) Judy. So, she gives birth to Anna, and thus the story begins. At her birth, little attention is really paid to Anna, only that she is the life giver to Kate. Throughout her life she is not even asked, more like expected to donate, blood, marrow, granulocytes and many other things, even up to her kidney, which is what is the final straw for her, and why she deicdes to get a lawyer to protest that she is sick of giving everything and never being asked for what they expect of her.

Throughout the whole book, Jodi explains things from every side and it is really easy to see things from everyone's point of view, so it's hard to say what I would do. I think medical technology is amazing and that we are coming into an age where we really may stop ourselves from ever getting old, or sick. (Although, those absolutes are still a little far away) But, the fact that we may be prolonging someone's life at the risk of another doesn't seem acceptable. Giveing birth to another human being for the sole purpsoe of harvesting things from them? I just don't know. I don't think it's OK. If we can make some of the stuff in a lab and some smarty-pants figures out how to chemically create whatever life saving thing we need, I'm all for it.

However, what about if someone in my family needed a kidney and I was a match? I'd donate it, no questions asked. But I wasn't created for that purpose. So, where do we draw the line, from donating blood, plasma, platletts, or a kidney, to creating a clone like in The Island ? Who knows? Is that kinda mocking God a little and trying to take over the job of creating things and life? I'm not one to say. Hopefully I'll never have to make any type of decisions like that.

The book's ending is for sure a good twist. I was debating about talking about it, just so that I would remember, but for any of you that haven't read it, I don't want to ruin it. So, I'll say just read and enjoy. It was a great book, that really makes you think about moral and life changing issues.