Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate--a life role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister. So, Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable--a decision that will tear her family apart and possibly have fatal consequences for the sister she loves.
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This book made me cry. That really says a lot. In my twenty-six years in this world, only one other book has ever made me truly cry. I'm not talking about just tearing up a little. I'm talking about choked up, sad movie crying.
On that subject, let me say...yes. I had seen the movie, prior to reading the book. I try to keep that from being the case. I honestly prefer to read the book, before viewing the movie, but there are those rare occasions where the movie somehow manages to be viewed before I can read the book (I blame HBO and insomnia in this case). I had a feeling this book was going to make cry, given that the movie had me crying for about 90 of the 100 minutes.
Anyway...the book's a really good read. The ending was a little...eh. Without giving too much away (cause it does end far differently than the movie), I kind of didn't see any purpose to what happens in the end. You go through the events of the book and to have this final event (god...it's hard to review this without giving it away) occur seemed a little...pointless? I don't know, maybe other people would get the value of it, but it completely eluded me.
My only complaint (aside from the "event") was some of the characters. Not so much the way they were written. They were written perfectly. The characters as people bugged me. Their behavior, more specifically, annoyed me. Between Sara's inability to understand Anna's reasons for filing the lawsuit and Jesse constantly lashing out, I found it hard to really tolerate them at times. I'm sure it's all in the eyes of the reader, though. Maybe other can better accept the way they act, but I found it a little grating.
Bottom line...definitely read it. It's a really touching book and raises a few important questions...like is it alright to just let someone die? So...read it and form your own opinions.
~Missy
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