Sema

To keep you guys updated, we decided to post a summary of a few chapters. I am personally really enjoying the book so far. By chapter 10, you have an idea of all the characters and their feelings towards the situation.  You are also aware of the novel's basic story, which is narrated by Anna in the first chapter. We will make sure to keep you guys updated as we read the book. Be sure to stay tuned!

Summary: Chapter 7 - Sara 1990

Chapter seven is tilted Sara 1990. Sara is Kate's, Anna's, and Jesse's mother and in this chapter, we look everything form Sara's point of view. In 1990, Sara and her husband Brian see an oncologist named Mr. Change who will be in charge of Kate's treatment. Sara introduced us her older sister, Suzanne, whom she has fallen out of touch with Sara because of her career. Sara calls her sister and later she arrives to the hospital. During this year Kate is a three year old girl, and he is officially diagnosed with APL- acute promyelocytic leukemia. As a worried parents, Sara and Brian are given an opportunity to ask questions to doctor Mr.Chance and the nurses about Kate's situation. Since Kate's form of cancer can resist treatment, feeling overwhelmed with the details of the cancer and the treatments , Sara asks what it will be like if Kate dies and wonders how she will survive.

Kate starts chemotherapy and she is extremely sicks. Mr.Chance warned to Sara and Brian that it may be very risky to transplant someone else's bone marrow to Kate, so he asks if she has any siblings that can be a match for Kate. Brian brings Jesse to the hospital so that the doctors can test him to see if he is a genetic match for his sister Kate, and unfortunately he is not. After chemo, Kate develops and infection and she is rushed t the hospital. While at the hospital, Sara tells Brian she wants another child.  Brian thinks she wants this child so that it can replace Kate if she dies, but Sara corrects him and she says she wants this child to see if she could be a genetic match for Kate.

Summary: Chapter 14 - Anna 

Anna's father, Brian, calls her and informs Anna, her mom is staying at the hospital with Kate. Anna is home alone, and he suggests if she doesn't want to stay alone, she can sleep at the station. Instead, Anna asks Jesse to drive her to the hospital because she want's to talk with Kate. Since Sara is about five feet away from Kate, Anna thinks her mother might not let her stay alone with Kate. Jesse agrees to help Anna see Kate by distracting their mother.

In a flashback, Kate talks about  different ways to die and  the best way to die, but Anna refuses and tells Kate to shut up a few times. In the present time, Jesse takes a flask out of his pocket and pours whisky all over the front of his shirt. He pretends to be drunk in order to get Sara away from Kate's hospital room. Sara rushes out of the room after hearing Jesse shouting like a drunk person. While Sara is apologizing to the nurses and taking care of Jesse, Anna sneaks in the room.

We see another flashback in which the entire family is celebrating Thanksgiving and playing football. Jesse accidentally knocks down Kate, Brian get's very angry at him and runs to check on Kate. Jesse says he forgot, and Kate smiles. She is thrilled that for a moment, Jesse forgot she had cancer. Anna climbs into Kate's bed and lays down beside her. In her thoughts, she admits that she didn't come because it will make her feel better, but without Kate, she can't remember who she is.

The Author

Lynn Picoult is an American author and the publisher of more than 20 books, including My Sister's Keeper and the number 1 New York Times bestseller Changes of Heart and Nineteen Minutes. She was born and raised in New York, United States. She studied writing at Princeton University, graduating in 1987. She published two short stories in Seventeen magazines while still in University. Immediately after graduating she to took on a sequence of jobs, from editing at a textbook publishing company to teaching grade eight English classes. Later on he decided to earn her masters degree in education by graduating Harvard University. Jodi is a mother of three children and currently living in Hanover, New Hampshire with her husband and three children. In 2003, Picoult was awarded The New England Bookseller Award  for fiction and presently she has 14 million copies of her books worldwide.

My Sister's Keeper is a novel published in April 6, 2004 . It tells a story of 13 year old Anna who was conceived as a bone marrow match to her sister Kate who is about to die because she is diagnosed with leukemia. This novel presents the struggles of a family after Anna's decision - it will tear her family apart. Once at a interview Jodi Picoult, she was asked, " Why did you choose this subject for My Sister's Keeper?". Jodi answered, "I heard about a couple in America that successfully conceived a sibling that was a bone marrow match for his older sister, a girl suffering from a rare form of leukemia. His cord blood cells were given to the sister, who is still (several years later) in remission. But I started to wonder… what if she ever, sadly, goes out of remission? Will the boy feel responsible? Will he wonder if the only reason he was born was because his sister was sick? When I started to look more deeply at the family dynamics and how stem cell research might cause an impact, I came up with the story of the Fitzgeralds." Directed my Nick Cassavetes, the movie My Sister's Keeper was released in 2009 . Nick did a amazing job recapping the novel with the help of very successful actors/actresses, such as Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric. I recommend to watch the movie, but be prepared to shed some tears. The novel has very good feedbacks from the readers, which Jodi Picoult included in the first page of her book. " It's difficult to find a book combining a timely moral dilemma with well-drawn characters for whom one cares. Picoult has written such a book" - The Boston Herald



Conclusion

My Sister's Keeper alternates between first-person narrative by the novel's different characters. The chapters are named after the characters in which, I think it added a nice touch to the novel. It gave the opportunity to put the readers in the characters shoes and see everything from their point of view. The story takes place in the present, in one-and-half week stretch. Sara Fitzgerald, a former lawyer, and current stay-at-home mom, narrates the remainder of the story from different points in the past but gradually moves to the present. There are seven chapters in the book- it is divided into the seven days of the week. The book is narrated by six different characters, six of whom narrate the main story, and Kate narrating the epilogue.

To be honest, I watched the movie first and read the novel after. I heard the movie and the novel had somewhat the similar story, and character but the conclusion of the book was very different then the movie. In the movie, Kate Fitzgerald past away in the hospital bed with her mother laying beside her. In the novel, Kate amazingly survives her battle with leukemia. You may wonder what happened to Anna and the rest of the character. I don't want to spoil the book so, the only thing I can say is that, when you read the novel, Im sure that you will join the book together as surprised as I am. It is definitely an amazing book that presents the difficulties of a family trying to remain together and stay strong for the member that is fighting for her life. It is a very sad story, especially the moment you learn why Anna has sewed her family. Again, I am not going to spoil anything. I highly recommend you to read this novel because it is beautifully crafted and it grabs the readers attentions as you read on. Jodi Picoult created an amazing piece of work.