Book Review for My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, Music of the Moment, and Excerpt of the Day

I finally finished My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult this morning. I was totally shocked at the ending. Most books you can kind of guess where the author is going with things, just like most movies you watch. However, Jodi Picoult spins a tale in a way that makes you completely unsure where to expect the ending to come from. Just when you think you may have figured it out she pulls the ending out of left field and throws you for a complete curve.

The book itself is a seamlessly told story of a thirteen year old girl whose older sister has leukemia, a rare form called APL. The thirteen year old sister, Anna, was a "designer baby" genetically suited to be a perfect donor match for her sister, Kate. Early into the book we find Anna hiring a lawyer to file a suit against her parents for medical emancipation so they can no longer use her as a donor. This has been precipitated by the need for Anna to donate a kidney to Kate who has been fighting APL for fourteen years.

Weaving together the stories of all parties involved into a cohesive story that draws you in and breaks your heart is the magic that Jodi Picoult performs in My Sister's Keeper. The entire book pulls you deeper and deeper into the story and pulls you along, hooking you with each turn of a page.

This is a must read book that any mother will not be able to read without crying at several point along the way. As sad as it all is, you can't tear yourself away from it. I highly recommend this book and encourage you to take the time to read it if you haven't already. If you've read this book please post a comment regarding what you thought of it!

Today I'm listening to my iTunes playlist "Mel's Music" and the music of the moment is "Buddy Holly" by Weezer. This has absolutely nothing to do with anything in any of my books, but I love Weezer personally and enjoy this song. I can't listen to it without singing along and wanting to dance around. Weezer is a totally odd band and has some very strange songs including one called "Pork and Beans" that is like totally random. Speaking of oddly random but good songs, "Breakfast" by Newsboys just came on. If you like Christian music you have to listen to this song.

The excerpt for the day is set Friday afternoon while Evander, Elyssia, Nate, and Amie are waiting for the football game and bonfire to follow.

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Evander and I were close behind Nate for heading to the showers. He had only until six o’clock before he had to be back for the football game that started at seven. We were all meeting at my house in the meantime to try planning for the night’s events in hopes of being prepared.

A short time later, Evander and I were pulling up into his driveway just ahead of Nate and Amie. There was no denying the somber mood that hung over us. We knew what lay ahead for the night. It would take everything Nate and Evander had to keep their heads in the game rather than worry about Amie and me. The only condolence to them was that Jackson would be on the field as well, unable to cause any trouble at that point in the night.

We all went inside and found something to snack on while we sat around the breakfast nook talking. We weren’t even sure that our planning and preparing would help us to have any idea what we were truly up against, but we wanted to try.

Evander took the lead on the tactical planning. “Well, we know from Elyssia’s visions that they will find a way to get Amie and be holding her. For some reason, Elyssia will be in the restroom when they try to approach her. She keeps seeing Nate and me running down the hall towards them so obviously, we will realize they are missing and come after them. I would guess that this new development in the vision is because we now know what to expect and would be prepared to come after them.”

“But what are we going to do once we find them? How are we supposed to get Amie safely away when they are holding a dagger to her throat threatening to kill her,” Nate asked brusquely.

“I’m not exactly sure, but I would think if we focus our attack on Jackson, his father would want to help him, and that would give an opportunity for Amie to run.” Evander turned to her. “Amie, you need to be prepared. Regardless of what is happening at the time, if you get free at all, run. Run back out to the bonfire and stay in the crowd there. Elyssia can project thoughts into your head and can call you back to meet up with us when it’s safe.”

I was unconvinced. “Are you sure I can direct a message to one person and not only large groups of people,” I asked skeptically.

“Yes, Elyssia. I’m sure of it,” he reassured me. “Just pick Amie’s thoughts out of the crowd and send the message you want directly to her. You’ll know how to do it. It’s inside you. You just haven’t used it before.”

We talked a bit more about what parts we should all take in our counterattack. After a short while, we realized there was very little we had left to talk about in planning. We only had so much information to go on in the situation. Soon, we decided to bide our time by finishing our pinochle game from Saturday night. The best thing we could do was try to relax and save our energy for the night’s impending attack.

By five-thirty, it was about time for the guys to get ready to go, and Amie and I had won the card game. Nate accused me of using my mind reading and thought projecting abilities to assure a win for us girls. I swore I was honest throughout the game and did not cheat. Evander backed me up, telling Nate he would have been able to sense it if I was cheating at all.