My sister's Controller

Everyday masses of people enter though the doors of the DMV and are asked the same question, “Would you like to become an organ donor today?” Many people would answer in a heartbeat without considering what they could be doing. What if an option was never given, some high and mighty power above us would make the decision for you. That’s how life was for Anna Fitzgerald, who for her whole life was never given the option, but always expected to do everything in order to save her dying sister.  Anna always knew that her sole purpose was to save her sister, that’s what she was born for “See, unlike the free world, I didn’t get here by accident. And if your parents have you for a reason, then that reason better exist. Because once it’s gone, so are you.”

In most books there is a very clear protagonist and antagonist who push the story along and provide the book with a plot line, though this book is different, these people are not so clear. In the beginning many would say that it is very apparent that Sara Fitzgerald is the antagonist who is keeping Anna from getting what she wants, medical freedom. Though Sara is just acting upon instinct, wanting to save her first daughter, she has been blinded by Kate’s sickness, letting it control the decisions she makes. In this story, the antagonist is only the specific person who is holding back and becoming their own enemy, which makes this book very realistic. The book is told mostly from the perspective of Anna who is conflicted as to what to do, should she continue to help her sister or let Kate die? One perspective that seems to be missing through a large portion of the book would be Kate, if her perspective was present then there would be an added depth to the book.  The only moment when Kate’s voice is present is the end when she is reflecting on what happened to her life and she says, “And me, well I began to hate myself. It was, of course, all my fault. . . She would be here, and I would be the one coming back to haunt her. “

To take on the project of writing a book about this emotional issue is a feat in itself. I give the author, Jodi Picoult, all of my respect because of this. The plot at times would move at a glacier’s pace, seeming to continually repeating, though this repetition is craft fully used to show how it felt to be a part of the Fitzgerald family, how everyday seemed to blend together and never change, Kate was still always sick and dying. While this happened through the entire novel, it was a surprise to see the ending rushed through. The ending is a dramatic change of events and I believe that if it was slowed down it would give the readers more time to digest what has happened and how it has affected the story and other characters. 

                Personally, I find it difficult to rate this book on a scale because of how different it is from majority of other books I have read recently.  This book is completely an original and that makes it a hard comparison. Though I would say that this is a book that contains something every one of us could connect to, it has a little bit for everybody, and because of this it’s something all of us could enjoy. I also believe that this book teaches a lot of life lessons that everyone should read, it shows how nothing in life is guaranteed, and how things you love can easily be taken from you. I also must agree with what Sara Fitzgerald comes to realize towards the end of the book, “The answer is that there is no good answer. So as parents, as doctors, as judges, and as a society, we fumble through and make decisions that allow us to sleep at night- because morals are more important than ethics, and love is more important that law.”

Shown here are the actors who portray all the characters in the My sisters keeper  movie.