My Sister’s Keeper discussion

I thought this book was really good up until the end.
I did not see the need to kill Anna off. It felt like a cheap last minute trick to try and get an emotional response from readers.

If Anna had been fighting against donating her kidney, killing her off and Kate receiving the kidney would have been more of a twist. But as it was, killing Anna off only sent the message that Anna was spare parts for Kate and nothing more.

I actually preferred the ending of the film but I think both would have been better if both girls had lived and Anna's lawsuit had just been about her wanting the right to make her own informed choices. It sounds as if she would still choose to help Kate, but it would be her decision alone. So the moto could have been 'the right to choose' instead of just 'girl beats cancer'.

The only thing the movie adaptation has over the book (in my opinion) is the ending. While I rate the book highly, the ending was such a kicker. I really liked Anna's character and was rooting for her, so to have all of the anguish she experienced throughout the story amount to nothing was painful. Also, it was just a tad too cheesy for my liking. Especially when Campbell says something along the lines of, 'I'm her guardian... and there's a girl upstairs who needs a kidney.' Ugh. I half-wanted a surprise solution allowing both sisters to live, but if one had to die, I would have preferred it to be Kate. Wow, that sounds COLD. Meh.

I completely agree on all points. If the author was intent on killing one of the girls, Kate losing her long battle would have still been emotional but if it had to be Anna, a complication from the Kidney operation would have been better than a freak car accident on the way back from court. That was just pointless and stupid. Funny how passionate we can get over a book.

umm well i watched the movie first and loved it.. though the ending was kinda sad... i read the book and i was a little confused on why Anna died instead of Kate. of course, i didn't want anyone to die but anna dying, to me, was kinda stupid. i had no emotion, no nothing when anna died.

I agree, that was a stupid turn of events, there was no "omg poor Anna" - it was more - 'What! Really! that just messes up the whole story'. The film ending was better, with Kate deciding, accepting and helping her family. Although apparently the author was unhappy that they changed the ending for the film.

I watched the movie first as well and was totally expecting that ending to be in the book. Boy was I wrong. The book ending broke my heart and I was bothered by it a lot longer than I should have been. I think it was a cheap way to solve the problem when it was so much more complicated than that.

Ruth wrote: --

Agreed.

Nope. I hated the movie, literally the whole movie. I loved the ending of the book.

I enjoyed the book up until the end. It just felt like a last minute choice from the author. It was almost as if they wanted to take an easy way out. It almost seemed to me that the author was trying to a cheap emotional response from taking away a character we all loved and rooted for throughout the book.

I agree. I have read 4 of her books so far and loved every one, including this one, until the end, then I was just MAD. I have not read another of her books since, but I will, just need a few more months to recover.

The whole story made sense to me up until Anna was gone!

As a reader, I know as a rule this is what the writer wanted to happen to her, and yes, these things do happen in real life, i.e.: not all things turn out the way we wanted. Kudos to Picoult for reminding us of that? But hey, I would've wanted some kind of resolution with regards to her case; hence making a point on deciding what to do with her life and how that would turn out.

There's a lot of anger towards Anna within the family - one way or the other- and I'm pretty sure that were she to have survived, life might not be as happy as can be for her..

Having read this book a long while ago (possibly very close to the release of the movie version), I have to admit that I was a bit shocked that Anna and the attorney both died in the accident. I do believe it was a good ending to the book, though. What I truly was unhappy about was the way the movie version ended (which, I believe was Anna still being alive). That was a BIG change from the original and I did not like that at all. If everyone feels this way about this book (not liking the fact that Anna died, think about House Rules.............now that ending was a SHOCKER!). Jodi Picoult is one of my most favorite authors.

First I was mad about the end because I liked Anna so much. But after thinking about it I think it was the right thing to do. If Anna had stayed alive the parents still wouldn't have appreciated her. They were so focused on Kate and didn't noticed Anna. Anna would still be Kate's spare parts. If Anna had lived and Kate died because she didn't get the kidney then the parents would have blamed Anna for her death. I hated how they ruined the end in the movie. It fell flat for me and left the parents not learning anything while Anna just kept being spare parts for her sister. The story lost it's core. The book made me feel many different things all the way to the end. The movie left me with no emotions at all except disappointment. I'm happy that I read the book before I watched the movie. Wouldn't have read it if it had been the other way around.

But Anna did want to give her Kidney to Kate, it was Kate who made Anna pretend she did not, because Kate was sick of all the tests and Anna being treated like spare parts for her. So Anna made the court case because her sister wanted her too.
(The brother lets the cat out of the bag in court by saying to Anna, - Tell them Anna, it for Kate, Kate wanted this)

I feel like the ending was really out of place with the book. I loved the book overall, but the ending just made it look like the author had no ideas, but to just kill Anna.

Tami wrote: "Nope. I hated the movie, literally the whole movie. I loved the ending of the book."

I did too. Many people seem to have hated the ending because they thought it was cheep or make the whole book useless. I thought it was the opposite of that. I thought it was to teach the audience that even though we may have one of the best days and everything seems to be going well, some freak accident can happen and screw up everything. This is the nature of life, and I think that Jodi Picoult wanted to capture that, not some perfect or cliche ending.

Sofia wrote: "First I was mad about the end because I liked Anna so much. But after thinking about it I think it was the right thing to do. If Anna had stayed alive the parents still wouldn't have appreciated he..."

Yeah, I was actually screaming at my tv when Anna didn't die. I was watching it with my family and was waiting and waiting for it to happen, but it didn't. My family, whom hadn't read the book or knew how it ended, were confused with my outburst. After explaining it to them, they all got very upset with the movie changing the ending as we are all fans of good book to movie adaptations.

I thought the author toyed with my emotions all along when she gave us that horrible ending. It was like everything was done was done for nothing. I admire her but was she out of her mind?! What a ridiculous ending. I felt cheated. Kate was supposed to die with dignity. My guess is the author wanted to appeal to sentimentalism in case there was going to be a controversy against her if she have let Kate die as she was supposed to. Coward.

It's been a while since I read the book, but I remember feeling that the ending couldn't have been more brilliant.

Throughout the novel, I did not completely sympathize with Anna, because I could also understand the parents and her sister and I felt that that was partly the author's intent. It was not a one-sided story. If anyone had to choose between Anna and Kate, it would have been a difficult choice anyway.

The ending also lightly suggests a perspective that was not really covered by the rest of the book - what is beyond what humans can do to choose life and death.

Yeah the ending was heart breaking, you can't control tears rolling down your eyes. And yes you feel a little disappointed because all the time you were preparing your mind for Kate's demise and suddenly out of nowhere you get to know that Anna has passed away in a car accident and her kidney is being donated to Kate which saved her life.
Many times, we forget that destiny is in play, maybe Anna had to come to this world to save her sister and she died saving her sister. Kate had to live this long and Anna was the reason for her existence. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, Sara Fitzgerald tried really hard to save Kate, Kate made an attempt to end her life twice....one was a failed attempt and second was convincing her sister to file a law suit and Anna did win the law suit and everything was going as planned but you can't fight destiny. I really applaud Anna's character. What a brave girl she was.....giving but at the same time felt sorry for her.
As far as the movie is concerned, I didn't like it at all. I think it took away the essence of the little moments which builds up your interest, emotions and drama. The movie to me was just a summary of a detailed, comprehensive and well written book. I don't mind the ending....I was either happy with both the ending. Kate's death was a fair ending and Anna's death was an unfair one which makes us realize that there isn't a fair happy ending every time otherwise this world would have been perfect.

To me, when Anna died, it was a better ending.

Anna and Kate both didn't want to go through with the surgery. Anna was fed up with it all, and I don't blame her. Her whole life revolved around what Kate's needs. And I was fine with the umbilical cord because that didnt hurt her, but when she got older there should be an age where they should have went to counseling or something to have more of Anna's input on what was happening and what she wanted to do. And there would actually be someone there to tell the parents "you are messing this child up". I was surprised she wasn't emotionally fucked up.

In the end, her dying saved kate but also taught her parents, especially her mother, a lesson because she really took her granted. She got what she wanted in kate surviving but at the expense of loosing Anna and having to realize all the wrongs she had done.

I was in shock in the end, I thought there was not reason to kill her.
Either way one was going to die.
I would have hoped no one died.

To me I read the book before watching the movie and I loved the book ending way better. The whole idea of Anna's purpose in life being to save her sister is lost in the movie. Also thought it was great how the author really tied together Anna's mom asking, Anna if you just do this one kidney transplant I will never ask for anything more which is the case because Anna dies! A lot of messages and themes in the novel are lost with the movie ending.

I personally like both the book and movie ending for different reasons. In my opinion, the novel and film tell different stories with the book being much darker and the movie being more optimistic. The mother comes across more as a villain in the book, having pretty much no compassion for Anna and neglecting her older son to the point where he is a drug addict swept to the garage. In the movie, the mother is more of a realistic person, having love for her children but is desperate to protect Kate so she goes a bit too extreme at times. The different endings suit these stories as well. The movie addresses a heart breaking reality that people who have children with pediatric cancer may have to face: realizing their child has a sense of autonomy and sometimes their battle is too much and they need to let go. The book however is different. My mother shared her interpretation of this with me. Anna's death was the end of Anna's purpose now that she wouldn't be spare parts for Kate. We know that Anna's mother only had her for the sake of Kate and failed to be a mother to Anna in many respects. With her purpose done, it was full circle and she was now disposable. Quite the sad end either way, but in my opinion both powerful.

Olivia wrote: "I personally like both the book and movie ending for different reasons. In my opinion, the novel and film tell different stories with the book being much darker and the movie being more optimistic...."
I see where you are coming from, and yes both a powerful, and sad

'but if it had to be Anna, a complication from the Kidney operation'.
I totally agree, if it had to be one of them that died, at least a complication from the kidney operation would bring back the deep question of 'was it worth it to coerce or force her into donating her kidney. Instead she chose this cheesy questions which brought no questions and had no correlation to the rest of the book.