I found this softcover at a local Goodwill thrift shop, for another release copy.

Hmmm. The story was definitely involving, the subject matter important, and the differing viewpoints illuminating - and I liked many of the characters very much. [Except Sara. Even during her final speech in the courtroom, when I thought I might be beginning to feel some sympathy for her, she finished up by making me angry at her again.] Angry - quite a lot of this book made me angry, come to think of it. Most of that had to do with the situation, the nightmarishly difficult decisions facing everyone in the family, and the often conflicting or just plain obstructive rules and regulations bracketing everything, but the thing that made me maddest was the ending. It really felt like a cheap way out, after the truly impressive suspense and drama and emotion leading up to it - one of those moments that make me want to hurl a book across the room, in fact (though I restrained myself {wry grin}). Could such a thing happen? Well, sure, but how likely is it? Felt very manipulative, too, and I didn't care for it at all. [How to improve the ending? Well, I thought of a few options; not sure if they'd have impressed readers any better, but I don't think they could be any worse! Here are some, spoilered-out: What if, instead of having head injuries in the accident, Anna had suffered serious internal injuries, such that she needed a kidney transplant? Nasty, yes, but if we accept the coincidence of Anna's accident at that particular time, wouldn't this be as likely as the head-injury option? And it takes away the magical Kate-gets-a-transplant alternative, while letting Anna get a little of her parents' attention for once. Not sure how it would play out after that, but I like it better than the book version. Or, for a totally tragic ending, Anna could have been killed outright, with too much damage to permit organ harvesting at all - everybody loses... I suppose that would take too much focus off of the pressing questions, though. Ah, well, this is why I don't write books!]

FWIW, I was definitely on Anna's side here (and I adored her lawyer). I'm not keen on the idea of parents deliberately conceiving children in hopes of using them to treat ailing siblings, but if they do, I think they should bend over backwards to make sure that the "special" kids get every opportunity to live as normal a life as possible, including the option to back out of medical procedures that they don't want. [This is why I can't like Sara; if she'd been more sensitive to what each of her daughters wanted, the story might never have reached critical-drama-point - but then we wouldn't have had a book, right?]

If the book - cop-out ending and all - has inspired people to have serious conversations about their own wishes regarding extreme measures in medical treatment, and/or reminds people coping with the unimaginably difficult situation of a deathly-ill child that they should try not to short-change their other kids, then it's done some good.

I haven't seen the 2009 film adaptation, but I do know that the ending was changed; from what I've read, I gather I'd prefer the movie's ending, though unless I see it I won't know for sure. [The TV Tropes page covers both the book and the film, and also informed me that the book was on the top ten most-challenged-books list for its year.]

Guidelines for safely visiting and stocking Little Free Libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the LFL site here.

I left this book in this new-to-me Little Free Library on this very warm day; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2021 Movie challenge. ***

Found in Somerville MA in a little free library on Summer street. Will read and then leave in another LFL.
So excited because this is the first Book Crossing book I've found :)

Cried through this whole novel! Super interesting and more complex than I imagined.

Leaving in the LFL for others to weep over.