I bought this book from the sale shelf of Twinbrook Library. I had a certain BookCrosser in mind when I found it.

Fair warning: this book is a tear-jerker.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

The plan is to release this book, all snuggled into holiday wrap, at a book labeling/holiday party at crrcookie's house. Thanks for your hospitality!

SqueakyChu alerted me to the fact that this book might interest me and so I unwrapped it! I was thrilled to find this book. I read this book from the library several years ago when I was living in Germany. It was my first encounter with a Jodi Picoult book and I really want to read it again. I am thrilled to have a BookCrossing copy so that I can save my comments and refer to them whenever I like.

From the back cover:

Can a parent love too much? Or is too much never enough?

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she ahs undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was cenceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and a role that she has never challenged ... until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for the most part would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. A provocative novel that raises some important ethical issues, My Sister's Keeper is the story of one family's struggle for survival at all human costs and a stunning moral parable for all time.

I checked out a different copy of this book from the library in 2005 or so while we were stationed in Germany. I happened upon this author because I was looking for books about the Amish. This book was right next to Plain Truth. I didn't know what I was getting myself into as I started this book.

Now that I knew what to expect in the end I found that I could give the book more time and I liked learning more about the characters. I still did not like shifting point of view of the characters and disliked trying to decipher who "I" was in each chapter. I don't typically read slow and I was often going too fast to absorb who was speaking. Equally annoying were the shifts back in time. I don't ordinarily mind sections that tell of past events but in this book they weren't always clear to me and it was hard to appreciate the story when I had to always try and figure out when it was and who was doing the talking.

I do like this book and it is a book that I would recommend for book groups. It has many elements that can be discussed and although you may not like the story I wager that you will have an opinion about it.

This book was read for the 2009 Reduce My Mount TBR Challenge from the release challenge forum.

This is book #8 from my To Be Read Pile that I have read this year.

This book was read for the 2009 Pages Read Challenge from the release challenge forum.

My goal is 35,000 pages and this book has a total of 423 pages that I am counting for this challenge. I have a total of 8 books read this year with 1822 pages read for the year and that is 5.206% of my 2009 goal.

This book was released for the 2009 Keep Them Moving Challenge from the release challenge forum.

This is release #4 for this challenge.

This book is a ...

“Ray it Forward”!

Let me try and explain what a “Ray It Forward” is. More or less it is the lazy way for me to set up a common BookRay. Ordinarily a BookRay has a list of participants and it gets mailed down the line to the last person who does whatever they wish with the book. Well, I have no desire to maintain a list so this is what I figure. I’ll find the first person that wants this book and send it to them. I just ask that they pass the book along “BookRay” fashion when they are done with it.

If you are in possession of this book then please look for another BookCrosser to pass it to. Check the wish lists, the forums, a yahoo group, the BookRelay, or offer it at a meeting …whatever way you choose to pass it on is up to you. If it seems that no other BookCrossers want it then send it along its way as a wild release but this should be a last resort.

What are the advantages of Ray it Forward?

Time frame – I ask that you pass the book along in a couple months or so but because there is not a “waiting list” the time is a little more relaxed than a standard BookRay.

Shipping Preferences – Choose your own. If you need to post within your own country then do so. If you choose to send international that is great too. If postal costs are a problem right now then hand it to another BookCrosser at a meeting, release to an OBCZ, ask for postage from the receiver or find some other way to get the book in the hands of another BookCrosser.

***Please note that it would be polite to let the next person know that this is a Ray It Forward book before you pass it along to them so that they will know that they will be expected to pass it on in a couple months.

Less Stress – Please do your best to keep this book moving but I am going to try my hardest not to worry about it anymore as I send it into the world to be enjoyed by as many as is its fate.

Have a great BookCrossing Day!

This book was accepted as a Ray It Forward by NMReader.

I mailed this book on 14 February 2009.

Thank you. I am looking forward to reading. I am reading The Pact at the moment.

Releasing to The Friends of the Library