Another Book...

Now that school's been out for a week and a half, I have been enjoying the opportunity to do some recreational reading. My friend J.. recommended this next book, stating that it was highly addictive. True she was. I read through the 400-plus pages in two days.

This is the first book by Jodi Picoult that I have read. My Sister's Keeper is her 11th novel and she enjoys writting fictional characters around controversial issues: euthanasia, teen suicide, and in this book, genetic planning.
Anna has been concieved to donate stem cells to her sister Kate, who is suffering from a rare form of leukemia. After 13 years, invasive proceedures and surgeries, Kate now needs a kidney transplant. The only one who is a likely match is her sister, Anna. However, the decision to donate the kidney is not made by Anna but by her parents. Anna decides enough is enough and hires a lawyer to sue her parents for medical emancipation. As the court battle ensues, Anna must make a choice to either receive her freedom or save her own sister.
It was so easy to lose myself in this book, especially since I was looking for something to read that I wasn't being graded on. I enjoyed the story yet felt that the mother depicted in the story was not as realistic as she could have been. Her strong views to do anything to save Kate, despite what her daughter Anna was feeling was a bit out of character. I guess that's why they call it fiction.
I enjoyed this book and may pick up another one in the future. Here's to reading!!

Book Review

So, a friend of mine started this crazy notion of putting up on her blog, a list of 100 best books to read. Then one by one, many other bloggers started to do the same. I am embarrased to put up the list, because mine is not quite as "read" as the others. Being a student, I have enough to read to broaden my knowledge horizons. Once I have degree in hand, I look forward to devouring the list, as well as adding many books to it....until then, I will share with you what I do happen to get read.

Mitch Albom's "The Five People you Meet in Heaven" is a book for those who want to read something quickly. It is short and sweet and of all the books I've read, it is the first to bring tears to my eyes. Sadly to say, I can cry with the best of them at a movie, but for some reason books do not have the same effect on me.

It follows the death first and then flashes back on the life of a simple old man named Edward. In heaven, he gets the opportunity to meet five people that have been a part of his life, and explain to him what his life meant. The author's creative imagination of what heaven is like is heartwarming and comforting; not flashy and "expensive" like some of us might think. It is sweet and innocent.

I liked this book. I wouldn't consider it a "classic" by any means but I also was not dissapointed by spending time reading it. It was nice. I hope you like it too!!