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[Kentuckychickrk]

I actually enjoyed Campbell's character in the story and really liked that she added his perspective throughout.  That would certainly be a difficult case to try, especially because in a case like that there would be no clear "winner" and there's no real right or wrong.

I had some idea of what was wrong with Campbell just because I'm familiar with the scenerio and that type of animal.

As for the romance subplot with Campbell... It becomes more relevant as the story goes on... and I think it does play into the plot simply because it shows the human side of Campbell -- not wanting to give anything away here, but it shows the difficulty and emotions that he's gone through in his own struggles with his own "disability" and his wanting to distance himself from those he loves because of it.  In a way he can relate to Kate and her family.

I agree about the heavy medical info being a bit overwhelming.  I felt that a majority of that could be left out.  We aren't researching an illness... we're reading a story.

[mare]

I'm glad to see some discussion going on in here.

Let's continue reading with the weekend and Monday.

I know we discussed the medical mombo jumbo, do you feel the same way when it comes to the courtroom scenes?

What are your thoughts on Jesse and how do you feel about his little subplot?

So far, do you think Jodi is painting a very visual picture of what's going on?

And Julie, you mentioned you wanted to maybe do March/April for the next book. Do you still want it? Id not does anyone else want to host?

We should start thinking about the next book.

okay people....disc uss!

[RokofAges75]

Hm... I guess I could do April if no one else wants to... I'd probably rather do June or July now though, cause I'll be more on top of things then LOL.

By the way, I did get started on this book finally and have been reading it; I think I'm just behind where the discussion is.  I don't remember what day I'm on.  I'm enjoying it though!

[RokofAges75]

I'm gonna edit that statement and say that I definitely would rather have June or July.  The Felix Awards run through the end of April, and I'm judging for those, so I've committed myself to a lot of reading already in the next month or so.  Between that and writing, my free time goes quickly LOL.

[julilly]

I"m almost done the book so I think I'm going to wait a bit before I comment, if I start trying to think back to parts I've already read I'll forget where I am lol

[mare]

okay, so anyone else want the next turn?

[RokofAges75]

Okay, I think I'm finally caught up to where I need to be, so I'll finally post some of my thoughts on this!

First all, I'm loving the book!  Mare was right; it's totally my kind of story LOL.  I didn't think I'd be crazy about the multiple POVs, but I actually don't mind them and think it was a good choice on the author's part to write it that way.  It makes the story more interesting, to see all sides, and it also makes it easier to empathize with all the characters involved.

I could definitely see myself hating Sara, if some of the story wasn't in her POV.  But because it is, I don't hate her.  She's definitely not my favorite character, but I can't blame her for feeling and acting the way that she does.  She's a desperate mother, trying to save her child, and that's all she can think about.  I do think she's blinded by that, and can't see the rest of the world and her other two children living around her, but I can't fault her for that.  When something tragic happens, you always wonder how the world can keep going when your world has just crashed down around you, and I think that's the state Sara is in whenever something happens with Kate.

Something I just realized is that we never see Kate's POV, do we??  I can't remember reading a part from her POV.  I would love to know her thoughts on all of this, but maybe the author did that intentionally.

My favorite character is Jesse LOL.  He is good comic relief, and he certainly adds some spice to the story.  He's the most interesting character to me.

So far I'm not a huge fan of the Julia/Campbell subplot.  I am dying to know what's up with Campbell and the dog though.  My guess is epilepsy.  His various creative excuses are a nice running gag in the story.

As far as all the medical "mumbo jumbo," I don't mind it at all.  I don't think there's too much.  The details make it more realistic and also help show how serious the situation really is.  Cancer can be glamourized in a way in some books or movies, but it's not here, and I appreciate that.

I haven't gotten into too much of the legal stuff yet, assuming they actually will go to trial, so I don't have thoughts on that yet.  So far it hasn't been too much at all.

So, my question for everyone else is, whose side are you taking in this?  If you were Anna, what would you do?  If you were Sara, what would you do?

[mare]

Those are good questions Julie

If I was Anna, i'm not sure I personally would be able to go ahead with this thing. Sometimes she made me angry as well, just because she seemed so willing to let her sister die and at times it does seem selfish, but then again she's just a kid. I mean I can't even imagine what kind of hell that must be like to always be poked and prodded just so your sister can get better. While reading it, I felt that sense of inner hatred she must have had for her. I probably would too.

As far as the mom goes, sometimes I think if Mom had just always left it up to Anna in the first place, things would have never escalated to what they were now. If she had said would you mind helping your sister instead of just making her all the time.

This is the kind of case that is perfect for drama because in the end there really is no win win situation.

As far as Kate's POV. I think that's a Jody Picoult trademark thing. Now that i've read a billion of her stories, it seems like she always tends to wait until towards the end before the main focus has a say. So, Kate's POV is coming.

I also enjoy Jesse in this one. The men are refreshing for me in this story. I like reading from Brian, Jesse and Campbell's Points of view.

[honey]

lol did you hear that Hollywood has changed the ending for the movie? Check it out.   http://joblo.com/sisters-keeper-ending

[mare]

That doesn't surprise me, sadly. I am kind of diappointed in her and the fact that she allowed them to do it. I think I would have bailed out personally.

They really need to make Nineteen Minutes into a movie! and for the love of God not a Lifetime Movie!! lol

[RokofAges75]

It's definitely a no-win situation that you can really see both sides of.  I can empathize with Anna in not wanting to go through with it.  Donating an organ is a lot different than something that can be replaced, like blood or stem cells or bone marrow.  And feeling like she doesn't have a choice in the matter, like this is her only purpose in life and she's being forced into it, makes it even worse.

That said, what I can't empathize with is her willingness to let her sister die because of it.  I could understand her hating Kate, resenting Kate, but it doesn't seem like she does.  Hate her, at least.  Resent her, probably.  I know I resent my sister sometimes, even dislike her, but at the end of the day, she is my sister, and I love her, and even though I would be terrified to be put through surgery to donate an organ, I don't see how I could choose NOT to do that and live with myself after my sister died.  I just can't fathom it.  I don't know how the story ends yet, but IF Anna doesn't go through with it and Kate dies, how is she going to feel about that?  How could she stand to be around her mother, knowing that Sara is always going to look at her and think, "You could have saved Kate, and you didn't."  From that angle, she seems very selfish.  I know she's only thirteen, and thirteen-year-olds generally are selfish LOL, but still... it's a matter of life or death, and it's her sister.

So I guess even though I totally understand Anna's wanting to emancipate herself, I can't believe she would let her sister die over it.

[RokofAges75]

That doesn't surprise me, sadly. I am kind of diappointed in her and the fact that she allowed them to do it. I think I would have bailed out personally.

They really need to make Nineteen Minutes into a movie! and for the love of God not a Lifetime Movie!! lol

Oh god, Lifetime LOL.  They turned my favorite Lurlene McDaniel book into a movie, and it was sooo corny.  The material they were working with was, admittedly, already pretty cheesy, but they added the special Lifetime touch with poor acting and sappy music and added this whole subplot that centered around the mom losing her job because she was missing too much work and fighting to get it back, which was totally NOT what the book was about, but I guess they thought it would appeal to the frumpy housewife crowd more than the teenage love story aspect would.

[mare]

They probaly had to ue that angle so they could cast Meridith Baxter Birney? lol She's in all Lifetime Movies, isn't she?

You know, if Mel's ever got to be a big success (haha!) ONe of my fears would have been That Lifetime would ask to make a movie for it and it would end up staring the old cast of Family Ties minus Michael J Fox. lmao

[julilly]

lol did you hear that Hollywood has changed the ending for the movie? Check it out.   http://joblo.com/sisters-keeper-ending

They also deleted Julia's character from the movie, which I find personally offensive.

[Kentuckychickrk]

Those are good questions Julie

If I was Anna, i'm not sure I personally would be able to go ahead with this thing. Sometimes she made me angry as well, just because she seemed so willing to let her sister die and at times it does seem selfish, but then again she's just a kid. I mean I can't even imagine what kind of hell that must be like to always be poked and prodded just so your sister can get better. While reading it, I felt that sense of inner hatred she must have had for her. I probably would too.

I wholeheartedly agree.  I found myself so easily looking at Anna at first and thinking 'what a selfish brat'... that's her sister.  If it were one of my brother's in that position I would hope that I'd easily be able to give whatever necessary of myself to save their life.  But then again... I say I would hope... because I've never been there.  And we're so quick to feel unbelievably sorry for the cancer patient who has to endure treatments and sticks and jabs and blood draws but turn a blind eye to the other patient, enduring the same only without the life threatening illness.  Towards the end of the story I started to feel a real sorrow for Anna.  I started to wonder how years of being the guinea pig when actually effect a person's life and under no circumstance could I come up with a good outcome.

In the mother's case, I still just see it as a mother trying so hard to save a child.  And honestly in the world of pediatric cancer, it's something often seen that when a child is dying or being treated for their disease, the rest of the family gets tossed to the wayside.  For Anna it was the case that her mother simply shrugged off her quality of life in a desparate attempt to save Kate.  For Jesse it was a matter of no one paying attention anymore.  For husband and wife, their lives became so wrapped up in hospitals and treatments and illness that they forgot to act like a couple anymore.   

In those respects I think Picoult did an amazing job at pegging reality.


As for the ending of the movie being changed.  I think it changes too much...  I think it's disheartening that they took out the ending and made it their own.  Picoult's ending, while shocking... made sense to the whole idea of the story.

I don't know if I'll be able to go see it now.