My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

There is a reason that Picoult is a best-selling author: she’s really good. In this case, she takes a ripped-from-the-headlines type of plot-line and infuses it with warmth, dimension and surprising humanity. Anna’s older sister Kate has APL, an aggressive form of leukemia, and was conceived as a perfect genetic match so that she could “help” her sister when her immune system crashes. Anna loves her sister Kate and loves her parents, but at 13, after years of donating her blood, bone marrow and her chance at a normal life, and with the possibility of the donation of one of her kidneys, she decides to sue her parents for medical emancipation. Told from different perspectives, Picoult builds this story about a complex issue with true balance and depth. But I must warn you: don’t finish this book in a public place—I was sniveling and honking my nose like a big baby.