My Sister's Keeper

My Sister’s Keeper

By: Jodi Piccoult

423p

Washington Square Press

ISBN-10: 143915726X
ISBN-13: 978-1439157268

Annotation:

Conceived to provide a bone marrow match for her leukemia-stricken sister, teenage Kate begins to question her moral obligations in light of countless medical procedures and decides to fight for the right to make decisions about her own body. .

Summary

For years Anna has had to endure countless surgeries, shots and blood transfusions, the problem is Anna is not sick. She was born with the sole purpose of providing her leukemia- ridden sister Kate with everything necessary to keep her alive. Anna has finally had enough, when her parents ask her to give a kidney to Kate, she refuses. The obstinate Anna then decides to seek the help of a lawyer to obtain rights to her body, even if that means a death sentence for Kate.

Picoult's My Sister's Keeper is a stark and emotional read. It forces readers to ask themselves what they would do for a loved one and more importantly, when is it too much. What does it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person, if you choose to do bad or selfish things does that make you a bad person? Young adult readers will delve into this situation perhaps with decisions already made and by the climax may have had a change of heart.

Soon to be a major motion picture, this novel will touch even the toughest of people.

Black Box

Black Box
By: Julie Schumacher

176p
Delacorte Books for Young Readers

ISBN-10: 0385735421
ISBN-13: 978-0385735421


Annotation:
When her sixteen-year-old sister is hospitalized for depression her parents want to keep it a secret, fourteen-year-old Elena tries to cope with her own anxiety and feelings of guilt that she is determined to conceal from outsiders.

Summary:
A realistic look at the effects of depression and the problems that can surround it.

Fourteen year-old Elena is responsible and reliable while her older sister Dora is the exact opposite. As Elena tries to deal with not only her sister’s illness but also the constant questioning from friends at school, and the fighting at home it becomes difficult for her to maintain her composure. As her parents refuse to acknowledge Dora’s condition, Elena feels more and more isolated and alone. Intent on not showing emotions, Elena finds solace in the friendship of her classmate Jimmy; a social outcast who has experiences with the practices at the local mental institution.

Throughout the novel Elena, deals with the constant emotional uncertainty of her sister while she is both in and out of the institution and her strange behavior once she returns. Elena become suspicious of her sister and begins to research her medicine, which is where we come to learn the meaning of the title (Blackbox is a warning label stating that these people should be under constant supervision) as well as her strange behavior at school.


This novel is no Disney story, it deals with difficult situations in a manner that is accessible to teens, the novel also includes websites and information about depression and suicide prevention, which may be helpful for people looking for more information.