Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Book vs Movie: My Sister's Keeper



My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Anna has spent most of her life in and out of the hospital. Not because she is sick, but because she was a test tube baby conceived to be a perfect bone marrow donor for her older sister, Kate, who is plagued with Leukemia.

Anna has decided she has had enough and convinces a lawyer to help her get legal control of her own body, a decision that may cause her family to be torn apart, and may have fatal consequences.

The Book:

The book is written from multiple viewpoints, including Anna, her parents, her siblings, her lawyer and social worker. It also goes back and forth from past to present day. This sometimes caused confusion if the reader forgets who's name was at the top of the chapter. But over all, the book was well written and kept my interest through to the end.

The ending, however, was so shocking to me, that I literally yelled out my surprise! But I won't tell you what happened... You'll have to read the book....

The Movie:

Cast: Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin, and Sofia Vassilieva

On the whole, the movie was good. They made some changes to fit the story into a movie version without having to explain everything. For the most part this did not affect the storyline.

The actors did a good job at portraying the characters, although it is my opinion that despite Alec Baldwin's ability to be goofy, he didn't quite capture his character as I imagined him.

The biggest disappointment was that the ending in the movie is entirely different than the ending in the book - far too predictable. You can read the author's reaction to the ending here.

Conclusion:

Once again, it is proven that the book is always better than the movie. I will definitely be checking out other books by this author.

9 comments:

Emily said...

I'm glad for this review. I had seen the trailer and thought this was a movie I should stay far away from. Now you have me curious... and I agree, the book is always better than the movie!

Mary said...

Since I saw the pre-veiws I have wanted to see the movie. I think now I will put it off untill I can read the book. It might be some time though. The libary has a waiting list for it. Thanks for the review.

Jenners said...

Wasn't the ending of the book good? I was shocked too. And when I heard they changed the ending of the movie, I decided I didn't want to see it.

Brian Miller said...

her books are phenomenal. have read most of them and there is always a nice twist. MSK, the book was better. i liked the movie, just dont expect it to be anything like the book. and i cried.

i am totally destroying my manly image with this comment. oh well.

debrapearson93 said...

You don't know me but I sometimes drop by to see how you are doing:) Anyway, I had to comment because I LOVE Jodi Picoult!!!! Nineteen minutes was another of my favorites. I don't know if I will watch the movie as I also heard they changed the ending?!?! Not sure why but I do have to say the ending of the book did make me a little mad at the time.

Audrey said...

I have wanted to read the book - just haven't found the time yet. But it's still on my list :)
You got rid of the brown behind your banner!! Woohoo!

Country Mouse, City Mouse said...

When I was at my hairdresser a couple of weeks ago she was telling me about this book and author. Have you read other books from her? She really encouraged me to get a hold of some of her books. Now you have pushed me further:)

Anonymous said...

The book is ALWAYS better.

Unknown said...

Well you've piqued my interest! Loved the movie, now I'll have to read the book. :0)