So can I just start by saying what an arsehole I thought Sara (the mother) was. As a mum, I totally get that if your child was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition then you would do literally anything to cure them, and I don't blame her at all for conceiving a 'designer baby' whose cord blood could be used to treat her ill child. However, I think it's not great parenting to have another baby and to tell them constantly that the only reason they were born was to save their sibling. Like, they have no other use in life. Pressure, much? Also, she's a crap parent because literally all her attention goes on Kate and she leaves her other two children to basically fend for themselves. THEN, when her saviour child speaks up and says, No, actually, I like having both of my kidneys, she throws all her toys out the pram. I think Jodi Picoult meant for us to identify with Sara's horns-of-a-dilemma situation, but actually there was no dilemma. She was completely unidentifiable and I didn't like her one single bit.
The story is told through multiple viewpoints, so the story is like a bunch of threads all woven together. It didn't make the story as confusing as you'd think it would be, and it added something to the story (I still thought Kate and Anna's mum was an arsehole).
I totally felt for Anna and rooted for her. Ditto for the dad. I wasn't a fan of Kate - I thought she was pretty whiny (I KNOW! I know she has leukaemia and has a reason to whine). I felt so sorry for Jesse. And Campbell and Julia's will-they-won't-they romance thing was okay but not really relevant to the main story.
I kind of knew what the end was going to be - I think because this was such a famous book and then a high-profile film, the ending had just seeped into my consciousness - but it was good nonetheless. A definite ending.