I read this book some time ago, can't remember why I didn't do a review on it,  actually I think I do remember... this book really affected me, it made me very sad when I read it,  it also made me question myself, by the time I read this I already had two sons and so a lot of the issues raised by the book were ones that I really had to think about, what would I do? Would I sacrifice the happiness of one child to save another?  Would I go and have a baby with the sole purpose of trying to save the other?  For me, given the difficulty I actually have getting and staying pregnant its a bit of a non starter question, but ethically it's a conundrum, one I am glad to say I haven't had to face, but I would hope that the answer would be no... I wouldn't devalue one of my children's lives to save the other.  I wouldn't make that child do things he or she didn't want to do without their consent or even over their objections to save the other.   I wouldn't put that child in the position where he or she had to say "no" and get a lawyer to try and get me to realise that their needs were being ignored and made them feel like a spare parts factory.

I do enjoy Jodi Picoult books, although saying the word "enjoy" about these books feels so wrong.  She tackles subjects that are so difficult, asks questions that no one wants to ask and does it in a way that doesnt turn it into a farce, she does it with sensitivity and a depth of thought and feeling that you can't help but disappear into what is an amazing read.  

This story reduced me to tears at several points, pathetic... but true. 

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