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Allie Anderson

Dear Ms. Picoult,

The day I closed your book was the day I realized how much I need to appreciate the people that I have in my life because they won't be here forever. You never know when you're going to lose someone and how much it hurts. I lost both of my grandpas on the same day for the same reason but five years apart. It was very unexpected and I felt torn up inside. After reading this book I knew it would change my life forever. My Sisters Keeper took me on a journey of love, courage and death.

I learned that I need to appreciate the people that I have now because they won't be here forever. Anna feels like she isn't loved by her parents and that she was just born to save her sister's life. Even though she was basically born to help her sister, her parents still love her. When my sister was moving out and she was getting all of the attention, I felt unloved and left out. Even though I knew my parents loved me the same, it didn't feel like it.
Courage. We all have it but we don't know how to use it. We all have to have courage like Kate and Anna. If we don't have the courage that we need we fall apart. We wouldn't be able to get anywhere in life if we didn't have courage because in everything in life there are obstacles you have to get through. I had to have courage and get through the tough times my family and I had when my grandpa died just like Anna's family had to.

Death- the ending of one's life.  His cold skin, his pale face, his loss of life. My grandpa's life was over just like that. You never know when you're going to lose someone and how much it affects you. Anna's life ended with no warning. Her family thought it was going to be Kate that would pass away not Anna. Her family never realized how much they loved her until she was gone. "And then I feel it, as her heart stops beating beneath my palm-- that tiny loss of rhythm, that hollow calm, that utter loss."

My Sisters Keeper left a big impact on me and I have never had a book touch me in ways that this one has. It made me laugh. It made me cry. But most of all it made me realize that life is short and live it to the fullest with every day you are given.

Sincerely,
Allie Anderson

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