

I actually found the teenage daughter, Amelia, more interesting. Either I just wasn't in the mood, or it read too much like My Sister's Keeper, or I spent the whole time anticipating the expected resolution. I expected to be more intrigued by this one - OI ("brittle bone disease") and a wrongful birth suit. Picoult's books are incredibly formulaic, and their strength really lies in whether or not you care about the topic they address. What if Charlotte had known earlier of Willow's illness? What if things could have been different? What if their beloved Willow had never been born? To do Willow justice, Charlotte must ask herself these questions and one more. Willow is Willow, in sickness and in health.Įverything changes, though, after a series of events forces Charlotte and her husband to confront the most serious what-ifs of all.

She's smart as a whip, on her way to being as pretty as her mother, kind, brave, and for a five-year-old an unexpectedly deep source of wisdom. What if their child had been born healthy? But it's all worth it because Willow is, funny as it seems, perfect. Instead, their lives are made up of sleepless nights, mounting bills, the pitying stares of "luckier" parents, and maybe worst of all, the what-ifs. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe would have asked for a healthy baby, too, if they'd been given the choice. Every expectant parent will tell you that they don't want a perfect baby, just a healthy one. When Willow is born with severe osteogenesis imperfecta, her parents are devastated-she will suffer hundreds of broken bones as she grows, a lifetime of pain. Jee reviews ‘Thank You, Mr.An alternate cover edition can be found here.

