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YMMV / Handle with Care

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  • It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: It has an extremely similar plot to My Sister's Keeper, which was one of Picoult's first big hits. There's the ill sister with a rare disease (Kate and Willow), another sister who is very neglected (Anna and Amelia, with Amelia also being a Composite Character of the son Jesse, as both are teen rebels due to their parents' emotional abuse), a Nice Guy dad (Brian and Sean), and an unpleasant mother who has devoted her whole life to caring for her ill daughter and uses it to deflect criticism (Sara and Charlotte). Both Sara and Charlotte become obsessed with the court case and push everyone away from them, until both could be seen to be "punished" by a Shoot the Shaggy Dog ending where one daughter unexpectedly dies in a freak accident.
  • The Scrappy: Charlotte is an unpleasant person throughout the book and stays unrepentant even when Willow drowns and she puts the check in the coffin with Willow. She could have used the money for Amelia's medical bills after being in the clinic but, nope, it's all about Willow.
  • The Woobie: Willow is designed to be this, but many characters suffer significantly throughout the novel, including Sean, Piper, Amelia, and everyone around them.

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