The Donor by Helen Fitzgerald

Will Marion has the worst decision ever to make. His twin daughters have kidney failure and they need a transplant. Which one will he choose to give his kidney to?

This is the first book I have read by Helen Fitzgerald and I have to say that I loved it. It was so well written and kept you hooked from page 1. Will, the Father, is a spineless and lazy man who gets walked over by his junkie wife Cynthia who then up and leaves him with the 3 year old twins. You would expect him then to get his life together and make something of himself but he doesn't and just wafts through life. The best thing he does though is look after the girls. I think the author really gave us the back story so you could really understand and believe in Will.
The book is written sometimes as Will and sometimes as Georgie, the headstrong rebellious twin. It shows their own struggle at a relationship as Georgie thinks he loves Kay much more as she is the "good" twin. Things come to a head when the girl get sick and Will tries everything in his power to save them both.
The way the author gets you to care about the characters is why this is such an easy read although the topic is very bleak. It is a story about families and fatherly love and I sometimes forgot that it was written by a woman as it has such a strong male presence. There was one character who I really loved and that was Preston the private investigator. He was funny and quirky and made me laugh which was a welcome relief after some of the tensions between the main characters.
The only slight problem I had with the book is that the author did not really go into the relationship between the twins themselves and I never got to understand why they did not have as close a relationship as you would expect. Also Kay did not get to tell her story and so I felt that I didn't know her as well as Georgie and Will.
I would recommend this book as it keeps you absorbed from the moment you pick it up and although the topic is bleak, the story is so well written it keeps you enthralled.