Harvest by Tess Gerritsen | Teen Ink

Harvest by Tess Gerritsen

May 20, 2012
By AnubhutiKumar PLATINUM, New York, New York
AnubhutiKumar PLATINUM, New York, New York
41 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Untraceable organ donations. A rich businessman's sick wife and moving up the heart transplant list for no obvious reasons. Large overseas bank accounts. A 17 year old boy with a failing heart, his only last wish to see his room again. A pattern is developing here and suspicions arise quickly and plentiful in Harvest, medical drama author, Tess Gerritsen's bestselling, adrenaline-filled debut. The main character is Dr. Abby Matteo, a medical resident at Bayside hospital in Boston. She is career oriented and determined to be a cardiac surgeon, something she has worked like a dog for all her life. She is tapped as a potential recruit for Bayside's prestigious cardiac team, but when she helps redirect a heart to more critical patient, she stumbles upon a conspiracy bigger then she could ever imagine.

The rich man whose wife was supposed to get the heart is furious, but before he can get the words out a new heart appears out of nowhere. At this, Abby decides to do some research, but the donor papers that came with the heart are not to be found. The doctor who arrived with the heart is also not registered at the hospital he claimed to be from, AKA the hospital in the heart was harvested at. She also notices that all recent organ donors tend to die in the vicinity of this hospital. As if this isn’t enough, lawsuits start piling in against her and Bayside from loved ones of patients whose have long since passed away. She has never done anything unethical or illegal and can’t fathom why these cases suddenly started pouring in. Abby is in deep and hopes she can escape with her life.

In this heart stopping tribute to Robin Cook classic novel, Coma, Gerritsen explores the idea of possible corruption in today's medical society. With today's attitude of "Money can buy anything", she asks whether it can buy life, especially when taking it from another less fortunate. Harvest shows how morality is just as important as skill in medicine. It shows how challenges and events in life can lead you to the decisions you make, though sometimes questionable. And finally it shows you how if you get yourself in too deep, and wait too long, death can be the only way out.

If Abby decides to reveal this conspiracy, she might lose the things most important to her, the dreams and goals that have been present for most of her life that and she is so close to achieving. Her status as up and coming surgeon could be yanked out from underneath her. But worse, she could lose the love on her life, her cardiac surgeon fiancé. She could loose the chance to work side by side with him for the rest of their lives or he might hate her forever for revealing the truth. The author's frank yet suspenseful style of writing gives the reader considerable insight into Abby Matteo's turmoil filled brain, making them excited to turn the page, and dying to find out the stunning conclusion to Harvest.


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