My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Summary:
In this contemporary tale of love and friendship, Jodi Picoult brings to life a familiar world, and in a single terrifying moment awakens every parent's worse fear: We think we know our children… but do we ever really know them at all?
For eighteen years the Hartes and the Golds have lived next door to each other, sharing everything from Chinese food to chicken pox to carpool duty-- they've grown so close it seems they have always been a part of each other's lives. Parents and children alike have been best friends, so it's no surprise that in high school Chris and Emily's friendship blossoms into something more. They've been soul mates since they were born.
So when midnight calls from the hospital come in, no one is ready for the appalling truth: Emily is dead at seventeen from a gunshot wound to the head. There's a single unspent bullet in the gun that Chris took from his father's cabinet-- a bullet that Chris tells police he intended for himself. But a local detective has doubts about the suicide pact that Chris has described.
The profound questions faced by the characters in this heart-rending novel are those we can all relate to: How well do we ever really know our children, our friends? What if…? As its chapters unfold, alternating between an idyllic past and an unthinkable present, The Pact paints an indelible portrait of families in anguish… culminating in an astonishingly suspenseful courtroom drama as Chris finds himself on trial for murder.
With this riveting psychological drama, Jodi Picoult explores the dynamics of intimate relationships under stress-- from the seemingly inexplicable mind of a teenager to the bonds of friendship and marriage. Few writers have such a gift for evoking everyday life coupled with the ability to create a level of dramatic tension that will keep you up reading late into the night. The Pact is storytelling at its best: wonderfully observed, deeply moving, and utterly impossible to put down.
My review: This has to be the least favorite Jodi Picoult book I have read. I'm not exactly sure why, but it just didn't really leave me with a good feeling when I was done. (Not that books like this should, but it was just different. I can't really explain it very well.) I saw a lot of similarities between this book and last week's book Handle with Care (even thought they were completely different types of stories), but the ending wasn't a big twist like I was expecting and it was just hard to relate to anyone in the story.
P.S. Happy 23rd Birthday to me! :)
4 comments:
Yes, Happy Birthday to you!
I have found that each author that I have really loved writes "at least" 1 book I really hate. I can read 10-15 books that are all my favorite from one author then one that just sucks. Then I am just thankful it wasn't the first book I read by that author because then I wouldn't have read any of my other favorites by them. Authors can't have winners all the time.
4 more weeks and you are done. I'm still wishing I did something like this too. You are so good to have kept track.
Happy Birthday Amanda!
Happy Birthday!! I guess it's because I've known you for 23 years now, but your birthday is one of the few I actually remember of anyone I know. Like, when I get a new calendar and turn it to January, the three birthdays I think of are Camille's, my moms, and yours. Hope you had a good day!
I hate reading books like that, it's so hard to make it through them. The summary sounded like it would be good too.
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