Customer Reviews

The Pact: A Love Story

5 star:		(367)
4 star:		(134)
3 star:		(50)
2 star:		(45)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

I was unable to put this book down. What an amazing book. Jodi Picoult has perfectly described the feelings of love, loss, grief and devastation in The Pact. I think I must have begun weeping several times while reading this book (on the bus, in line at the drug store...).

Not only is the book gripping while you are reading it but it stays with you afterwards - I can't stop thinking about it.

The Pact is the story of two teenagers who grow up next door to one another from birth, their parents are the best of friends and have always expected that their children's friendship will blossom into love which it does.

The book jumps from both Chris and Emily's perspective as well as both sets of parents - it deals with a suicide pact gone wrong and the aftermath (as well as what has lead up to the central moment). If anyone has ever learned devastating news or lost a loved one then they know what it can do to a person as well as a family and I thought that The Pact was unbelievably realistic.

This was one of the most moving, touching and important books I have read - it certainly leaves you thinking about it and your own life as well as the lives of those around you.

Read this one but make sure to keep a box of tissues and a loved one near by (for a hug if you need one).

Two families were the closest of friends. Their children, Christopher Harte and Emily Gold, both age 17, had grown up together and started dating each other at age 13. On one fateful night, that all changed when Emily is found dead from a gunshot wound and Chris claims it was a suicide pact. The prosecutor claims murder and now these two supposedly ideal families will be ripped apart as they grapple with what happened and why.

Jodi Picoult's powerful story will leave the reader reeling from the overwhelming emotions conveyed. Ms. Picoult demonstrates a solid grasp of her subject matter as her characters struggle with the notion of Emily's suicide versus Chris being her murderer. THE PACT: A LOVE STORY is thought provoking, albeit painful at times.

Jodi Picoult deftly interweaves the past and present in this poignant family drama. Suicide is an extremely sensitive subject and this topic may disturb some readers. Ms. Picoult handles the topic exceptionally well, however, remaining sensitive to all of the issues and parties involved in THE PACT: A LOVE STORY.

THE PACT: A LOVE STORY is not an easy read, but it is a book well worth reading more for the questions Ms. Picoult asks than for any real answers. As the story unfolds, readers will find themselves completely immersed into this deeply moving and heart wrenching tale. THE PACT: A LOVE STORY is a very realistic portrayal of the aftermath of a suicide, particularly one under such questionable circumstances, and as such will be both loved and hated at the same time. Kudos to Ms. Picoult for daring to venture into this territory and for being so compassionate in the process.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

After being turned on to Jodi Picoult through My Sister's Keeper, I sought her out at the bookstore and stumbled upon this book.

Picoult manages to capture the essence of the grief and heartache suicide bequeathes in exacting detail. I admired the deft way in which she segued from present to past, seamlessly telling the story of a multitude of characters through varying perspectives.

However, I think she fell short in the execution of events leading to Emily's suicide. After the last page, I'm still left questioning how Emily was brought to believe suicide was her only option. I think Picoult should have examined this angle a bit more in-depth.

If you've yet to read a book by Jodi Picoult, The Pact is a good place to start. Once here, you will be introduced to a terrific author and will probably vow to read everything she has written. This is how it was for me when I read this book. There are very few books that I'll read and be able to say "I absolutely LOVED it." This was one of those rare books that I was able to say those words. This story tracks the lives of two American families, the Hartes and the Golds, living on a cul de sac and raising their kids together. Chris Harte and Emily Gold were born just weeks apart and spent most of their childhood playing together. Of course, it was each family's dream that they would grow up and eventually fall in love giving credence to the "happily every after story". As we follow Chris and Emily through their childhood into their teen years, we share the same dreams as the parents and are delighted when the two finally find their friendship becoming one of intimacy. When Emily dies of a gunshot wound, there are plenty of questions to be answered and what follows will keep you spellbound. This is a book that any parent of a teen can relate to and also should be suggested reading for teens themselves. This book screams to be an Oprah pick...it's that good and even better.

The Pact is the first book of Jodi Picoult's that I have ever read, and based on what I've experienced with this, I know it won't be the last. The Pact is emotional, moving, shocking and surprising. The narrative is told in an interesting back-and-forth style, between Chris, who is accused of murdering his life long friend and love, and Emily, dead at seventeen and whose voice is a trace of past events. Moving between present day court proceedings and what actually happened the night a teenaged girl was shot, we delve into the childhoods of both characters and the family that surrounds them.

The Hartes and the Golds live next to each other, eat together, gather in each others homes and go on vacation together. Somewhere along the way, and much to the parents happiness, Chris and Emily end up dating each other. Soon after, as witnessed in Emily's thoughts and journals, it becomes apparent that she herself is not happy with this; that something in her life and heart is troubled beyond even Chris's presence. The mystery surrounding the night of her death continues for the whole length of the novel, and every turn is shrouded in secrets, lies, and ultimately, the truth.

I devoured this book in a few sittings. Picoult does a wonderful job in getting us to know the two families; both sets of parents are equally interesting and sympathetic, and the story would not have worked as well if they weren't. The reader never really knows what happened that fateful night between Emily and Chris until the very end, and it keeps you going to find out. This is a well-written, intriguing novel, and I can't wait to read more of her works.

After you've read a few Jodi Picoult books, you come to expect certain things. A compelling, flashpoint topic (teen suicide, stigmata, school shootings, sexual abuse, etc.) that rips a small New England community apart. Courtroom drama. Finely wrought family dynamics. A maverick lawyer, a quirky judge, and a lot of angst. Tons of plot twists and turns.

All of the above were present in "The Pact," a story of the death of a teenage golden girl, with her longtime boyfriend accused of the murder -- which he claims was a double suicide gone awry. The defendant bobs and weaves as news of Emily's pregnancy comes to light, and plenty of red herrings are thrown into the mix. But still something was missing.

I felt like there just wasn't quite ENOUGH drama in this book... I expected one more horrifying secret to be revealed at the end. I did not believe that Emily's reasons for killing herself were sufficiently grave. And I couldn't believe that NO ONE -- not the police, not his parents, not the lawyer, no one -- asked Chris what really happened that night.

Stilll, with Picoult's wonderful writing, this book is still worth reading.

Assuming that this was another "chick novel", I would not have ordinarily picked this book to read. But since a friend had recommended it to me, I dived into it with low expectations. As I read, I became increasingly engrossed with the realistically-drawn characters and well-crafted plot. The novel is great for book discussion groups as it raises lots of questions: Can the legal system ever adjudicate the real truth, or is truth so relative that it can never be legally defined? Can one give onself over to another too completely? Is suicide ever a reasonable answer to life's challenges? This book is indeed a "chick novel" in the sense that it is primarily about interpersonal relationships. But it is more than just a light, entertaining read. Those who appreciated the movie "Ordinary People" will find in this novel a similarly sophisticated treatment of the despair that can attend adolescence and the impact it can have on families and communities.

I can see by the reviews on these pages that there are a lot of people who loved The Pact. I am not one of them. While the story may have had some potential, Picoult doesn't develop anything. There is nothing special about this novel at all, it's just a run-of-the-mill story. No humor, no character development, no believable characters, no thought-provoking observations, nothing to distinguish it as anything but a quick read. She skims the surface, gives us predictable and somewhat boring and indistinguishable characters. As a quick read, it's not awful, but that's about the best I can say.

At first, I had a hard time putting this book down because I was compelled to find out why Emily wanted to kill herself and whether she eventually revealed those reasons to Chris; I continued to read it after I began feeling uncomfortable hoping the author would somehow curb my feelings. She didn't.
WARNING: AM REVEALING PLOT:
Chris and Emily's relationship was unnatural and disturbing. While I was reading, all I could envison was my daughter and nephew growing up together(2 months apart and very close). When the relationship turned sexual in the book, I felt sick.
The subtitle "A Love Story" is especially upsetting. Once the reader understands that Emily feels trapped by Chris and is more or less sickened by their sexual relationship, I feel it is inappropriate. Chris, who was supposedly so in-tune with her feelings, seems to purposely ignore her fairly obvious signs of discomfort. Towards the end, it felt abusive. Combine that with her flashbacks of abuse that she seems to link with her sexual encounters with Chris, and I walked away from this novel very disturbed.

I probably would not have read this book if I'd really known what it was about as we had recently lost a child to suicide. However, I am glad that I read it. It was enormously healing to read about other families facing the same sort of loss. The story was also well done. I could completely understand why the main characters acted as they did and also see how tragically unnecessary it was. Great book. Nicely written, believeable characters.