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The Pact: A Love Story (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "There was nothing left to say..." (more)
Key Phrases: classification board, gunpowder residue, The Pact, Jodi Picoult, Emily Gold (more...)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (536 customer reviews)
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The Pact: A Love Story + Keeping Faith + Harvesting the Heart: A Novel
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Teenage suicide is the provocative topic that Picoult plumbs, with mixed results, in her fifth novel. Popular high-school swimming star Chris Harte and talented artist Em Gold bonded as infants; their parents have been next-door neighbors and best friends for 18 years. When they fall in love, everyone is ecstatic. Everyone, it turns out, except for Em, who finds that sex with Chris feels almost incestuous. Her emotional turmoil, compounded by pregnancy, which she keeps secret, leads to depression, despair and a desire for suicide, and she insists that Chris prove his love by pulling the trigger. The gun is fired in the first paragraph, and so the book opens with a jolt of adrenaline. But Picoult stumbles in delineating both sets of parents' responses to the tragedy. Unconvincing behavior and dialogue inappropriate to the situation (plus, most importantly, the fact that the parents fail to discuss crucial topics) never touch the essence of bereavement and thus destroy credibility. Picoult redeems herself in flashbacks that reveal the two marital relationships and the personalities of both couples; and she sensitively explores the question of how well parents can ever know their children. After Chris is accused of murder and jailed, the narrative acquires impressive authenticity and suspense, with even the minor characters evoked with Picoult's keen eye for telling detail. The courtroom scenes (reminiscent of Picoult's 1996 novel, Mercy), are taut and well paced. Readers may remain unconvinced, however, that an intelligent young man like Chris would not have sought some help rather than respond to his lover's desperate request. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections; foreign rights sold in Germany, France, Poland and Norway.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


From Booklist

Picoult is a writer of high energy and conviction who has, in her fifth novel, brought to life a cast of subtly drawn characters caught up in a tragedy as timeless and resonant as those of the Greeks or Shakespeare. That is not to say that Picoult is anything but accessible; in fact, this psychologically shrewd tale is as suspenseful as any best-selling legal thriller. The Hartes and the Golds, professional folk living next door in an affluent New Hampshire town, are close friends, and their children, the Hartes' son, Chris, and Emily Gold, were born just weeks apart. Inseparable all through childhood, they slipped from the haven of intimate friendship into the tempestuous realm of love in high school, a transition their parents fully expected and welcomed. But Emily is secretly appalled by the incestuous nature of her relationship with Chris, and when she discovers that she is pregnant, she can imagine only one solution: suicide. Chris is with her when she dies and is consequently charged with her murder. As Picoult takes us through the nightmare that follows, examining each character's struggle with guilt and sorrow, she forges a finely honed, commanding, and cathartic drama. Donna Seaman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Avon (August 29, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061150142
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061150142
  • Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (536 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,701 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

Jodi Picoult
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
There was nothing left to say. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
classification board, gunpowder residue
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Pact, Jodi Picoult, Emily Gold, Chris Harte, Detective Marrone, Christopher Harte, Barrie Delaney, Gus Harte, Michael Gold, James Harte, Judge Puckett, New Hampshire, Wood Hollow Road, Melanie Gold, Jacob Saltzman, Anne-Marie Marrone, Barrett Delaney, Coach Krull, Grafton County, Canadian Club, The Creep, Nurse Carlisle, Kim Kenly, New England, Merry Christmas
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The Pact: A Love Story
73% buy the item featured on this page:
The Pact: A Love Story 4.2 out of 5 stars (536)
$7.99
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7% buy
Harvesting the Heart: A Novel 3.9 out of 5 stars (117)
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Keeping Faith
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Customer Reviews

536 Reviews
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 (47)
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 (35)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (536 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
74 of 80 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!, January 18, 2000
By Karen Bierman Hirsh (Greenwich, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: The Pact: A Love Story (Paperback)
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).

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32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Heart wrenching....., January 29, 2007
By Deborah Wiley (Winter Haven, FL) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
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
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A good read but..., February 4, 2007
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Pact
This book is wonderful. I felt the character's hurt and dreams slip away. The author captured their soul in these pages. She showed how loving someone can be so scary.. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Velma Towns

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I've Read in a Long Time
This was the first book I read by the author, and the start of a long love affair with the books of Jodi Picoult. Read more
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This book really touched my heart. I loved the idea how the author made the story about two kids who grew up together and from the day Emily was born they were placed in the same... Read more
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4.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing!
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2.0 out of 5 stars Total disappointment at end!!
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3.0 out of 5 stars The Pact (Didn't)
Although I have not finished the book, I am enjoying the story although it is very fragmented and is hard to follow the time-line.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Good but bothered by certain aspects
This was a good read, I could not put it down at the beginning but it was painful to read at times, having a 17 year old daughter myself. Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping
A little depressing...everyone was so perfect and so happy and the ending was so very sad. You never know how some people think about their situations and how they consider... Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars amazing!
this is one of my favorite books ever! it keeps you reading by switching between before the incident and to the incident. Read more
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