Product Description

Until the phone calls came at three o'clock on a November morning, the Golds and their neighbors, the Hartes, had been inseparable. It was no surprise to anyone when their teenage children, Chris and Emily, began showing signs that their relationship was moving beyond that of lifelong friends. But now seventeen-year-old Emily is dead—shot with a gun her beloved and devoted Chris pilfered from his father's cabinet as part of an apparent suicide pact—leaving two devastated families stranded in the dark and dense predawn, desperate for answers about an unthinkable act and the children they never really knew.

From New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult—one of the most powerful writers in contemporary fiction—comes a riveting, timely, heartbreaking, and terrifying novel of families in anguish and friendships ripped apart by inconceivable violence.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3358 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-01
• Released on: 2006-08-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 512 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780061150142
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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.

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

From Kirkus Reviews
In this brooding fourth novel, Picoult (Picture Perfect, 1995, etc.) creates an affecting study of obsession, loss, and some of the more wrenching varieties of guilt. It all begins with a failed suicide pact between two teenagers: Emily Gold dies, but the precise motivations behind her death remain obscure. And who pulled the trigger? Her boyfriend Chris Harte, who survives because of having faintedapparentlybefore he could kill himself, seems unwilling to offer an explanation. Zipping back and forth through time, the story traces the growth of the long, complex relationship between the kids. When the two families first settle down next to each other, the Hartes and Golds seem meant for each other: Both families are upper-class New Englanders; both the husbands are doctors; both the wives are pregnantand so in a sense the pairing of Chris and Emily takes place even before their birth. Eventually, they sleep in the same bassinet, go on to develop their own secret language, accompany each other everywhere and, when they become adolescents, are inevitably drawn into a fervid romance. While it seems inconceivable that Chris could have killed Emily, a preponderance of forensic evidence suggests that it just may be. On his 18th birthday, Chris is hauled off to jail and the perfect harmony between the families instantly dissolves. Melanie Gold, unable to accept the notion that her perfect daughter could have been suicidal, focuses her anger on the murderer next door, and, emotionally, James Harte disinherits his son, whos now a liability to the doctor's prestigious career. Chris himself, saddled with a hot-shot lawyer more interested in building a case than in hearing the truth, sinks into despair. The trial scenes, alternating rapid-fire testimony with flashbacks to the actual suicide, are particularly powerful, and what Chris finally says when he takes the stand comes, thanks to Picoult's skill, as a considerable surprise. A moving story, mingling elements of mystery with sensitive exploration of a tragic subject. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

WOW!
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).

A good read but...
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.

Heart wrenching.....
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