Karen's Reviews > The Pact

I thought I had read and reviewed every one of Jodi Picoult’s books, and, then this one was donated to my Little Free Library Shed. What? I missed one?

I could tell with what I read on the back cover about it, I needed to be prepared, so with my Kleenex already beside me, I was ready.

Chris and Emily are best friends. Their families have been best friends since Chris and Emily were children. They have lived next door to each other since they were kids. So, it is no surprise that they should be considered soul pals. But when Emily is dead of a single gunshot wound to the head at age 18, how are the police to believe that Chris did not intentionally murder her?

But Chris insists that it was part of a suicide pact that he made with Emily – it is just he could not follow-through and kill himself.

The problem is that the police don’t have the full story. Only Chris and Emily do, and Emily is dead.

So, will the police believe Chris?

What really happened to Emily to cause her to want to end her life? Will we as readers, truly know Emily’s story?

And, if we don’t believe Chris, should he be charged with murder?

Readers will be taken through the courtroom, Chris’ incarceration, and the families grief. But mostly, inside the minds of what really was going on for Emily and Chris.

And, that is what makes this page-turning story, heart-breaking and heart-wrenching, as Picoult challenges readers with ethical and emotional issues that feel much too real not to feel believable. Yes, please have Kleenex available.

Trigger warning: Teenage suicide