Short description
Emily and Chris mean to die together. But one of them is left alive. Jodi Picoult explores the heartbreaking issue of teen suicide in this deeply moving and impossible to put down novel.
Long description
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. Parents and children alike are 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. When the midnight calls come in from the hospital, no one is prepared for the appalling truth: Emily is dead at seventeen from a gunshot wound to the head as part of an apparent suicide pact. The gun holds a single unspent bullet that Chris tells police he intended for himself, but a local detective has doubts. And the Hartes and Golds, in a single terrifying moment, must face every parent's worst fear: do we ever really know our children at all?
Review
'The novelist displays an almost uncanny ability to enter the skins of her troubled young protagonists.' -- New York Times 'Picoult has become a master ... It is impossible not to be held spellbound by the way she forces us to think, hard, about right and wrong.' -- Washington Post 'Jodi Picoult's fifth novel, THE PACT, is so good that we can't put it down ... It is suspenseful, intelligently written, topical.' -- Detroit Free Press 'Picoult's characters are so compelling that the reader hopes this won't be the last time we meet.' -- USA Today 'Picoult is a writer of high energy and conviction, who has, in [THE PACT], 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 ... She forges a finely honed, commanding, and cathartic drama.' -- Booklist 'Anyone who doubts that there is any more vivid, original fiction being written must read THE PACT. Jodi Picoult has written a truly fine book, a piece of total contemporary America.' -- Anne River Siddons 'Engrossing ... Picoult has a remarkable ability to make us share her characters' feelings of confusion and horror ... THE PACT is compelling reading' -- People 'You will find this novel impossible to put down - and if you take it on holiday with you, just don't plan on doing any sightseeing until you've finished it!' -- Daily Mail 'If you haven't yet read any of Picoult's novels get your hands on one ... This story will make you wonder whether we ever know the people we love'. -- You Magazine, South Africa
additional information
Jodi Picoult grew up in Nesconset, New York. She received an A.B. in creative writing from Princeton and a master's degree in education from Harvard. Her previous novels include KEEPING FAITH, THE PACT, and MERCY. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.
Customer reviews & ratings
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Great Jodi
Reviewed by Emma from Tarlton, South africa on 30 January 2011
22 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
Another brilliant book from Jodi Picoult. Slightly predictable ending but thought pro@#$ing. Characters really draw you into the story. Thoroughly recommended
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