The Pact book review

The Pact by Jodi Picoult
Published by HarperCollins on October 6, 2009
Pages: 397
Goodreads

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—they've grown so close it seems they have always been a part of each other's lives. Parents and children alike have been 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.
So when midnight calls from the hospital come in, no one is ready for the appalling truth: Emily is dead at seventeen from a gunshot wound to the head. There's a single unspent bullet in the gun that Chris took from his father's cabinet—a bullet that Chris tells police he intended for himself. But a local detective has doubts about the suicide pact that Chris has described.

I have always loved Jodi Picoult books, they always deal with difficult issues but offer a completely different perspective and The Pact is no different. When you read a book about a possible double suicide pact or murder, it’s never going to be a fun or easy read but this story never felt heavy or hard to pick back up again. I really enjoyed it.

We follow Chris as he is suspected of murdering his longtime friend and girlfriend, Emily, which he vehemently denies claiming it was a suicide pact. Nobody knows what to believe, and as we get further into the book you begin to realise that there was a lot more going on in Emily’s life than anyone would have thought. Seeing both of these characters grow up and deal with life and the pressures that comes with that felt like such an intimate thing. I really enjoyed Chris and Emily’s dynamics, I loved that they were never perfect despite how it looked to everyone else and just the pure human moments that they had. There was never any doubt that the love they felt for each other but seeing the imperfections gave everything so much life and perspective.

What I really loved about The Pact was just how much it ends up keeping you guessing. With such an emotional subject I wasn’t expecting the mystery element to take up so much of my mind space. I was so intrigued to see how it was all going to end and what actually happened. I had so many theories based on the other characters and the way they were reacting to everything around them. But I never saw the ending coming, it was a true surprise and one that broke my heart just a little. It kept me on my toes and really involved in the story.

The only reason The Pact didn’t get a five star from me was purely because of the subplots. There was SO much going on within this book and I just didn’t think they were developed enough. Although the ending of the main storyline was satisfying I had so many questions that weren’t answered or even touched upon again. It was a little frustrating to have so many serious topics be discussed but to have no acknowledgement or closure.

I remain a Jodi Picoult fan and I have a few others on my shelf that I now can’t wait to get to. I think they’re going to end up being great books to read in between the high fantasy that I love! They are so easy to read which is completely surprising given the fact there is some serious issues discussed. I really love finding easy to read books that can be completed without much thought.