The Pact by Jodi Picoult

As a long time fan of Jodi Picoult, I couldn't wait to pick up another book of hers. After reading it, I found it to be the least favorite of her books that I've read; however, it's brilliantly written and well worth the read. At the time I read this, my own children were teenagers as are the protagonists in this book, and for me, it was a little hard to read, emotionally. The Pact, while it deals with teenage love, that doesn't guarantee a happily-ever-after ending. Reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, this story takes the reader on a trek through a tragedy that deeply affects two families and explores deep-seated issues of parental judgment and awareness.

Teenage suicide is never an easy topic to broach, but Picoult does so masterfully in this fictional drama between the popular and athletic Christ and his life-long playmate-turned-girlfriend, Em. Their parents have been not only neighbors but best friends for years, closer than family, making the circumstances as they unfold more heartbreaking.

An accusation of murder throws one character into a downward spiral of, supposedly, his own making. Families take sides that are almost as clear cut as the paved road between their two houses in their well-to-do New Hampshire neighborhood. No more will there be backyard barbeques, shopping trips, casual afternoon conversations amidst their children's laughter. Everything for these two families has changed, permanently.

Using flashbacks, Jodi Picoult takes the reader back to a happier time and shows us bonds of friendship so strong it's hard to imagine anything tearing them apart. The Hartes and the Golds enjoy close-knit relationships and are overjoyed when their children grow up and fall in love. Yet when the author brings us back to the reality of those disastrous circumstances, we see the humanness of each individual, their thoughts, feelings and shattered dreams. The reader will understand why the characters make the decisions they do whether the reader agrees with those choices or not.

Don't expect that 'feel good' you often get when reading a novel. This one will leave you with a desire to look into your own heart and sort through your own emotions concerning love, loss and hard choices. (Having a box of tissues nearby might help).

The storyline, the characters and the emotions I felt while reading stayed with me long after I'd turned the final page. After reading this book, the next hugs from my own teenaged children were most precious.