The Pact: A Love Story

Jodi Picoult

Oct 2009 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

“Engrossing...The Pact is compelling reading.”—People

In this heart-rending tale of love and friendship, Jodi Picoult brings to life a familiar world, and in a single terrifying moment awakens every parent’s worst fear: We think we know our children . . . but do we ever really know them at all?

The Golds and the Hartes, neighbors for eighteen years, have always been inseparable. So have their children—and it’s no surprise that in high school Chris and Emily’s friendship blossoms into something more. But the bonds of family, friendship, and passion—which had seemed so indestructible—suddenly threaten to unravel in the wake of unimaginable tragedy.

When midnight calls from the hospital come in, no one is ready for the truth. Emily is dead at seventeen from a gunshot wound to the head. There’s a single unspent bullet in the gun that Chris pilfered 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 describes.

This extraordinary, poignant novel paints an indelible portrait of two families in anguish . . . and creates an astonishingly suspenseful courtroom drama as Chris is put on trial for murder.

Ratings and reviews

I love how Jodi Picoult messes with our minds in this book, even when you are done reading this book your mind will never forget it or stop asking a lot of questions that will remain unanswered. I gotta give it to her 💗💗she is the best

I had never read one of Picoult's books before I decided to read 'The Pact' and therefore had no high expectations. However, after the first chapter, I couldn't put the book down. I love the way the chapters go from 'Then' to 'Now', allowing you to test your own conscience to whether you believed that the character of Chris really would have killed his one true love, Emily. Right up until the epilogue, I had no idea how this book would finish, and let me assure you, it has its surprises. Picoult makes you feel like you know the characters, and throughout the book you experience their different emotions as if you were there yourself. I personally feel sorry for my parents, of whom I had ranted and raved about how good 'The Pact' is. 'The Pact' isn't just about the suicide pact between Chris and Emily however, yet it describes the others involved and how such an event can show that families who once thought their life was 'perfect', was only fake and superficial, and how parents like to think they know their children inside out, yet the truth is sometimes quite the opposite. I really enjoyed reading this book and to those of you deciding whether or not to buy it, it would be a cer

Upon finding the novel from the made for TV movie "The Pact" on Lifetime. The movie was very heart felt. It made you wonder. You feel for the families devided by this anguish. I thought it was compelling. I love it. Although is sad suicide is hard to deal with, but the book & movie open up doors to questions about suicide.i spent lot time reading.The book ending was a little off in my opinion. It left me with empty spaces and more questions. There needs to be a sequel or short story following. Good Read!

About the author

JODI PICOULT is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-six novels. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the ALA’s Alex Award, the New Hampshire Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit, and the prestigious Sarah Josepha Hale Award in recognition of her distinguished body of written work. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband. They have three children. You can visit her website at wwww.jodipicoult.com