The Pact: A Love Story
by Jodi Picoult
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Book Reviews of The Pact: A Love Story
Book Review: ABOUT THE PACT.....
Summary: 2 Stars
First, the good things about this book: Its "Then/Now" layout is intriguing and keeps the pages turning. Second, the rift that results between two close families as the result of tragedy is explored in a thoughtful and sensitive way. Third, I was fascinated by how art can reveal one's state of mind, even suicidal tendencies. I found myself really wishing I could see Emily's paintings.
But overall, it is difficult to really care about "The Pact" characters, which seem silly and shallow. Chris' father is as wooden as a tree trunk. His mother gushes so much emotional excess, ranting and raving, that I just want to slap her. Emily's mother retreats farther into the Twilight Zone with every page. The defense attorney's parenting skills are almost as bad as his courtroom strategies to 'invent' the truth.
Emily's reasons for suicide seem limp and uncompelling. Why she is not able to open up to anyone about her feelings and her one upsetting experience makes no sense, especially as she comes from a loving and supportive family. Why she feels so pressured to be 'perfect' is also unclear. I wanted to be sympathetic to her cause, but instead she comes off weak and ultimately selfish. If she had just had the guts to be honest with Chris about her feelings for him (or lack thereof), she would have hurt him a lot less than putting him through that suicide pact and its horrific aftermath.
Meanwhile Chris, her knight in shining armor, totally disappoints by not rescuing her at all. Emotion, and not common sense, is the biggest motivator for all these characters, and whenever feelings rule, common sense retreats. Example: Chris decides that his promise not to tell anyone about Emily's death wish should take precedence over keeping her safe. Another example: Chris decides to bring the gun and bullets to Emily, while simultaneously telling himself he will talk her out of using them. I also found myself wondering how, through all their sexual experiences, Chris could be so clueless not to notice Emily's physical loathing of him.
Blatantly unrealistic was the huge black hole that resulted by no one even asking Chris what happened that night! Are we readers to believe that the police, the prosecuting attorney, the defense attorney, Chris' parents and everyone else were never curious or bold enough to ask him what happened, even while preparing for his big murder trial? Ludicrous.
I have heard great things about Picault delving into controversial subjects, and for that reason, I was looking forward to reading this book. However, another disappointment happens at the end of the story, when she cops out and does not carry the controversy over to the very edge of the cliff. Not everything has an 'out' or a 'pat' answer, and this book should have had the guts to deal with the full, sobering ramifications of that controversy.
Book Review: Review on The Pact
Summary: 5 Stars
Picolt Jody, The Pact, 496 pages
By: Sam Bowman
What would you do if the one person you loved the most wanted to kill themselves, and top of it they wanted you to commit suicide with them? What if you were the only person they confided in about it and they made you promise that you would not tell anyone?
Chris and Emily had known each other forever and their parents are also very close friends. But, when Chris decides he likes Emily as more than just a friend they become involved just like their parents had planned. Chris and Emily have the perfect relationship and everyone at school was jealous. No-one would have ever guessed that Emily was unhappy with her life and her relationship with Chris. So, Emily makes a decision that she doesn't want to live anymore and she makes a suicide pact with Chris that he never wanted and never really agreed with. But, when Emily kills herself with Chris' father's gun and Chris at the scene of the crime he is the main suspect and his life is turned upside down. This is a suspenseful story about a boy who is lost, in love, confused, and has to go through hell and back to realize that may be Emily wasn't as great as he thought she was.
Overall this book was awesome and I really liked it. I would suggest this book to anyone who likes page turners. My favorite part in this book is the first time Chris realizes he likes Emily and he kisses her. Then after that Chris' dad walks in on them and saw them kissing and was going to stop it but then he realized this is what Emily's mom and dad had wanted and it was also what he and his own wife had wanted. So then he just leaves and went and told Emily's parents and his wife and they were all really excited.
The main theme or idea of this book was definitely that life is a bumpy road but if you ride it out than you can come through it and see the sun again. By this, I mean that you can go through bad things, but you will get through them most of the time. What I liked most about this book was every single detail seemed to fall together perfectly and it was pretty cool how Jody Picolt changed the style of how she told the story from going back in time and coming back to the present tense.
Book Review: Very good, but not great - just a touch too shallow and obvious
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all, I *hate* that so many of the other reviews basically give away the story / punchline.
Okay, now: I read (actually listened to the recorded format of) "My Sister's Keeper" before this one. Maybe it was just because of that experience with Ms. Picoult's writing, but I "got" this one WAAAAAAY early. It was like cassette three (out of 12, again recorded format) that I had the ending figured out. And therefore, all through the last nine tapes, I kept looking for the "hook", the surprise that was going to throw me off of what I had guessed, and it never came. So that left me REALLY disappointed with "The Pact".
I think the "Emily" character is developed FAR too little. As other reviewers have said (and I can repeat, without giving away "spoilers"), I just didn't buy what was given as her reasons for being suicidal. It just wasn't it. Anyone who has ever been depressed or suicidal can easily read this book and KNOW that "Emily" isn't it -- and most likely, have a good idea that Ms. Picoult doesn't really understand depression or what it is like to be suicidal (and lucky for her!, though perhaps too bad for her books).
In any case, "The Pact" by itself, is pretty good, and well worth the time to read/listen. If, however, you have been through "My Sister's Keeper", I would say don't bother with this -- the parallels are too obvious, the plot is (perhaps) a giveaway, and the ending is likely to be disappointing. And, without going into details, I found there were a LOT of holes in the plot line -- dots that never got connected, or just seemed too disjointed, out of place, or otherwise didn't make sense.
Just one other random thought: the picture/art on the cover, to me, REALLY doesn't seem to fit the book; and for that matter, neither does the title -- "The Pact"?!?? Puh-leeeze! I don't know what else to suggest, but "The Pact" is woefully inadequate.
Still, if this is your first Picoult novel, go for it! She's a good writer!
Book Review: A Whirlwind of Emotions
Summary: 4 Stars
Jodi Picoult has always been one of my favorite authors. Her ability to capture the reader's attention while simultaneously providing insight on each character's thoughts and emotions, without losing the overall direction of the plot line, is very impressive. The Pact dissects yet another intriguing and controversial topic based on teen suicide. While I have no personal experience with this issue, I know several who have, unfortunately, dealt with the struggle and aftermath of such feelings of loss and despair. Picoult did a wonderful job going back and forth between characters throughout the book while creating more and more questions in the reader's mind. I do feel that this book was well written and planned out. I also became increasingly more and more frustrated with each and every character as the story progressed. It was almost as though I was on an emotional rollercoaster, not knowing which character to sympathize with and which character to blame. My hopes were to better understand Emily's character and find someone to place the blame on for her suicide, however, by the end of the book, all I found was more frustration, disbelief, and questions. I ranked this book with four stars because of its ability to capture your attention, thoughts, feelings, beliefs, emotions; I could not justify giving it five stars because the ending just did not seem to give justice to the characters or the story as a whole. It felt unfinished, almost as though the author did not know what else to say. Granted, it wouldn't be acceptable to end the story with a happy ending, considering the foundation of the story. I guess, in a way, that is exactly how victims of a loved one's suicide feel. Speechless. Confused. Almost as if the whole world is unfinished and questions remain unanswered. I just didn't expect to be left with so much resentment towards all of the characters. Great book. A whirlwind of emotions. Many questions left unanswered.Book Review: Heart wrenching.....
Summary: 5 Stars
Two families were the closest of friends. Their children, Christopher Harte and Emily Gold, both age 17, had grown up together and started dating each other at age 13. On one fateful night, that all changed when Emily is found dead from a gunshot wound and Chris claims it was a suicide pact. The prosecutor claims murder and now these two supposedly ideal families will be ripped apart as they grapple with what happened and why.
Jodi Picoult's powerful story will leave the reader reeling from the overwhelming emotions conveyed. Ms. Picoult demonstrates a solid grasp of her subject matter as her characters struggle with the notion of Emily's suicide versus Chris being her murderer. THE PACT: A LOVE STORY is thought provoking, albeit painful at times.
Jodi Picoult deftly interweaves the past and present in this poignant family drama. Suicide is an extremely sensitive subject and this topic may disturb some readers. Ms. Picoult handles the topic exceptionally well, however, remaining sensitive to all of the issues and parties involved in THE PACT: A LOVE STORY.
THE PACT: A LOVE STORY is not an easy read, but it is a book well worth reading more for the questions Ms. Picoult asks than for any real answers. As the story unfolds, readers will find themselves completely immersed into this deeply moving and heart wrenching tale. THE PACT: A LOVE STORY is a very realistic portrayal of the aftermath of a suicide, particularly one under such questionable circumstances, and as such will be both loved and hated at the same time. Kudos to Ms. Picoult for daring to venture into this territory and for being so compassionate in the process.
COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES