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

Compelling story of young love, but deeper and more layered than most. Having read many of Jodi Picoult's books, I have to say this is far from being a favorite. Some questions were not answered leaving me feeling as though the book was not quite finished.

I too have contemplated suicide, more than once. Right now, I find myself in the midst of conflict; have I married the wrong man? I struggle with depression, my husband is a pessimist. I struggle with my spirituality; he is deeply spiritual. This book has made me think, and think, and think. That is what describes a GOOD book.

I'm buying a physical copy and framing it in my room for eternity. This book took my emotions no where they've gone before. I experienced several thousand feelings towards every character. This book deserves to be re written on golden plaques with a unicorns horn

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