The Pact

As I've mentioned before, I know that I can always count on Jodi Picoult to deliver a captivating novel. In fact, her novels are often captivating to a fault--usually once I start reading I can't stop until I've gotten to the end. I think the longest it has taken me to finish any one of her books has been four days, and this book was no exception. I found myself pulling this book out during any and all breaks at work, for an hour or two in the evenings, just to figure out what was going to happen next.

And the crazy thing about this book is that it appears to be resolved from the start, seemingly leaving little mystery or suspense about what could happen next. Two teenagers--neighbors their whole lives and boyfriend/girlfriend as of the past few years--apparently devise a suicide pact that ends up getting botched, leaving one of them dead and one of them in the hospital. The police aren't satisfied with the story of the suicide pact, though, and a murder investigation is launched. However, the story is told alternating between flashbacks and the present day, which provides the reader with information the police are not privy to, and subsequently seems to create a clear picture of the events that unfolded on that fateful night. Or at least that is what Picoult is leading you to believe--up until the very end when she throws a final (totally unpredictable, as is usually the case with her novels) twist into the story.

Would I recommend this book? Of course. It's the perfect opposite to Romeo and Juliet--instead of two lovers whose families are at odds with each other, these two teenagers are raised as best friends and have parents that fully support their blossoming relationship. Despite those differences, however, the end result is the same as in Shakespeare's tragedy.

I will say, however, that this was possibly not the best book to read while pregnant--or perhaps at anytime when you are raising kids. Because it definitely isn't afraid to delve into tough parenting issues; namely, the fact that you may not know your child as well as you think you do, and there may not be anything you can do to fix that.