How 'Bout Them Reads: The Pact

I don't think you'll be surprised to know that I've been reading again. Wait, what? Me read? Never! Shocking! This time when I chose my 21st book, I picked a book that I had once before picked up then put back down four pages into it. I'm not exactly sure why I didn't continue reading it the first time around because this time it was hard to put down. Well, once I got started. For some reason, I have trouble starting books. I love reading but sometimes I really have problems getting into the book and wanting to keep reading. It's weird. But because of my rule that I always finish whatever book I pick up, I always end up finishing books and loving them (well mostly loving them - there have been some duds in there).

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The book I chose this time was The Pact by Jodi Picoult. I have actually read a few things from her in the past. The most famous of them was My Sister's Keeper. By the way, if you haven't read that, you seriously should. Don't just see the movie - they changed the ending. But because of my past experiences with her book, I pretty much knew it was going to be a good book, but I still had some trouble getting into it at first.

The book is about a young couple (only seventeen) Chris and Emily who are involved in a suicide pact. The only thing is that she is the only one that ends up dead. So now the investigation of first-degree murder starts into what really happened that night. They suspect that Chris actually ended up killing her, and now he's being held without bail in jail awaiting for his trial. So the question is: did he kill her? What really happened that tragic November night that cut one life too short?

As you read the book, the book jumps around. You see the relationship form. But key to this entire book was the parents, and their relationship and influence over the relationship. So you also jump perspective. This is a style that Jodi Picoult often writes in and it's actually something I enjoy. It's nice to see the back-stories as they happened instead of just listening to them as a narrative. But it's also nice to see what's going on in the other character's head and lives. For books like this all the characters are so closely relative and involved that it's an important part of the book. If you have never read a Jodi Picoult book I highly recommend just picking up one of her books. She is a very good writer.

Despite my issues getting into this book for whatever reason, I enjoyed it a lot. I even had a dream about it after a spent a good chuck of time reading one day. The further you got into the book, the more into the story you got. I was definitely dying (excuse the pun) to find out what really happened to Emily and how she ended up dead. And if Chris would get convicted. There were times when I hated certain characters for their actions but at the same time I could understand where they were coming from. I have often said that characters and story lines are realistic and easy to relate to, but this is a story that can makes sense to a lot of people. The not understanding how their daughter could take her own life and being so angry at the one person who was there and might have been involved. But at the same time being so angry because you never saw it coming. Understanding how parents were falling apart watching their son's life fall apart around him for something that they know in their hearts he didn't do. Understanding how this young man who had the brightest future was now fighting for any future at all that was not behind bars because of the actions of someone that he loved. It was truly a very good and well-written book.

21/52