The Pact
The Pact by Jodi Picoult was a fabulous read with a jaw dropping first paragraph, an intense plot, and a slew of characters that you can relate to. Although I have to admit, I did not enjoy the way the story concluded. I felt like the ending was forced instead of following its own natural path. But I can understand why Jodi Picoult ended it the way she did. There was so much despair and anger throughout the entire story that if it ended with its natural path there would be a lot of upset readers. To me though, it is great to read a story like that every once in a while just to shake you up.
The first paragraph is very intense. The main character dies by a gun shot wound with whom appears to be a childhood friend turned lover. Right there your mouth drops. Unexpected beginning for sure. As a reader you can’t help but think “What the hell just happened?”. It was a great beginning. Undoubtedly, you have to keep reading to find out what happens.
Jodi Picoult does a great job with the characters by making them realistic and likeable. You can imagine them so vividly. The friendships that are established between the Hartes and the Gold families are nothing but envious. We can all hope for a small amount of that kind of friendship in our own lives. Or if we do have a glimmer of it already, it makes you stop to think about it and appreciate what you already have.
I enjoyed the integration of the Harte and the Golds friendship within the story. It really tears at your heart when the trajedy rips the two families apart. But I have to say that I was surprised at the way the bond between the Hartes and Golds came to such an abrupt end. As integrated as these two families were I would have expected the bond to have stayed cohesive longer than what was told in the story. I felt more could have been focused on the breakdown of friendship. It would have made the friendships seem more real since so much of the story kept focusing on how great friends the two families were and that the two mothers were best friends. It was even stated that the parents felt that eachothers kids’ were like their own.
Of course you never will understand how anyone would react in the face of a true trajedy. Someone you think is emotionally strong could be the first to break down. And someone whom you think could never make it through comes out thriving.
There were so many emotions flying around within this story. I know myself that it triggered reactions in me that I never knew were there and it surprised me. So even though I did not particularly care for the ending of this story, nevertheless I thought that it was cleverly written and was deeply entertaining.
If you are interested here is a link to the author, Jodi Picoult’s web site.
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This was the first Jodi Picoult book I read and immediately I was hooked, not only on this particular book but on the author as well. Her writing certainly does grab your attention, and the subject matter she writes about is usually quite controversial. Since the Pact, I’ve read several of her books, and I have to say “My Sister’s Keeper” was my favorite. Now there is an ending you won’t expect. I would definately recommend it.