Book 19 of 2019: The Pact
This was a little bit of a weird book. I have an odd relationship with Jodi Picoult books because they're outside of what I typically read (in that they're usually romance-type novels with maybe some drama or courtroom thrown in for good measure), but also because they tend to have supernatural elements thrown in where they aren't really needed. I'm happy to report The Pact did not have any random supernatural events/occurrences, because it would have been very out of place.
** I usually put trigger warnings at the ends of my reviews but I think I'd like to start with them this time because they feature so heavily in the summary and review. Trigger warnings for suicide mentions/plans/suicide, character death, blood, mentions of murder, courtroom situations/lawyers, arguments, family drama/dynamics, and mentions of sex. If I missed something, I apologize deeply; it's been a few months since I read this one since I'm nearly 20 behind on these reviews so please just read with caution if topics such as the aforementioned affect you.**
The Pact follows two teens from longtime friends, the Harte family and the Gold family. The two have lived next door to each other for nearly twenty years and their children are all very close, so both sets of parents were thrilled when Chris Harte and Emily Gold began dating in high school. Now the two are seniors and have known each other for so long its often difficult to separate one personality from another. Chris is an all-star swimmer for the school team and Emily is a blooming artist. They have their entire lives ahead of them. Together. A late-night ER call brings both families in at the same time to face horrifying news: Emily is dead from a bullet wound to the head and Chris is holding his father's gun. The Pact switches back and forth between childhood and the present as both families consider how well they thought they knew their children and the consequences of being so close to someone. Was this a double suicide gone wrong or did Chris really shoot his best friend and girlfriend at the cusp of their lives?
This was a really interesting book, especially because it doesn't just go between young childhood with Emily and Chris and the present and after-effects; the reader gets to see everything that happened before, leading up to, and during Emily's last moments and the impact everything had after. The Golds can't stand to face the Hartes anymore, destroyed with the thought that Chris could have killed their daughter and unable to fathom that she could have been suicidal. The Hartes have to change their whole lives as Chris waits in jail for his court dates and has to struggle to remember what happened in those moments. Picoult loves her courtroom drama, so there was plenty of that. Temporary amnesia is also one of her trademarks and there it was. On the one hand this book was a little typical for me and not the best thing ever, but on the other hand I read it as a book for the beach so I wasn't looking for a literary masterpiece.
This is definitely a dark novel and deals with heavy themes so read with caution, but it was also an interesting romance novel that explores the dynamics between families that have been so close for so long and have come to depend on one another, as well as the difficulties that hide beneath the surface of these relationships and how difficult it is to know who you are and what you want when you've been with the same person for so long.
My final opinion: Not Earth-shattering but still an interesting and complex read.