Book Review — The Pact by Jodi Picoult
“No matter who you are, there is always some part of you that wishes you were someone else, and when, for a millisecond, you get that wish, it’s a miracle.”
― Jodi Picoult, The Pact
There are some books which hold a special place in our hearts. For me, The Pact by Jodi Picoult is one such book. I read this book back when I was thirteen and it truly moulded the meaning of love and friendship for me. And to this day, I feel gravitated towards this book.
The novel keeps you hooked with its engaging premise and interesting narration style. The author's decision to shift perspective to different characters allows the readers to see things from a different point of view each time. The story also shifts in time which keeps the mystery of the novel at a peak.
The Plot
The story revolves around two families the Hartes and the Golds. The Golds moved to a new neighbourhood during Melanie Gold’s pregnancy. Coincidentally, Gus Harte was also pregnant during the time and this led to the two families bonding.
Their kids Emily and Chris grew up together as friends and ended up falling for each other, as expected by the two families. The relationship was encouraged by both their parents as they saw them as a perfect couple. Emily and Chris were not just friends or lovers, they felt like a part of each other- as neither knew how to live without the other.
“I, um, I have this problem. I broke up with my boyfriend, you see. And I’m pretty upset about it, so I wanted to talk to my best friend. The thing is, they’re both you.” — Emily to Chris, The Pact
Their perfect lives take a horrific turn when Emily is found dead and Chris becomes the prime suspect in her murder. When interrogated, Chris states that the two were in ‘A Suicide Pact’ and before Chris could kill himself, he fell unconscious and that was why Emily died and he didn’t.
This shook the two families as the parents could not believe that their children could ever think about committing suicide. Both of them had their future ahead of them as they were about to graduate and leave for college. In grief, the Golds resorted to blaming Chris for murdering their daughter.
The plot revolves around the murder trial for Emily and what could have been the possible reason for two teens with a promising future to resort to such drastic steps. The story carefully reveals the backstory which led them to reach this conclusion.
Emily’s mother was convinced that her daughter was not suicidal while her father endorsed the fact that Chris could not kill their daughter. This led to their family falling apart during the trial. On the other hand, Hartes tried their level best to save their son from getting convicted.
It is revealed that Emily was pregnant and she couldn’t undergo an abortion because of her past trauma, and she decided that the last resort for her was to end her life. She felt that she had let her family down and this was eating her alive. So, she turned to Chris for help one last time and asked him to liberate her from this suffering.
In the end, Chris is acquitted, but the trauma of losing his beloved friend scarred him for life. The two families also suffered through the trial and lost their friendship. And even though on the surface, things seemed to be normal, they could never go back to being the same.
The Theme
The major theme of the story is friendship and love, and how lines can often get blurred in platonic friendships. At some point, Emily felt that she did not love Chris the way she was expected to do so but she didn't want to voice her opinion because it could ruin their friendship.
“…one half leaning in, one half pulling away.”― Jodi Picoult, The Pact
The book explores how societal pressure can contribute towards directing two people to be together even when they may not be ready for such a commitment. Their love was real, but they were not in the relationship they both wanted, which ultimately led to its demise.
Another major subject in the book is the friendship that the two families had despite being very different. They found a sense of belonging with each other and they even raised their kids together. Being neighbours for so long, they had become an extended family.
Sadly, when Emily died the relationship between the parents also got affected. One family was grieving from the loss of their daughter while the other fighting for the safety of their son, and in this process, they started questioning each other and ultimately strained their friendship.
The book deals with the idea of loss in an elegant way. While parents cover their sorrow with anger, teenagers try to suppress their emotions and avoid confrontation. Chris though deeply heartbroken by this incident, lives in denial for the majority of the story until it dawns on him and he is shattered.
“You know, the mind is a remarkable thing. Just because you can’t see the wound doesn’t mean it isn’t hurting. It scars all the time, but it heals.” — Jodi Picoult, The Pact
Characters
Whenever I read this book, I end up falling in love with the character of Chris Harte. He is so pure and innocent in love that he does everything in his power to protect Emily. Even after she had decided to commit suicide, he tried to help her.
“When you loved someone, you put their needs before your own. No matter how inconceivable those needs were; no matter how f**ked up; no matter how much it made you feel like you were ripping yourself into pieces.” — Jodi Picoult, The Pact
I loved the character of Melanie and Gus, both strong and loving mothers who went to the ends of the world for their children. While the fathers James and Michel are unique in their own way. James is in-denial of the incidents for so long that he continuously hurts his wife and son, while Michel admits to their failed parenting which led to the death of their daughter. He even testifies in court in favour of Chris.
Another integral character in the book is Jordan McAfee, the defence attorney who despite his belief that Chris was guilty helps him to get a fair chance. His determination and commitment to his job while also balancing his family life is remarkable.
Final Thoughts
This is one of my favourite books of all time and I often find myself reading this and breaking down in tears every time. If you are one of those who enjoy romantic novels, you must give this book a read. In my non-professional opinion, this book is a 4/5.
