Previously, I shared "My Sister's Keeper" with you. And now, I'm gonna go on and on about "The Pact", also by the same author: Jodi Picoult.

The Pact
by Jodi Picoult



In this contemporary tale of love and friendship, Jodi Picoult brings to life a familiar world, and in a single terrifying moment awakens every parent's worse fear: We think we know our children… but do we ever really know them at all?

This book, as tragic and devastating it may be, is one of the best books I've read by this author and also generally speaking. Having recently just finished "My Sister's Keeper" also by the same author, I started reading "The Pact" with great expectations and I was not disappointed. The two novels are similar in some ways but they also vary to a great extent.

"The Pact" is a haunting tragedy of two families. For 18 years, the Hartes and the Golds have lived next door to each other, sharing everything and they have grown so close to each other, it seems they've always been a part of each others lives. Parents and children alike have been best friends, so it's no surprise that in high school, Chris and Emily's friendship blossoms into something more. They've been soul mates since they were born. However, we are in for a bit of a shock as in the very first paragraph, Emily is dead. There was a suicide pact between the two which has left Emily dead but Chris still alive. And Chris has been charged for first-degree murder of Emily Gold but there have been doubts as to what exactly happened that night and so there is this quest to find out what exactly happened and who was the one who shot Emily.

And not only does this book talk about the present day, it also goes into flashbacks of when Chris and Emily were growing up and how their close knit friendship grew into something more. To have that one person who is like a part of you, and without which you can't think about even surviving in this world, to love that person like a brother/sister and then discovering that the feeling goes further deeper that you realize you only need this one person and no one else matters. You become so much a part of the person and the person becomes so much a part of you that it becomes literally like, " She got shot but He is bleeding."

Another must-read.