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marysea's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Gun violence, and Suicide
breezy17's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i am a husk of a human after reading this. this is my first jodi picoult book and was recommended by a close friend. i used to write off jodi picoult bc i equated her work in my mind with the same quality and subject matter of a lifetime movie, which was in retrospect clearly unfair. i blame it on my sister's keeper blowing up in the mid-2000s. regardless, this book was very good, but also very sad, at times hitting a little too close to home for comfort. now i'm going to go read a fluffy romance novel to cope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
emileesbooks's review
I only had access to this book at school and school ended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Child abuse
proceduralbob's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, and Abortion
lydiavsbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
My second Jodi Picoult and its been a long time since I read my first but there's definitely something about Jodi's writing that made both I've read so far feel both heartfelt and engaging/thrilling. She brilliantly manages to balance out the more emotional family drama type aspects with the suspenseful aspects of the plot.
I'm always slightly nervous when a book tackles suicide, its so often done insensitively or plays into common misconceptions, but this was handled really well in a way that again struck that perfect balance between sensitivity and drama. It highlighted the complexity of suicidality and the heartbreak and confusion of those left behind in a very real way.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the courtroom scenes. I wasn't sure if I'd find them repetitive or boring, but I was fully hooked and they ended up being possibly a favourite aspect of the story for me.
Overall it was just a really great time. The writing makes even such heavy topics feel like an easy fast paced read. Will definitely continue to pick up more from her.
I'm always slightly nervous when a book tackles suicide, its so often done insensitively or plays into common misconceptions, but this was handled really well in a way that again struck that perfect balance between sensitivity and drama. It highlighted the complexity of suicidality and the heartbreak and confusion of those left behind in a very real way.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the courtroom scenes. I wasn't sure if I'd find them repetitive or boring, but I was fully hooked and they ended up being possibly a favourite aspect of the story for me.
Overall it was just a really great time. The writing makes even such heavy topics feel like an easy fast paced read. Will definitely continue to pick up more from her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
jada_ann_12's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Okay, so I’ll make this first part spoiler free for anyone who wants to genuinely know if this book is worth the read. In short: yes. When my friend begged me to read this, I was hesitant. My first thought was Why does the font have to be soooo small? However, when I actually dove in, I found myself begging to know what happened. Did Chris kill Emily? Did Emily kill herself? Was he alive?
I have many trust issues when it comes to books, so I found myself reaching for different theories, but the end shocked me. I didn’t we it coming. We’ll get to that later though.
I loved reading about Chris. While reading the book, you hear a lot from his point of view. During every flashback, I was absolutely entranced with how he spoke of her. I found myself wanting to be Emily, to be the one receiving his adoration and love. He truly put her above everything, which was why the end was so heartbreaking to read. His pain and the things that were happening must have been so hard on him and I was crying for my baby. I found the thoughts of the parents interesting, I liked reading especially about the dynamic between Gus and Michael as they struggled. I didn’t enjoy Melanie or James as much.
Overall, I would recommend this book for sure. It’s a story that you can both connect and cry with. It left me sitting on the edge of my bed. I literally sat there for three hours never putting it down until the end. You will grow attached and be confused up until the end. The ending still left me a little confused. However, this is easily a 5 star read soully for the fact of how it made me feel. The court scenes had me at the edge of my seat, and I just wanted to know everything. Truly heart wrenching.
Okay, time for spoiler!!!
I HATE EMILY GOLD!! The amount of shit that this girl put my boy Chris through was absolutely insane. When she told him that he’d let her kill herself if he loved her I was so infuriated. To put someone you love in that position is absolutely insane. She is insane for that. It also made me so mad the way she led Chris on. She barely loved him like that, I hate that she claimed to. It made me so mad reading her chapters because I just wanted to yell at her to stop and tell the truth— especially about the pregnancy. I was always so confused as to what attachment she had to him. I really just felt so bad for Chris. he deserved so much better, and I just wanted to hold him and tell him it’d be okay.
My heart did break for her with her trauma with the sexual assault when she was so young. I hated that scene and it literally made me sick to my stomach to read. That poor girl didn’t deserve it, and i hated how Chris pushed sex upon her like it was worth more than her being comfortable. For a while there, I was struggling to get over that fact and still like him. I couldn’t stand by his actions when it came to that. It genuinely made me mad enough that I had to put my book down.
However, the ending sealed the deal that he was better in my eyes. He did not deserve that pressure that she put upon him. He just wanted to save and take care of her. I hated that she put him in that position. I was struggling the whole time to read the court scenes because I just wanted him to make it out, and he did!! I was so relieved while I read it aloud to my friend and we celebrated. I was so taken aback by his profession and the fact that she pulled the trigger over his finger.
I also always called the fact that something was going to happen between at least one of the parents, and I really liked the dynamic between Michael and Gus. I struggled for a while with the thoughts of what I would do if I were in the Gold’s perspective, and I still do not know. I guess that is something I’ll always have to ponder.
The ending though— I feel like there was a secret note on it. Before, it was mentioned that they had invisible ink they would write with, and I think something was written on the note that he needed to reveal. I want to know because I am so sure that is the case that I won’t believe anything else told to me. Anyways, I love Chris most of the time and I’m happy he’s okay now!
I have many trust issues when it comes to books, so I found myself reaching for different theories, but the end shocked me. I didn’t we it coming. We’ll get to that later though.
I loved reading about Chris. While reading the book, you hear a lot from his point of view. During every flashback, I was absolutely entranced with how he spoke of her. I found myself wanting to be Emily, to be the one receiving his adoration and love. He truly put her above everything, which was why the end was so heartbreaking to read. His pain and the things that were happening must have been so hard on him and I was crying for my baby. I found the thoughts of the parents interesting, I liked reading especially about the dynamic between Gus and Michael as they struggled. I didn’t enjoy Melanie or James as much.
Overall, I would recommend this book for sure. It’s a story that you can both connect and cry with. It left me sitting on the edge of my bed. I literally sat there for three hours never putting it down until the end. You will grow attached and be confused up until the end. The ending still left me a little confused. However, this is easily a 5 star read soully for the fact of how it made me feel. The court scenes had me at the edge of my seat, and I just wanted to know everything. Truly heart wrenching.
Okay, time for spoiler!!!
I HATE EMILY GOLD!! The amount of shit that this girl put my boy Chris through was absolutely insane. When she told him that he’d let her kill herself if he loved her I was so infuriated. To put someone you love in that position is absolutely insane. She is insane for that. It also made me so mad the way she led Chris on. She barely loved him like that, I hate that she claimed to. It made me so mad reading her chapters because I just wanted to yell at her to stop and tell the truth— especially about the pregnancy. I was always so confused as to what attachment she had to him. I really just felt so bad for Chris. he deserved so much better, and I just wanted to hold him and tell him it’d be okay.
My heart did break for her with her trauma with the sexual assault when she was so young. I hated that scene and it literally made me sick to my stomach to read. That poor girl didn’t deserve it, and i hated how Chris pushed sex upon her like it was worth more than her being comfortable. For a while there, I was struggling to get over that fact and still like him. I couldn’t stand by his actions when it came to that. It genuinely made me mad enough that I had to put my book down.
However, the ending sealed the deal that he was better in my eyes. He did not deserve that pressure that she put upon him. He just wanted to save and take care of her. I hated that she put him in that position. I was struggling the whole time to read the court scenes because I just wanted him to make it out, and he did!! I was so relieved while I read it aloud to my friend and we celebrated. I was so taken aback by his profession and the fact that she pulled the trigger over his finger.
I also always called the fact that something was going to happen between at least one of the parents, and I really liked the dynamic between Michael and Gus. I struggled for a while with the thoughts of what I would do if I were in the Gold’s perspective, and I still do not know. I guess that is something I’ll always have to ponder.
The ending though— I feel like there was a secret note on it. Before, it was mentioned that they had invisible ink they would write with, and I think something was written on the note that he needed to reveal. I want to know because I am so sure that is the case that I won’t believe anything else told to me. Anyways, I love Chris most of the time and I’m happy he’s okay now!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
juliaathomsonnn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Sexual content
bookishaddictions's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is my third book from Picoult, as I finally got around to reading the title @the_female_demian loaned me. This one smacked me emotionally, as any of us could have ended up in this position as a teenager. As Christopher Harte struggles after the death of Emily Gold, he finds himself being publicly blamed for her death. The Golds are grieving, and Chris is finding himself in the middle of an investigation that has to determine whether Emily’s death is murder or suicide. Like My Sister’s Keeper and 19 Minutes, The Pact is a crime drama that follows the characters from the initial event until just after the results of the trial. Each character’s response to Emily’s death is so authentic it hurts. It’s impossible to imagine what we would do in any of their positions, and yet they each hold an echo of our reactions. The Pact will break your heart and play on parents’ deepest fear in Picoult’s distinct style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Death, Sexual assault, Murder, and Gun violence
Moderate: Rape and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
_obsessing's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Gun violence
delia008's review
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
(i hope i avoided some things well because i didn't wanna spoil anything)
TW!!!(for the book): depression, suicide, sexual abuse, gun(s)
what a mess. where should i even start?
The plot had a lot of potential and many times I found myself wondering "what if?". I even thought one time that one of the parents killed her and to be honest? That would've been an amazing plot twist. But don't get excited because that's not even close and (spoiler alert) this book has nothing to do with plot twists. This book don't even knows what a plot twist is.
The ending was dissappointing. There was a lot of potential, and I say this again because that's very true. The author started a lot of stories, a lot of plot lines and then left them there. I still have a lot of questions about the family and why where some things introduced to us then never mentioned again in the book. And there are many inconsistencies and things that don't add up or just forced things and feelings just for the plot to make sense.
Emily was depressed. Or at least that was what it was believed. But everything seemed so forced.
I saw a lot people say about Chris that he was very mature and if you are one of those people, have we read the same book? He wrote an essay on being pro life and if he was "mature" he wouldn't have wrote that at all because nobody needs his opinion on whether or whether not abortion should be legal or not. Why? Because nobody fucking asked for it. And he is a boy too so respectfully: shut up❤.But he did it anyways and everyone was like ~uhhh ohh so mature~. Also he was very aggresive when he wouldn't get what he wanted *sex* and make others believe that it was their fault, not his. What, Chris? You don't like consent? You're not so mature anymore, aren't you? And Chris was selfish too but yeah yeah what a mature boy, let's praise the boys for doing the bare minimum and sometimes not even that.
I have mixed feelings about this book. It was a mess and because the book wasn't very concise, neither are my thoughts. It could've been a likeable mess but there are so many things happening and it doesn't make sense. Was it a waste of time? Kind of? Would I read it ever again? no❤. Do I recommend this book? Well no.
TW!!!(for the book): depression, suicide, sexual abuse, gun(s)
what a mess. where should i even start?
The plot had a lot of potential and many times I found myself wondering "what if?". I even thought one time that one of the parents killed her and to be honest? That would've been an amazing plot twist. But don't get excited because that's not even close and (spoiler alert) this book has nothing to do with plot twists. This book don't even knows what a plot twist is.
The ending was dissappointing. There was a lot of potential, and I say this again because that's very true. The author started a lot of stories, a lot of plot lines and then left them there. I still have a lot of questions about the family and why where some things introduced to us then never mentioned again in the book. And there are many inconsistencies and things that don't add up or just forced things and feelings just for the plot to make sense.
Emily was depressed. Or at least that was what it was believed. But everything seemed so forced.
I saw a lot people say about Chris that he was very mature and if you are one of those people, have we read the same book? He wrote an essay on being pro life and if he was "mature" he wouldn't have wrote that at all because nobody needs his opinion on whether or whether not abortion should be legal or not. Why? Because nobody fucking asked for it. And he is a boy too so respectfully: shut up❤.But he did it anyways and everyone was like ~uhhh ohh so mature~. Also he was very aggresive when he wouldn't get what he wanted *sex* and make others believe that it was their fault, not his. What, Chris? You don't like consent? You're not so mature anymore, aren't you? And Chris was selfish too but yeah yeah what a mature boy, let's praise the boys for doing the bare minimum and sometimes not even that.
I have mixed feelings about this book. It was a mess and because the book wasn't very concise, neither are my thoughts. It could've been a likeable mess but there are so many things happening and it doesn't make sense. Was it a waste of time? Kind of? Would I read it ever again? no❤. Do I recommend this book? Well no.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Abortion
i hated it so much. the characters are a pile of shit, all of them, please do yourself a favour and not read this mess
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