The Pact by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult said that she wanted to write the anti-Romeo and Juliet story. She did, but it is still a travesty. The story revolves around two families that are not enemies they are the very best of friends. They are neighbors and friends so close they could be family. Each family has a teen aged child. The Golds have a daughter named Emily and then the Hartes family has a son named Chris. Both children grew up so close together they considered themselves like siblings for the first part of their lives.

However, somewhere during adolescence they became much more than friends. All their high school peers said that they were the perfect couple. You could not tell where one started and other ended. Many people envied their relationship. They were both successful in academics, sports and popularity. We all know that everybody has daemons in their closet and Emily and Chris were no different.

At the end of their senior high school year an event occurs that would change both families forever. Jodi Picoult does her best to go back to tell the events leading up to tragedy. she starts the story with the end and then works her way through from the "then" to the "now". The suspense is intense so make sure you have a pen to bite down on or a pillow like I did. As the families fall apart, so does the strong bond between the two families. Lines are crossed and friendships are destroyed possibly forever.

Tragedy with children involved is always hard to read, but I love this story. I know that those teenage years are sad and challenging, but they end soon enough. If I learned one thing from "The Pact", its that I want to know my son better. It's hard to tell what is going through his little 12-year-old head!