The Pact

This marks my 20th Jodi Picoult novel, it was okay, since her older books are not that good imo. The characters were well written, their conflicting thoughts and emotions felt so raw and real, the writing incredible as usual. The book did well showing how people may react in these circumstances. The parents and Chris all had visible changes in character and demeanor as the novel went on.?? The trial was fun to read too, this was the one Jordan McAfee book I missed until now, and his intelligence and adaptability is always a pleasure to see.

However, there were some issues. The pacing of the book was kind of strange, since the trial actually started at around 70% in. All the previous pages were building up to the trial, and it was fairly drawn out and could turn boring. The trial should be the climax, but it was so far into the book that half the anticipation was gone by then. Some pet peeves: Kate was totally forgotten at the end of the book, and Melanie's destructive behavior was simply disgusting.??

Overall, a nice complex book, albeit having a few problems. Definitely need a lighthearted novel after this one!