The Pact -- Jodi Picoult

The Pact by Jodi Picoult

I am a total sucker for Jodi Picoult tear-jerkers. This one, though, was a little tough for me. It says there on the cover "A Love Story" so I wasn't prepared for death, sadness, suicide and mayhem. I guess I should have been since Picoults books almost always involve a court drama (always?). I read this baby in less than a week -- I walked home reading, I ate dinner reading, I stayed up late reading ... I couldn't put it down.

Books like this one make me scared. I guess because they make me think that life isn't going to always be this easy and this fun and this good. There are hurdles ahead that I might not be prepared to handle. Enough philosophy for now.

This book is a keeper -- apparently it is on several reading lists for high schools -- and also protested against by some parent groups. Lifetime made it into a movie (with Megan Mullaly from Will and Grace of all people) and has a whole informational kit teachers can download about teenage suicide.

Here's something rare: 5 bookmarks. Totally worth reading -- and absolutely worth discussing. Enjoy.