The Pact From Jodi Picoult, one of the most powerful writers in contemporary fiction, comes a riveting, timely, heartbreaking, and terrifying novel of families in anguish-and friendships ripped apart by inconceivable violence. Until the phone calls came at 3:00 A.M. on a November morn-ing, the Golds and their neighbors, the Hartes, had been inseparable. It was no surprise to anyone when their teenage children, Chris and Em-ily, began showing signs that their relationship was moving beyond that of lifelong friends. But now seventeen-year-old Emily has been shot to death by her beloved and devoted Chris as part of an apparent suicide pact-leaving two devastated families stranded in the dark and dense pre-dawn, desperate for answers about an unthinkable act and the children they never really knew. Handle With Care In the five years since Willow O'Keefe was born with a rare congenital disorder, her parents have endured sleepless nights, mount- ing medical bills, the pitying stares of strangers, and maybe worst of all, the what-ifs: What if the younger of their two daughters had been born healthy? What if Charlotte O'Keefe had been made aware of Willow's illness earlier in her preg-nancy? What if things could have been different? A whip-smart child, kind, brave, and an unexpectedly deep source of wisdom, she is beloved by her family-but the burden of her care has strained them to the limit. And when Charlotte seeks to do Willow justice, alienating those closest to her in the pro-cess, she must confront the most serious question of all: What constitutes a valuable life? "YOU CAN'T HELP BUT DEVOUR EVERY PAGE." —San Antonio Express-News "BOUND TO TOUCH HEARTS AND OPEN MINDS." —The Charlotte Observer

ISBN: 9780060858803