Jodi Picoult Books Reading Group. discussion

I created this thread for those who want to discuss the books actual characters, issues, plot etc.

I'm currently reading this book. I just gone done reading the part where Melanie throws her daughter's diary in the fire. Man, that pisses me off. That diary could have been used to find out what really happened. Melanie is soo stupid.

I finished the book last night and I loved it. Melanie was my least favorite character because of what she did. The epilogue broke my heart.

i loved Gus and Emily's Dad.. i 4got his name.. i ddnt like emily cuz she wanted to kill herself cuz she ddnt wnt to marry him cuz she thought he was like her brother.. ok then y was she pregnant from him?
Chris really loved Emily that he cdnt live without her... then y dd he help her 2 kill herself!! he has 2 choose one way only he cant say "i cant live without her" and at the same time lsns 2 wtvr she asks him 2 do even 2 kill her!!!! it just duznt make sence!! but i still liked it!! =) i liked the way she was writing! AWSOME!! my heart almost stopped when he sed he shot her in the court!!!!

The Pact - SPOILER.



Dr. leena, Emily was very confused. She was depressed and suicidal especially after what happened to here when she was little. Chris helped her kill herself becuase he loved her too much to watch her continue to be so tormented. I might not agree with that, but I could understand that. Seeing her there with the gun broke his heart....and it broke even more when he realized that he couldn't leave here there alone despite her intentions. He loved her enough to let her go.

I loved this book! I felt that it was beautiful and sad at the same time.

Thanks, Kathy. I only loved because it is romantic! And ofcrs the way Jodi was writing was also touching!

I loved this book. I am working on Jodi's books and only read 3 and this one is by far my favorite of them (Nineteen Minutes, The Pact, My Sister's Keeper)

**SPOILERS**

I liked this book but one part confused me: did anybody else find out about the man who molested Emily? Was it in the diary, did Melanie figure it out? Man, I couldn't stand Melanie. Micheal at least had some faith in Chris-I know that technically he did help to kill Emily, but he did it because he loved her and he couldn't stand to see her in pain. I was very glad that he came to the conclusion that she was selfish in the end when he was still in jail: he was absolutely right, you shouldn't do that to someone you love. She should've understood that he would get in trouble. I know she depressed and suicidal, but she was also selfish. So many different things to think about and weigh in your mind with this one.

This book was great and I couldn't put it down as usual, but I just wished that Emily's family would have found out why she wanted to kill herself. I was a little disappointed that the truth didn't come out at the end about her view points.

I agree Nicole...while I loved the book it didn't have quite the impact ending that her later books have. I just felt they left the boyfriend hanging and though he didn't make the best choice he did what he did because Emily convinced him that it was out of love.

Didn't read any post above as I don't want to be spoiled...

I am in the middle of reading it and I am getting bored. It's just more court room drama, I feel like I am reading Nineteen Minutes all over again (and I loved that book). Is it worth continuing to read?

Stick with it Melly, while it wasn't my favorite JP book, I really did like it and for many JP fans this is their favorite.

Okay thank you Dara. Will do.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

Finished it tonight. It was a bit tough to get through during some of the early court scenes, just seems overdone with her books imo.
I enjoyed it though, I thought the love between Emily & Chris was done well, I enjoyed Gus and Michael's little fling, glad it didn't ruin their marriage. Also liked Jordan and Seleena too. I hate her epilogues though, she should just finish it where it is, no need to always do "so and so did this" etc.
Anyways. Thanks for encouraging me to read it still.
Now it's between Picture Perfect & Second Glance. Which should I read first?

Melly...I haven't read Second Glance yet but I can assure you there is no courtroom drama in Picture Perfect...lol

Haha thanks Dara :-) Maybe I'll give that one a go.

Another good book that is very similar to JP, but no courtroom drama is Barbara Delinsky's newest one, While My Sister Sleeps...very good book, started reading it at 7pm and didn't go to sleep until it was done! lol

Thanks for the suggestion!

READ IT IF YOU HAVENT VERY GOOD!!!!

*MAJOR SPOILER ALERT BELOW*

I read this book and was enjoyed it a lot. It was sad about how Emily couldnt talk to anyone because she didnt want to be with Chris. I at one point wanted to scream at the mother for burning the diary. It proved Chris's innocence to knowing about the pregnancy. But i guess it didnt matter.

Spoiler!

Her mother did read her diary and learned that she was pregnant and that she couldnt tell chris because he would want to marry her, which led her to believe her only option was scuicide.

OMG! This book is SO sad! I am only halfway through and I have already started crying twice! Poor Chris! Also...I hate Melanie. How could she try to run Chris over!?!

******SPOILER****

Just finished the book and I was shocked by Chris' confession...and then that he got off! Honestly, I still don't know if he did it, she did it, or they did it together. And I don't understand what was wrong with Emily- why was she so depressed and suicidal? Was it the pressure of her life? Obviously, the sexual assault when she was young had something to do with it. I can't believe she never told anyone, especially not Chris.
What a warped relationship those two had. It made me sad that the parents' friendships ended.
I'm in shock after finishing this book. My third Jodi book and loved it!

Carolina wrote: "******SPOILER****

Just finished the book and I was shocked by Chris' confession...and then that he got off! Honestly, I still don't know if he did it, she did it, or they did it together. And I do..."

I too don't understand why she was soo depressed. Yes she had a traumatic experience but she had a wonderful friend. I feel like something was missing from the book, more of Emily's side of things. It did have too much courtroom drama and not enough of how she got to this dark place. Do we just assume this is adolescence?

Yes, I agree that maybe there should have been more from Emily, but maybe Jodi did this on purpose. How often do people really find out why someone decides to take their own life? Maybe she wanted us to be left questioning the whole thing, which I definitely have been since reading this book! It really touched me.

I didn't LIKE Melanie, but I appreciated her character. It showed how much someone could change after a devastating tragedy like loosing her only daughter and feeling betrayed by people you thought you knew so well (Chris's family).
I also feel like there should have been more detail to build up Emily's depression. Her situation wasn't ideal, but maybe if her parents were seen pressuring her more to go to college and "do the right thing" it would have made the story easier to swallow.

ATTENTION- SPOILERS AHEAD
For the first time in any of her books, I didn't think this story had any boring parts. I didn't like at the end when Chris found the note that had gotten tangled up in a line from when they were children, and it was blank....I thought she could've created something and ended the book with a huge bang, like the note saying "I don't think we'll ever be together, or do you ever think about killing yourself?" the fact that it was blank just irked me. I also didn't like Melanie, even when she found her daughters diary she threw it in the fire. I also noticed that Melanie's husband and Chris' mom had an affair (and a similiar incident happens in Handle with Care) and I disliked that part too. The book was a brilliant write and probably one of my favorites- it's also one of the few books that have ever made me cry.

This book was so good. It had me guessing and totally into the story the entire time. I loved the love story between Chris and Emily.