Formulaic, and so much like another one of hers that I wonder why she bothered.

This book reveals those unseen lines about why relationships get confused with what you think you want and what you believe you are supposed to want. The fragile line of true reality and the uncomfortable truth's unspoken. A teenage girl does not always know how to speak-up for herself, however; she does feel an emotional pain far too overwhelming for a teen to bear. ( )

The Harte and Gold families have been friends forever. Their children spend every moment of their lives together and it's no surprise to anyone when Chris Harte and Emily Gold's friendship blossoms into something more once they're in high school. They seem completely perfect for each other, so it shocks everyone when one night the families are called to the hospital to find Emily dead and Chris wounded after what he claims was a suicide pact. But was it really?

As the story unfolds, we begin to see that perhaps everything in these families wasn't quite as idyllic as it seemed. The investigation into Emily's death leads the Hartes, the Golds, and everyone connected with them to question whether they really know each other at all.

My thoughts: This is an absolutely engrossing story. I felt a little like I'd walked into a beautifully decorated room and found roaches in the corner. Everything seems so perfect. How did it all go wrong? I couldn't look away, no matter how much I wanted to. The story is excellent, and Picoult exhibits her usual keen insight for character. This is a very well-crafted book, and I have so much admiration for Picoult's writing.

Here comes the but. This might be mildly spoiler-y, so be forewarned. I just couldn't believe the premise. How could Emily want to kill herself just because she couldn't tell the truth? I understand that there were other forces in play, but they just didn't seem significant enough to cause a healthy person to take her own life. I realize that this reaction could be just me. I am the kind of person who has a hard time imagining a problem significant enough that I would want to kill myself and leave my family to pick up the pieces. Nonetheless, I had a very difficult emotional reaction to this book.

My final word: I rate this book 3.5 out of 5. I know many people absolutely loved it, and it was without a doubt well-written and compelling, but I had a lot of trouble with the whole premise. That's just my opinion. ( )

I enjoyed this book, though it was not my favorite Jodi Picoult book. I got bored with it a few times at the beginning, but it got more interesting as I got deeper into the book. ( )

This is the first book to really keep me guessing, Could'nt put it down. ( )