I was talking to Ashley about Jodi Picoult books the other day. They can be a tough read because of their controversy subjects, but at the same time, it's so real and neat to have an author who's not afraid to talk about an Amish girl accused of murder, a tragic school shooting, or teens who cut themselves to get rid of hurt and pain. This book was no exception.
Emily and Chris have known each other since birth. Chris was 3 weeks old when Emily was born. Their mothers were best friends. If Chris feel down, Emily got a bruise. If Emily bumped her head, Chris would cry. They had a connection, something special that not many people experience. Their parents had always hoped they'd form a more serious relationship when they were old enough. That happened when Chris and Emily were on a family vacation together when they were 14 and 15 years old. The families couldn't be happier. Chris and Emily were connected at the hip. Once while eating lunch at McDonald's, chris dared Emily to go into the men's bathroom and stay there for a minute or two. This led to a man doing things to Emily, that she should have told someone about, but never did. chris never knew about what happened in the bathroom. She did not deal with this event till a couple years later. Something happened in Emily. Something changed. Her thought started to wonder...to suicide.
Obviously Chris was against this, but on the night Emily is found dead, Chris is found next to her body, alive. He's convicted of murder, of the one woman he loved, who also happened to be 11 weeks pregnant. Chris knew nothing of her pregnancy. They go to trial, and Chris's attorney is trying to convince the jury that it was a double suicide pact gone bad. Chris sits in prison for almost 9 months waiting for his trial. The most surprising witness helping to defend Chris is... Emily's father. He believes that there is no possible way Chris would murder his daughter.
In the end, we find out the Chris admits to killing Emily...because she asked him to. Would you do the same? If the person you loved so much asked you to end their life, to end their pain, would you do it? If you knew they were hurting, but didn't know why, would you help them move on to another world? Again, I'll say, this was a hard book to read because it talks about such a real event, and something I'm sure is hard for parents of teenagers to deal with, but Jodi Picoult does such a good job getting you connected to the characters and wanting to help save them.
