The Pact by Jodi Picoult

 

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with a parent deciding a certain book is not right for her child. There is a colossal problem with a parent deciding that, therefore, no child should be allowed to read that book."

        -Jodi Picoult

I have read several of Jodi Picoult's novels and I hadn't realized how many involved struggling teen characters until I read the author's thoughts at the end of The Pact. Through her fiction, Picoult has addressed controversial subjects like abortion, sexual abuse, school shootings, transgenderism, and teen suicide, as in The Pact.  Sadly, many of her novels are being banned in some school districts, leading to the quote above.

In The Pact high school students Chris Harte and Emily Gold had been close since infancy, their families were good friends and neighbors. As children they played together, went to school together, took family vacations together and were practically "joined at the hip." As teenagers, they became romantically involved. 

When Emily was in her darkest place, she was determined to commit suicide and coerced Chris into helping her. Emily ended up dead and Chris was charged with murder. The dynamics of the family members' reactions to this horrible situation were intriguing and Chris's trial made the book a page-turner.

Well-written and thoroughly researched, as are all of Picoult's novels, this one was not pleasant to read. Because of that, I rated it a 4. Although The Pact has been banned in some places, I feel it could be a very important and helpful book for high school students to read and discuss.

Sounder by William H. Armstrong

 

"Child, child, you must not go into the woods again. Sounder might come home again. But you must learn to lose. The Lord teaches the old to lose. The young don't know how to learn it. Some people is born to keep. Some is born to lose. We was born to lose, I reckon. But Sounder might come back."

             -the boy's mother, from the novel

I had read this youth novel years ago and found it very cheap in a used bookstore. My goal was to leave it in a LFL where children likely search for books. I decided to reread it first. 

It is quite old, published in 1969, but highly acclaimed, winning the prestigious Newbery Award in 1970. It tells a short and pretty sad story about a sharecropping family pre-Civil Rights. When the father is caught stealing food for his family, he is taken to jail leaving behind a wife and several young children. When the family's beloved hunting hound, Sounder, tries to follow the sheriff's wagon, he is shot, disappears and is feared to be dead. The oldest child, called only "the boy" in the novel, searches everywhere for Sounder. (In fact, none of the characters have names other than the dog and the setting is ambiguous making the story more universal, perhaps.) When his father is moved from the jail to a work detail, the boy tries to find him, as well. 

Of course, I will not spoil the ending. I would recommend Sounder for later elementary students. My rating is 4. 

The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

 

"When they go low, we go high." 

                -Michelle Obama from her speech at the 2016 Democratic Convention.

"We need to keep trying to go high. We must commit and recommit ourselves to the idea. Operating with integrity matters. It will matter forever. It is a tool. At the same time, though, I want to be clear: Going high is something you do rather than merely feel. It's not some call to be complacent and wait around for change, or to sit on the sidelines as others struggle. It is not about accepting the conditions of oppression or letting cruelty and power go unchallenged. 
                  -Michelle Obama, from The Light We Carry

This book was recommended by at least one member of our group and it was quite a departure from anything we have read in Page Turners this year---not the only nonfiction but the only inspirational one. I thought it was very well-written, thought-provoking and uplifting. Mrs. Obama's premise of sharing one's light reminds me of Matthew 5:15:  "Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house." (ESV)

It seems to me that when we share our light in the world, we ARE actually going high, by Mrs. Obama's definition.

It will be quite interesting to see what our group has to say about this book. I have rated it a 5 but readers with other political leanings may disagree. More later....

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

 

"Despite what Elizabeth Zott will tell you, Supper at Six is not just an introduction to chemistry. It's a thirty-minute, five-day-a-week lesson in life. And not in who we are or what we're made of, but rather, who we're capable of becoming."

        -Franklin Roth, journalist, from the novel

This book was highly recommended by a friend and fellow page-turner and had appeared on the NYT Bestseller list for several weeks. I waited a longgg time to get it from the library. I must say the title made me wonder if I'd enjoy it, having been barely tolerant of "chemistry lessons" in college. It was so much more than the title, however, and I did enjoy it very much. My rating: a solid 4.

Elizabeth Zott. a chemist at Hastings Research Institute in S. California in 1952, has a run-in with Calvin Evans, a celebrated scientist who is known as a grudge-holder and something of a social misfit. Elizabeth is ahead of her time in her views on women's rights, pretty much a feminist before it was a thing. She is intelligent, self-assured and assertive but far from socially adept herself. 

As a reader might predict, the two fall in love and move in together. They adopt a dog, Six-Thirty, who is extremely smart, humorously so, because he tells parts of the story! Though Elizabeth refuses Calvin's marriage proposal and has no desire for children, she ends up pregnant and gets fired. A sign of the times!

Elizabeth loses Calvin, the love of her life and is devastated (I'll let you find out how). Fortunately, she has a neighbor, Harriet Sloane, who becomes her dearest friend and helps her through some rough spots.

Elizabeth's daughter, Madeline, called Mad, is VERY precocious. In fact, at a very tender age, she begins researching her father's background leading to an interesting plot twist.

As the quote mentions. Elizabeth takes a job as host on a TV cooking show called "Supper at Six." She uses this platform to encourage her female audience to become all they want to be and teaches "chemistry lessons," much to the producer's chagrin. Wouldn't you know the show is a huge success and Elizabeth becomes a celebrity!

There are many interesting secondary characters, some adding humor and others, profound thoughts, and some that you really loved to hate. It was a challenge to choose one quote when there were many thought-provoking ones. Bonnie Garmus certainly made a hit with this debut novel. I am sure there will be others!