thepact

If a group member doesn't do their job:
1. They don't get to eat the food 2. They have to post it to the wiki by Sunday night 12:00 (or group summarizer by Tuesday night 12:00) 3. They get a 0 for the day, but if they make it up by Sunday night (or Tuesday night), they get half credit. 4. They can't be apart of the discussion on Friday

=__Week 1__=
 * **PERSON A - GROUP LEADER, Allison Waldman** - This group member will be responsible for both keeping the group on task throughout the meeting as well as responding to the week's topical questions, listed below.
 * **PERSON B - QUOTATION FINDER, Stacey Rosenfeld** - This group member will be responsible for finding 5 important, meaningful quotations from their section of the text. They will also facilitate a discussion regarding these quotations.
 * **PERSON C - KEY QUESTIONER, Emily Kramer**- This group member will be responsible for providing 5 open-ended questions regarding the week's reading section. These questions, and their responses, will be posted on the group's wiki.
 * **PERSON D - GROUP SUMMARIZER, Kyle Schroeder** - This group member will be responsible for posting a thorough, two-paragraph summary of the group's Friday meeting, to be posted on the group wiki no later than the Sunday following the meeting.

__**Questions**__ 1. Do you think Emily committed suicide or that Chris killed her? Did someone else kill her? I think there was a situation that complicated the death but Chris definitely did not kill Emily on purpose 2. What do you think Gus’s constant dreams relate to? I think Gus's constant dreams meant something could be going on between her and James. 3.Is it wrong that Melanie Gold is blaming Chris for her daughter, Emily’s death and getting mad at Gus Harte? Why do you think she is doing this? I think she is doing this because she can't make sense of what happened and doesn't want to believe that her daughter would commit suicide so she blames it on Chris, but it is still wrong. 4. What reasons do you think Emily wanted to kill herself? Why would Chris go along with it and kill himself as well? Emily wanted to kill herself because she was pregnant, I think Chris wanted to kill himself too because he love Emily so much and just wanted to do what she wanted. 5. Do you think James Harte did anything wrong by killing his dog, Charlie? Why was Gus so upset over this? I think James Harte did the right thing by killing his dog because he was suffering. I think Gus was so upset by this because she didn't know he was capable of killing something he loved.

1. "But as he drove past the Hartes' house he took in the absolute quiet of the scene, the peaceable lack of light in the windows, and he could not help feeling a stab of jealousy at the normality of it all. //Why us?// he though, and did not notice the brake lights of a car at the end of Wood Hollow Road, already turning toward town." 2. "The detective snaped shut her notebook and started for the door. 'I'd like to talk to Chris now,' she said. 'You can't,' Gus insisted, blocking the other woman's way. 'He's asleep. He needs his rest. besides, he doesn't even know about Emily yet. We couldn't tell him, not like this. He loved her.' Detective Marrone stared at Gus. 'Maybe,' she said. 'But he also may have shot her.'" 3. "They all looked at the bassinet. The baby startled, a reflex. Her long fingers flailed open like a morning glory and curled back into fists, grabbing for purchase. And although she was completely unaware, when Emily Gold again settled into sleep, she was holding tight to Christopher Hartes' hand." 4. "Melanie watched the tally grow to a staggering amount: $2,000 for the casket, $2,000 for the cement case that would only postpone the inevitable, $300 for the rabbi, $500 to list the death in //The TImes//, $1,500 to prepare the gravesite, $1,500 to use the chapel at the mortuary. Where would they get this money? And then it came to her: from Emily's college fund. Jacob Saltzman handed the total to Michael, who did not even blink. 'That's find,' he said again, 'I want the best.'" 5. "She was thinking the same things, she knew, that Melanie was: Chris and Emily had grown up with love, with wealth, with each other. What more could they have needed?" 6. "Tears slowly running down his face, James stepped behind the dog, so quiet and so familiar that Charlie did not even turn around, and lifting the rifle, he shot the dog in the back of the head." 7. "This time during the nightmare Gus managed to hurl the keys farther than she ever had before, under another vehicle that was parked all the way across the street. She unstrapped her seat belt and got to the baby's door, managed to unlatch her and drag her free as she heard the footsteps behind her again. 'You bastard!' Gus yelled, for the first time fighting back in this nightmare. She kicked the tire. She looked into the back seat, expecting to see Chris's face as they squealed away, but instead she saw her husband reach into the rear of the car to set him free. And she wondered why it had taken so long to notice that all this time, James had been sitting in the passenger seat." 8. "The detective nodded. 'Then it should come as no surprise,' she said, flipping to the final page of the autopsy, 'when I tell you that Emily was pregnant.'"
 * __Quotations__:**

=
On Friday morning after the first Pep Rally of the 2010-11 school year, Alli, Stacey, Emily, and I were all introduced to a new way to interact with our group and discuss about the particular book our group read. Emily brought in bagels and Ice-Teas while we discussed the novel. In the begging everyone was quiet, timid, and uncertain of what to do because this has been the first time anyone has ever done anything in this nature. . But, after we started with the first question our group got rolling and was very excited and all of the group members were in the discussion at all times. We also talked about the plot of the book in the first 83 pages. Everyone in the group loves it so far, but I think its another Romeo and Juliet story.=====

=
While the group was discussing on why they like in the book and dislike Alli was preparing her task of asking us her questions to us. We went really in-def on the question about why she killed herself other than the pact that Emily and Chris had. All of are answers were based off of her having a baby and her parents and Chris's parents would be furious with their children. Another question that we had a long chat about was when Gus killed his do that he loved. We were discussing on whether we would do that to the dog we love if it was in something as serious as the dog in pain everyday because it was sick. in our overall discussion everyone got really into it and can't wait till the next 83 pages our group has to read for Friday October 8.=====

=__**Week 2**__=
 * **PERSON A - GROUP LEADER, Kyle Schroeder** - This group member will be responsible for both keeping the group on task throughout the meeting as well as responding to the week's topical questions, listed below.
 * **PERSON B - QUOTATION FINDER, Allison Waldman** - This group member will be responsible for finding 5 important, meaningful quotations from their section of the text. They will also facilitate a discussion regarding these quotations.
 * **PERSON C - KEY QUESTIONER, Stacey Rosenfeld**- This group member will be responsible for providing 5 open-ended questions regarding the week's reading section. These questions, and their responses, will be posted on the group's wiki.
 * **PERSON D - GROUP SUMMARIZER, Emily Kramer** - This group member will be responsible for posting a thorough, two-paragraph summary of the group's Friday meeting, to be posted on the group wiki no later than the Sunday following the meeting.

1. Why don't you think Chris asked his new cell-mate, Steve, what happened? Why do you think he didn't deny that the cigarette was his own? He didnt deny that the cigarete was his own so he tried to make it seem that he could skip over it 2. Why did Melanie have such a call to detail after Emily died? Melanie had such a call to detail after Emily died because she went crazy that her daughter killed herself and she was pregnant. 3. Why do you think Jordan McAfee wants to wait so long before the trial? Jordan McAfee wants to wait so long because he can build a better case everyone in the group also discussed that Jordan thinks that Chris killed Emily. 4. Why can't Chris show feelings for his parents at the jail? How has his opinion of his parents changed after his time spend in jail? Chris didn't show feelings to his parents because he was trying to act tougher and got really anger for being in the jail for something he didn't do. 5. What was the significance of the watch that Emily ordered for Chris? It was his birthday gift, she ordred the watch before she killed herself, so we think that she forgot about the watch before she killed herself. 6. Why did Gus wait until her husband was asleep to cry? She waited till Gus was asleep because she was embarrassed and didnt want Gus to make a big deal and make Gus remember and cry with her too. 7. What do you think was the significance of the killing of the bunny rabbit? It showed that he was guilty killing animals so he would be even more guilty to kill a person he loved.
 * __Questions:__**

1. "He did not know if it was the contrast of the white snow with the bright blood or the small stuffed toy body of the hare itself, or the fact that this was the first time he'd preyed on something smaller and more defenseless than himself-but her turned to his side and threw up." 2. "But this time, beneath his father's furious glare, Emily buckled," It was Chris," she said, pointing a shaking finger,"He made me try it." 3. "He let his eyes drift shut, and decided in the instant, that for the rest of Emily's life, he would be her guardian angel." 4. "How could a girl he'd known his whole life suddenly be someone he didn't recognize at all." 5. "Then he realized Chris and Emily were doing exactly what everyone had always hoped they would." 6. "I loved her," he said, his voice breaking,"I can't forget that. So I don't see why everyone else can." 7. "But over all this Gus could hear Chris, eighteen years old, and calling her by an endearment he had not used in a decade." 8. "Does Chris know, and he thought that perhaps Chris was the only one who did." 9. " The fact that everyone knew someone like him had picked someone like her, was one of the things she loved about being Chris' girlfriend. Unfortunately, there were also things she hated." 10. "Your wrong," she said softly," Even now, Emily belongs to Chris. 11. "I, um have this problem, I broke up with my boyfriend and I am pretty upset about it so I want to talk to my best friend," she swallowed and looked back at the black ground," the thing is they are both you."
 * __Quotations:__**

Friday our group read up to page 170 and could not wait to keep reading on. The Pact has started getting very suspenseful as it switches back and forth from the past into present time. We discussed our thoughts on Emily's death and whether or not it was suicide or Chris killed her. We all were able to agree that Chris's love for Emily is too strong and he would not have been able to kill her. Therefore Emily must have commited suicide. The anticipation to find out what was the true cause of Emily's death is what keeps us reading on. Jodi Picoult vividly detailed Emily and Chris's relationship so well that it made us, the readers, feel as if we truly knew them. We were able to feel the emotions that Gus felt from her son being accused of murder and the hatred Melanie had towards the guy who possible may have killed her daughter. The style of Jodi Picoult's writing allows us to feel bad for a possible murder. Her language makes the book seems like reality because she used curses and other real life vocabulary that teenagers use. Through out the book club we touched upon the ideas that both Emily and Chris's parents may not fully know their children. Emily's parents do not know that she was pregnant and Chris's parents still think of him as a innocent little boy. Both parents do not want to come to terms that their child is a murderer and suicidal. We are all very excited to see what else Jodi Picoult has in store for us as we continue reading The Pact.
 * __Summary:__**

=__Week 3__=
 * **PERSON A - GROUP LEADER, Emily Kramer** - This group member will be responsible for both keeping the group on task throughout the meeting as well as responding to the week's topical questions, listed below.
 * **PERSON B - QUOTATION FINDER, Kyle Schroeder** - This group member will be responsible for finding 5 important, meaningful quotations from their section of the text. They will also facilitate a discussion regarding these quotations.
 * **PERSON C - KEY QUESTIONER, Allison Waldman** - This group member will be responsible for providing 5 open-ended questions regarding the week's reading section. These questions, and their responses, will be posted on the group's wiki.
 * **PERSON D - GROUP SUMMARIZER, Stacey Rosenfeld** - This group member will be responsible for posting a thorough, two-paragraph summary of the group's Friday meeting, to be posted on the group wiki no later than the Sunday following the meeting.

1. Why do you think Emily did not tell Chris about her pregnancy/being raped? She didnt tell Chris about being raped because she was almost embarrassed by it and did not want it to become a big deal. Emily also did not tell Chris about the pregnancy because she knew that Chris would want to marry her which is something she did not want to do. 2. Why do you think Michael Gold goes to visit Chris in jail even though he knows his wife would never allow it? Michael Gold visits Chris because he believes that Chris is innocent since he knows how much Chris loved Emily. Michael also thinks of Chris as his own son and he is the only thing left of Emily. 3. Why do you think Emily phases between loving Chris as a brother and as a boyfriend? Emily has known Chris since the day she was born just as long as she would have known her brother. They have spent every waking moment together since they day they were born and acted as close as brother and sister. Emily switches from loving Chris as a brother to loving him like a boyfriend often. 4. Do you think Jordan's experiences with his son relate to him hearing Chris talk to the psychiatrist in the jail? Jordan realizes he has to except his son since he has been dealing with Chris. The psychiatrist talking to Chris made Jordan notice that he needed to pay more attention to his son. 5. Do you still think Chris is innocent? Why? Chris, we think is innocent because all signs point to Emily being suicidal. The whole book shows how much Chris loved Emily we believe it would be impossible for Chris to kill Emily. The painting that Emily painted, her pregnancy, her being raped all lead up to her being suicidal. She was able to hide her pregnancy and her being raped without showing any signs on the outside so that would show she could be suicidal without showing any signs, therefore Chris would be innocent.
 * __Questions:__**

__**Quotations:**__ 1. “Why wont you see him, when you let me visit…Because, he said quietly, you never expected me to be perfect.” (188) 2. “…and the journal fluttered to the last page, to the entry that made the day Emily died. //If I tell him, he will marry me. It’s that simple. (// 198 //)// 3. “Someone will find out you came, he warned. You shouldn’t be here you know. Michael hesitated No, he said finally. But neither should you.” (212) 4. “If she told you about the baby how would you have taken care of her. I would of married her.” (229) 5. “I know, I’ll wait, Michael said. He leaned against the wall and folded his coat over his arm. I’ve got all the time in the world.” (245)

**__Summary:__** This past Friday, Alli, Emily, Kyle and I met for the third time in our book group. We read up to page 245 for this week - right before the beginning of Part 3. We found out a lot about the characters in Parts 1 and 2 and we can't wait to see what's ahead in Part 3. One thing that we took quite some time to discuss was whether or not we still think Chris is innocent. We all agreed that we still do think he is innocent for a couple reasons, one being that he was more in love with Emily than she was with him, and was so in love that he would never kill her. Another reason is because he didn't know that Emily was pregnant with their child, which seems to be the reason why she killed herself. This week, we also talked about the families of Chris and Emily, seeing how much their lives changed because of this tragedy. Emily's mom, especially, is having a hard time with the case. She refuses to believe that her daughter killed herself, so she holds a grudge against Chris and his family. But, it's not all fun and games for Chris' family either. His mother and father are working hard to get him out of jail as soon as possible and to get people to believe Chris was not the murderer. They got so caught up in the trial, that they forgot Christmas for their other daughter Kate. It seems like everyone is taking a hard hit, not just the Golds. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in Part 3. The topic of this week was mood and tone. We talked about how the mood of this book changes, depending on which character is in focus and whether we are in the past or present. In the past, it is usually a happier mood, sad now that Emily is dead, but happy memories that the two kids share together. In the present, it is usually a tense tone because Chris is in jail with sketchy people around him at all times, and his parents and attorneys are working hard to fix his life. When the focus is on Emily's parents, it is usually a solemn tone, seeming as if they haven't done anything since the death of their daughter. Additionally, Chris's mood has changed since his time spent in jail. He is becoming more violent and more of a rebel to try to keep up with the people around him. We are also looking forward to see how that works its way out. In Part 3 is Chris' trial to see whether or not he really is innocent. Although we think he is innocent, the characters in the book seem to be skeptical. Hopefully, the real story of what happened that night is revealed soon because the four of us cannot wait. We all are enjoying this book very much - Kyle a little less, but he still finds it entertaining.

=__Week 4__=
 * **PERSON A - GROUP LEADER, Stacey Rosenfeld** - This group member will be responsible for both keeping the group on task throughout the meeting as well as responding to the week's topical questions, listed below.
 * **PERSON B - QUOTATION FINDER, Emily Kramer** - This group member will be responsible for finding 5 important, meaningful quotations from their section of the text. They will also facilitate a discussion regarding these quotations.
 * **PERSON C - KEY QUESTIONER, Kyle Schroeder** - This group member will be responsible for providing 5 open-ended questions regarding the week's reading section. These questions, and their responses, will be posted on the group's wiki.
 * **PERSON D - GROUP SUMMARIZER, Allison Waldman** - This group member will be responsible for posting a thorough, two-paragraph summary of the group's Friday meeting, to be posted on the group wiki no later than the Sunday following the meeting.

Gus heard the two gossipers talking about her son being the murderer. Because it only showed Melanie's point of view about the death of her own daughter, so obviously she wasn't going to admit to the press that her daughter was suicidal - it would reflect bad parenting. She dropped her groceries and left. Chris found the gun in his dad's gun cabinet. The court date was weird because it was the same day as Emily's birthday. Jordon's motions were selected and Barrie's were not. Because Michael and Melanie went in separate cars. He ate all of the lucky cereal. Chris was wearing handcuffs. She thought that Chris killed Emily. Double suicide.
 * __Questions:__**
 * 1. When Gus went to the grocery store what did she hear the two gossipers talking about? **
 * 2. Why does Gus think the news article is one sided? **
 * 3. When Gus went to go talk to Melaine what did she do **
 * 4. Where did Chris find the gun? **
 * 5. What is the weird date about the court date? **
 * 6. Whose motions were selected and why? **
 * 7. Why was it so important to see who was in each car? **
 * 8. What did Jordan's son do before the court trial? **
 * 9. What was Chris wearing that Jordan was outraged by? **
 * 10 . What was Barries side to the court trail? **
 * 11. What Was Jordan's Side of the court trial? **


 * __Quotations__:**
 * 1. "That it was Michael was sometimes odd. Since his wife had been Gus's best friend for-well, nearly forever-they knew a great deal about each other secondhand. There werethings that Melanie had told Gusabout Michael and things Melnie had told Michael about Gus. It made them uncomfortably intimate, brimming with knowledge of each other they otherwise should not have had." **
 * 2. "Gus stared at him firmly for a moment...'But Michael finally decided that he'll be a defense witness, which is a very good thing.'" **
 * 3. "He looked abstracted for a moment, as if struggling internally, and then apparently came to a decision. Still holding her loosely, he leaned down, kissed her softly on the mouth, and walked away." **
 * 4. "Michael blinked at her, stunned that in a marriage which had lasted twenty years, she could even think of using sex as a down payment, istead of a gift. Wanting to hurt Melanie as badly as she had hurt him, Michael schooled his face into a careful blank." **
 * 5." The first time Emily told Chris she wanted to kill herself, Chris laughed. The second time, he pretended he didn't hear. The third time, he listened." **
 * 6. "Melanie stared at Chris, unstoppable...'You killed her,' Melanie shouted. 'You killed my baby, and you killed your baby.'" **
 * 7. "When you love someone, you put their needs before your own. No matter how inconceivable those needs were; no matter how fucked up; no matter how much it made you feel like you were ripping yourself into pieces." **

**__Summary:__** This week Kyle, Emily, Stacey, and I met for the fourth time. Kyle brought in bagels and orange juice and we discussed our book that just seems to get more and more interesting. We predicted before that Michael and Gus would get together at some point. We think it is very weird that Gus and Michael kissed at the gravesite. Also, we think it is crazy that Chris could take Emily saying she wanted to kill herself so lightly. our group decided that there is going to be a very weird ending to the book that will shock us all because we all don't know what is to come next. After we talked about the general idea of what happened in this weeks reading we talked about what this weeks topic of discussion was. This week the topic of discussion was Motifs. We feel that the gun was a motif. Instead of symbolizing the death of Emily it symbolized how much Chris loved Emily and the lengths he would go to make sure she knew that. We also feel that Steve, Chris’ cell partner in jail being sent to prison for life is a symbol of a part of Chris dying out too. He starts to loose hope and acts out, and generally stops caring. We are all excited to meet again next Friday when the book will be finished and hopefully, all of our questions will be answered.

=__Week 5__=
 * **PERSON A - GROUP LEADER, Allison Waldman** - This group member will be responsible for both keeping the group on task throughout the meeting as well as responding to the week's topical questions, listed below.
 * **PERSON B - QUOTATION FINDER, Stacey Rosenfeld** - This group member will be responsible for finding 5 important, meaningful quotations from their section of the text. They will also facilitate a discussion regarding these quotations.
 * **PERSON C - KEY QUESTIONER, Emily Kramer**- This group member will be responsible for providing 5 open-ended questions regarding the week's reading section. These questions, and their responses, will be posted on the group's wiki.
 * **PERSON D - GROUP SUMMARIZER, Kyle Schroeder** - This group member will be responsible for posting a thorough, two-paragraph summary of the group's Friday meeting, to be posted on the group wiki no later than the Sunday following the meeting.

1. Are you surprised that Chris had a part to do with Emily’s death? Although he did not get charged with murder he still did help her shoot the gun? We are not surprised that Chris had a part to do with Emily's death. We don't think he murdered her but he definitely had a part in her death. 2. What did you think of the ending? Did you like it? The ending was very good but a little but predictable. We liked it but we wish it was more surprising. 3. What do you think the blank letter Chris found at the very end of the book meant? It was very creepy. We were disappointed when it was blank though. 4. What is going to happen the Golds and the Hartes now that the trial is over? They are not going to be friends anymore. The Golds move away. 5. Do you agree with Chris, Emily was being selfish when she made him kill her? We agree with Chris, she took advantage of how much he loved her and she knew he would do whatever she asked. 6. Overall what did you think of the book? The book was very good, but predictable at the same time. There were some twists and exciting parts and that kept the book exciting. We also liked the way it went from past to present.
 * __Questions:__**

__**Quotations:**__ 1. "'One more question,' Barrie said. 'Was there anything else about Emily's physical condition that you noticed during the autopsy?' 'Yes,' Dr. Lumbano said. 'On the night Emily Gold died, she was eleven weeks pregnant.'" 2. "It was not until he sat down that he noticed Thomas smiling at him from across the table. And at his place, a clean bowl and spoon, a jug of milk, and a brand new box of Cocoa Krispies." 3. "IT was like that, again, now. Emily, whose face Chris could trace with his eyes hut, was suddenly unrecognizable. He'd wanted to give her time to see how crazy this idea was, but all the time had run out and the whole nightmare had snowballed, huge and unwieldy, impoissible for Chris to stop in its path. He wanted to save her life-so he was pretendign to help her to die. On the one hand, he felt powerless in a world too big for him to alter; on the other hand, his world had shrunk to the head of a pin with room for bothing but him Emily and their pact. He was paralyzed be indecision-believning with all the unshakable drama of adolescence that he could handle something as enormous as this, and at the same time wanting to wisper the truth in his mother's ear so that she could make it go away." 4. "She didn't feel frightened. Now that she'd found a way out, even the thought of dying didn't scare her. She just wanted to end it before other people she loved were hurt as badly as she was." 5. "//This//, he realized, //is it.// Either he let Emilt have what she wanted more than anything, or he let himself have what he wanted. I twas the first time he could remember those two things not being the same. How could he stand by and watch her die? Then again, how could he stop her, if she was hurting so badly? Emily had trusted him, but he was going to betray her. And then the next time she tried to kill herself-beause there would be a next time, he knew-he wouldn't find out until after the fact. Like everyone else. He felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. Was he really considering what he thought he was?" 6. "Emily straightened herclothes, her cheeks flaming. Chris could not stop apologizing, as if the fact he'd forgotten a condom was something she'd hold against him for eternity. 'It doesn't matter,' she said, tucking in her shirt, thinking //if you only knew."// //7.// "Chris was shaking so hard at this point that Gus's hand fell away from his shoulder. 'What you don't know, Mom.' he said softly, 'is that I shot Emily.' And with a muffled cry, he turned and fled up the stairs to the guards who would safely lock him away.//"// 8. "Chris lowered his eyes. 'It was the night Emilt wanted to kill herself. I got the gun, like she asked me to. I drove her to the carousel. We talked for a while, and... whatever.' His voice drifted off, and Jordan watched him carefully, aware that he was back at the carousel again, back with Emily. 'And then,' Chris said quietly, lifting his gaze to his attorney's, 'I shot her.'" 9. "She pressed his hand, and it squeezed on the trigger, and then he was deaf and dizzy and falling, with Emily still in his arms." 10. "He could sense everything in that instant: the smell of soap that had been used to clean the woodwork in the courtoom the night before the drop of sweat that streaked between his shoulderblakdes the tap of the court reporter's shoe on the edge of her work station. 'In the matter of //The State of New Hampshire// versus //Christopher Harte,// on the count of murder in the first degree, how do you find?' The foreman looked at the slip of aper he held. 'Not guilty,' he read. Chris felt Jordan turn to him, a wide astonished smile splitting his face. He heard his mother's soft cry a few feet behind him. He listened to the roar of the courtroom, exploding in the wake of the unexpected. And for the third time in his life, Christopher Harte fainted."

__**Summary**__ Friday was a weird day for everyone in Mr. Morone's first period class, one being that the seniors dressed up for Halloween, and two, this being our last book club for the marking period. Allison, Emily, Stacey, and I met for our final book club while reading "The Pact". Emily brought in bagels and ice teas, and while we had a little nosh we discussed the ending to our book and were asking each other if we liked the ending or not. Personally, I felt that the ending was way too easy to predict, and everyone in our group knew it was going to happen by the way Jodi Picoult wrote context clues and gave you clear hints while reading the last chapter. Everyone in the group feels that Chris and Emily did not have a suicide pact even though Chris was forced to assist Emily kill herself. This weeks discussion was much longer, not because of the longer periods, but because of the fact that we communicated about certain topics of the book we never even thought about. For example, we discussed Jordan's son buying him the new box of chocolate cereal so his dad would have his "good luck charm" before he defended Chris in the trial. We were also talking about if we would recommend this to our friends, three out of the four said yes, while the lone one person who said no, would get beat up if I even talk about this book to my friends. But I am not saying I hated the book, it was a change of pace for me and it was a great experience to read a book that didn't talk about sports. Overall the group enjoyed the book and felt that the author really made you think outside the box and caused you to want to continue reading.