The Pact is so good that we can't put it down.

In a small town in New Hampshire something funny happens to a 7-year-old girl when her parents split up: she starts spouting Bible verses and seeing God. Given that the little girl - named, appropriately enough, Faith - hasn't been raised in a religious household, it a little weird. Then inexplicable things begin happening: Faith's grandmother goes into cardiac arrest and is resurrected in perfect health, and Faith starts bleeding from both palms. Soon enough, religious junkies begin flocking to her home, and Faith's horrified father sues for custody. Such a plot could easily fall into the realm of gothic melodrama, but instead it's addictively readable, raising valid questions about religion without getting maudlin. For a novel, that in itself is a miracle.

Fans of Picoult's fluent and absorbing storytelling will welcome her new novel, which, like Harvesting the Heart, explores family dynamics and the intricacies of motherhood, and concludes, as did The Pact, with tense courtroom drama. In the small town of New Canaan, N.H., 33-year-old Mariah discovers that her husband, Colin, is having an affair. Years ago, his cheating drove Mariah to attempt suicide and Colin had her briefly committed to an institution. Now Mariah's facing divorce and again fighting depression, when her eight-year-old daughter, Faith, suddenly acquires an imaginary friend. Soon this friend is telling the girl how to bring her grandmother back from the dead and how to cure a baby dying of AIDS. As Faith manifests stigmata, doctors are astounded, and religious controversy ensues, in part because Faith insists that God is a woman. An alarmed Colin sues for custody of Faith, and the fear of losing her daughter dramatically changes meek, diffident Mariah into a strong, protective and brave woman--one who fights for her daughter, holds her own against doctors and lawyers and finds the confidence to pursue a surprising new romance with TV atheist Ian Fletcher, cynical "Spokesman of the Millennium Generation." Though the novel feels a bit long, Picoult's pacing stabilizes the increasingly complicated plot, and the final chapters, in which Mariah fights for Faith's custody in court, are riveting. The mother-daughter relationship is all the more powerful for being buffeted by the exploitative and ethically questionable domains of medicine, media, law and religion; these characters' many triumphant transformations are Picoult's triumphs as well. Agent, Laura Gross. (May)

When seven-year-old Faith White and her mother, Mariah, swing by the house on the way to ballet class, they find that Daddy is home and he's brought a playmate. This is not the first time he's been caught cheating. After the fuss and feathers have settled and Dad has moved out, Faith begins talking to an imaginary friend who, it seems, is God. And God is not male but female. Faith is able to effect miraculous cures and is also occasionally afflicted with stigmata. When the media gets wind of this, the circus begins. The local rabbi takes an interest (Faith and Mariah are technically Jewish), and the local Catholic priest pays several inquiring visits. There is also a gaggle of psychologists. Throw in a professional atheist for the romance angle and a vicious custody fight with an egomaniacal lawyer, and you have a riveting read. Picot (The Pact, LJ 2/15/98) gets better and better with each book. If you can suspend disbelief on one or two points, this is an entrancing novel. Highly recommended.--Dawn L. Anderson, North Richland Hills P.L., TX

Picoult has the remarkable ability to make us share her characters' feelings.

Nowadays, the bookshop shelves graon with tales about stylish fol liviing urban lives, simply marinating in glib sophistication, ironic asides and urban angst. But perhaps you're the kind of reader who finds that bicoastal attitude superficial perhaps you crave the sincere and accessible exploration of likes biggest issues such as 'Does God exist?'...This story makes you wonder about God. And that is a rare moment,indeed, in modern fiction.
—USA Today

A sweetly affirmative portrait of mother-daughter love that explores big questions while also providing a riveting narrative of a custody battle.

"Keeping Faith is a raging success. . . . A triumph. This novel's haunting strength will hold the reader until the very end and make Faith and her story impossible to forget." — Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Extraordinary . . . Faith's saga . . . leaves the reader virtually breathless . . . Picoult tells a great story." — Orlando Sentinel

"Keeping Faith is a raging success. . . . A triumph. This novel's haunting strength will hold the reader until the very end and make Faith and her story impossible to forget."

"Extraordinary . . . Faith's saga . . . leaves the reader virtually breathless . . . Picoult tells a great story."

"Extraordinary . . . Faith's saga . . . leaves the reader virtually breathless . . . Picoult tells a great story."

Mariah catches a strange woman in the bedroom with her supposedly devoted husband, and he leaves. Life is further complicated when her daughter, Faith, begins experiencing stigmata and visions. Picoult reveals core emotions as Mariah struggles to keep Faith in a custody case, fighting a deeper battle in herself to gain the confidence she badly needs. This underlying conflict is well represented with a dual reading. Eliza Foss reads the bulk of the narrative in a voice that is strong and straightforward. Julia Gibson reads Mariah's first-person bits in a voice that combines self-doubt and undeniable strength. These emotions vie in Gibson's voice just as they do in the story, adding additional conflict to a tense plot. S.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine