Picture Perfect
by Jodi Picoult
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Read in January, 2008
"Before you decide what you want to be,... know where you want to be."
"[He:] let himself fall into her, grasping at her words and the electric feel of her skin against his. He did not know what to say to her; He never knew what to say... He wished he'd learned long ago how to put into words the feeling that if she was gone, if she ever left, he would cease to exist."
"...the sky overhead was the color blue the world had been invented for."
"His eyes s...more
"[He:] let himself fall into her, grasping at her words and the electric feel of her skin against his. He did not know what to say to her; He never knew what to say... He wished he'd learned long ago how to put into words the feeling that if she was gone, if she ever left, he would cease to exist."
"...the sky overhead was the color blue the world had been invented for."
"His eyes s...more
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Read in October, 2007
Picture Perfect, by Jodi Picoult, tells the story of Cassie, an anthropologist who’s married to the famous Alex Rivers, a movie star as talented as Daniel Day Lewis, as desired as George Clooney, and as handsome as both of those guys put together. However, things are not as great as they seem, because soon Alex begins to beat Cassie. Of course, there are reasons why he beats her (he suffered abuse as a child, his parents never loved him) and reasons why she puts up with it (she had an alcohol...more
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Read in July, 2008
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Read in April, 2008
The fifth Picoult novel I have read and certainly not the best. It was first published in 1995 so I assume one of her early ones. I think that her writing has improved a lot since the, as this lacks the depth of her more recent novels.
Even back then she was already writing in what appears to have become her trademark style about very controversial subjects. In this one the protagonist Cassie is the victim of abuse at the hands of her beloved husband Alex. It takes her the four years that th...more
Even back then she was already writing in what appears to have become her trademark style about very controversial subjects. In this one the protagonist Cassie is the victim of abuse at the hands of her beloved husband Alex. It takes her the four years that th...more
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Read in February, 2008
Some people, maybe even MOST people, will love this book. Some might even say that it is Picoult's best novel to date. I am not some poeople. I hated this book; the only reason I gave it three stars is because 1) it IS a well-executed story, and 2) the ending was perfect - the kind that leaves things open but you just KNOW that what you want is going to happen.
This is a book about domestic violence. Undercurrents are: a woman obsessed with the dead and past so that she doesn't have to deal w...more
This is a book about domestic violence. Undercurrents are: a woman obsessed with the dead and past so that she doesn't have to deal w...more
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Read in February, 2008
Cassie falls quickly in love with superstar Alex Rivers, and if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. She leads a glamorous life in Hollywood, Malibu and Colorado, but things aren't as wonderful as it seems. Alex is troubled and Cassie becomes a victim of his abuse. I think Picoult did a good job with this relationship. I believed Alex was sorry and felt I could understand Cassie's willingness to stick it out - it's a vicous cycle.
What didn't work for me was Cassie's best friend, Ophe...more
What didn't work for me was Cassie's best friend, Ophe...more
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Read in September, 2008
09/10/08-
Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult is a book about an anthropologist who falls in love with the famous actor Alex Rivers. But at the beginning Cassie wakes up in a cemetery with a splitting headache and doesnt know how she got there or who she even is. A new cop in town finds her and takes her in and waits untill someone realizes that she is missing. Her husband, the famous Alex Rivers, comes to her rescue and brings her to one of their three houses and is doin everything possible...more
Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult is a book about an anthropologist who falls in love with the famous actor Alex Rivers. But at the beginning Cassie wakes up in a cemetery with a splitting headache and doesnt know how she got there or who she even is. A new cop in town finds her and takes her in and waits untill someone realizes that she is missing. Her husband, the famous Alex Rivers, comes to her rescue and brings her to one of their three houses and is doin everything possible...more
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Read in July, 2007
How do you say no to Jodi Piccoult on a library book sale shelf for only $2? You don't. And I'm glad. For once, although this book was written 14 years ago, she gave up her trademark twist at the end of this engrossing tale. Cassie Barrett is a bookish anthropologist who catches the eye of Alex Rivers, hot shot Hollywood actor, on the set of a movie where she's been asked to act as technical advisor. All is not what it seems, however, and after Cassie and Alex are married in a quickie ceremony o...more
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Read in February, 2006
I finished this book a few days ago. As every Jodi Picoult book I've read, I couldn't help but feel immersed in the story, unable to put it down for most of the time, wanting to read just one more chapter so I could learn what was happening or had happened to certain characters. It was the first book by this author I've read that had no lawyer or courthouse events, which was a bit of a breath of fresh air, but it did touch on a delicate situation: abuse and violence, a subject matter that's trul...more
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Read in April, 2008
Just like all of this authors books she has this uncanny ability to make you think you know how you feel about a particular situation and the more she weaves her tale you suddenly find yourself hemming and hawing and seeing other views of the particular topic she is dealing with! This book was interesting with what appears to be a strong female lead in the field of antropology who marries a big name movie star. I won't give away too much but I will say that while at points you just want to shake...more
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Read in February, 2008
This novel deals with a woman who loses her memory only to find that she is married to the most famous male actor in the country. She goes on a journey of memory and has to face a very complex but flawed relationship. This is the third Jodi Picoult novel I have read and I would place it as better than "The Tenth Circle" but not as good as "Vanishing Acts." I found the most interesting aspect of the book to be the fact that the heroine is unexpectedly snapped out of a situatio...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
Women who watch Lifetime movies
A page turner indeed! If you like watching the dramatic films on the lifetime channel this is the book for you.
Cassie, the protagonist in the story, is married to Alex Rivers, the famous actor in LA. This "picture perfect" marriage is not all that it seems. Picoult makes the antagonist a controlling, manipulating, physical abuser with a troubled past that he can't seem to shake no matter how hard he tries.
There are moments in the book that makes you cringe when Cassie is bein...more
Cassie, the protagonist in the story, is married to Alex Rivers, the famous actor in LA. This "picture perfect" marriage is not all that it seems. Picoult makes the antagonist a controlling, manipulating, physical abuser with a troubled past that he can't seem to shake no matter how hard he tries.
There are moments in the book that makes you cringe when Cassie is bein...more
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It is clear to me why Picoult's 19 Minutes and My Sister's Keeper are her most talked about books. In these she has created characters with whom one can relate and show empathy; the plots are intriguing and tightly woven. Unfortunately, with Picture Perfect she has not achieved the same level of caliber. While I still liked her characters, I did not feel for the heroine and her struggles with an abusive husband. I kept asking myself: why doesn't she just get out?! In other books, Picoult ha...more
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Read in March, 2008
I love Jodi books! This is another great one that really gets you involved with the characters. I was so "involved' with the book and the characters, then came "act III' and it just took off. Not really in a good way, but in a too be expected from a jodi book way. She spends so much time explaining every detail about the character's lives throughout the book, then as it is nearing the end the action speeds up and BOOM! it's over. I am not complaining at all, I have read almost all ...more
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Read in August, 2008
I have read every one of Jodi's books except MERCY. I enjoyed all of her books except this one and Songs of the Humpback Whale.
This one is confusing & disappointing. The central character, Cassie, is amnesic, yet she does remember some things. It is never clear how the amnesia occurred or how she comes to recover from it. I felt that there was far too much going on in the story: Hollywood life, Indian Mythology, anthropology and then add to that the domestic violence theme. The story goe...more
This one is confusing & disappointing. The central character, Cassie, is amnesic, yet she does remember some things. It is never clear how the amnesia occurred or how she comes to recover from it. I felt that there was far too much going on in the story: Hollywood life, Indian Mythology, anthropology and then add to that the domestic violence theme. The story goe...more
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Read in April, 2008
It seems that with each Jodi Picoult book I read I am less impressed. This book took me some time to get to understand what was happening and to really feel for the characters and in particular while the love story is well written it was difficult to understand Cassie's reaasons for staying on in such an abusive situation when she had so much of her own life and resources. The theme of American Indian culture weaved throughout was also difficult to reconcile to the Hollywood glitz of Cassie and ...more
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Read in August, 2007
It's a page turner, thats for sure. this was my first Jodi Picoult,and it came highly recomended.
Although I would have loved for the description of characters and places to be in depth-i couldnt actually visualise them.
How plain is Cassie Barret, how dead gorgeous is Alex Rivers excatly. and Will, I just cant see him - and maybe that just me.
The indain tales were good, the first person narrative in the second part is a good tease. I recomend.
although, i would still want to find a bo...more
Although I would have loved for the description of characters and places to be in depth-i couldnt actually visualise them.
How plain is Cassie Barret, how dead gorgeous is Alex Rivers excatly. and Will, I just cant see him - and maybe that just me.
The indain tales were good, the first person narrative in the second part is a good tease. I recomend.
although, i would still want to find a bo...more
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Read in June, 2008
So totally not my fave Picoult book. I hate to admit this but I often find myself taking the side of the villain in her books. Whether this be me having the Devil's Advocate personality, however in the end you usually find that the villain wasn't the person you'd believed him/her to be early in the book (namely in Change of Heart).
However, I didn't find this so much in Alex Rivers. I found myself feeling pain for how his father treated him during childhood. But my simpathy ended there.
I...more
However, I didn't find this so much in Alex Rivers. I found myself feeling pain for how his father treated him during childhood. But my simpathy ended there.
I...more
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Read in March, 2007
This book was not like others of Jodi's. I think that is what I like about her, nothing is ever the same, she is not predictable in her style of writing.
In this one, I really wondered where the ending was going as I know that Jodi sometimes puts in little twists. I was almost expecting the worst! It was a satisfactory ending though.
The only thing that bugged me about the book was the second part of the story being told to someone else, not the actual events as in the first part. It was a lit...more
In this one, I really wondered where the ending was going as I know that Jodi sometimes puts in little twists. I was almost expecting the worst! It was a satisfactory ending though.
The only thing that bugged me about the book was the second part of the story being told to someone else, not the actual events as in the first part. It was a lit...more
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Read in June, 2008
Honestly, I loved My Sister's Keeper - it is one of my very favorite books in the world. But so far, Jodi Picoult's other novels have not delivered anywhere near the same results and this book is my least favorite so far. It's almost as disappointing as reading Alice Sebold's follow up to The Lovely Bones - I almost couldn't believe the same person wrote it. The writing isn't bad, but the story is just kind of ridiculous and by the end I was just so annoyed with the main character and the aut...more
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