I had to read this book through tears most of the time. It is so moving, and the characters are so real. I loved how much Charlie adored his wife, and how dedicated he was to his son Sam, even though his grief threatened to engulf him.
The writing is sublime. After April's death, when Charlie is asked about the organ donor card found in his wife's wallet, he thinks, "someone else would touch April's skin. Someone else would see through her eyes." Those lines just killed me, and told you all you needed to know about Charlie's love for April.

Another line that got me was the author's description of Luke's attraction to the much younger Isabelle. "When he smiled at Isabelle, his eyes were full of light. He looked at her like she was the most interesting thing he had ever seen." You understand why Isabelle became so smitten with Luke; what woman wouldn't want a man to look at her like that?

Leavitt uses imagery beautifully in this novel. When Isabelle realizes too late that Luke has been cheating on her, she recalls how he had been nice to her after she found earrings the house that weren't hers or smelled perfume, "how he'd taken her out to a fancy dinner, how he reeled her back in so tenderly that she didn't notice the sharpness of the hook." You can just see Isabelle as the poor fish hooked on Luke's line.

Photography plays a big part in the book. Isabelle is a photographer and she teaches Sam how to take photos. It bonds them together, and becomes the one thing that helps Sam overcome his grief and guilt over his mother's death. She tells Sam that photographs sometimes shows things that aren't there, things that you have to look deeper for the hidden meaning. Much of this lovely novel is people realizing they really don't know the ones they love most.

I so enjoy when the ending of a book surprises me, and Leavitt does a brilliant job with the resolution of the story. It takes you to unexpected, but satisfactory, places. She jumps forward in time, and lets the reader know how these characters have fared, but leaves enough questions lingering that allows these wonderful characters to live ons. I will not forget Charlie, Isabelle and Sam, and will think of them fondly for a very long time.

Pictures of You is a moving, heartbreaking novel about the power of healing and forgiveness, with interesting, yet flawed, characters. Fans of good fiction who want to be taken on an emotional journey should read this book!