Rating: 
Summary: Melodramatic story of a troubled marriage.
Review: After reading Harvesting the Heart and Plain Truth, I was so impressed with Jodi Picoult's writing I wanted to read everything she's written. Picture Perfect was truly disappointing, though. The author describes over and over again the many times in which Cassie Rivers is beaten, kicked, shoved, bruised and knocked out by her husband Alex. After the second beating, I'd had about enough and just wanted to see how Cassie was going to resolve the situation, hopefully by leaving Alex. However, Jodi Picoult takes us through countless more scenes of domestic abuse before she's convinced that we truly fathom (yes, we get the picture) that it's a tough situation to get untangled from. I almost gave up on the book a few times, but kept reading, hoping it might get better somehow. It didn't happen. I'm just left wondering what happened to the wonderful wisdom and insight Jodi had in her other books.
Rating:
Summary: Not Picture Perfect
Review: After reading Harvesting the Heart and Plain Truth, I was so impressed with Jodi Picoult's writing I wanted to read everything she's written. Picture Perfect was truly disappointing, though. The author describes over and over again the many times in which Cassie Rivers is beaten, kicked, shoved, bruised and knocked out by her husband Alex. After the second beating, I'd had about enough and just wanted to see how Cassie was going to resolve the situation, hopefully by leaving Alex. However, Jodi Picoult takes us through countless more scenes of domestic abuse before she's convinced that we truly fathom (yes, we get the picture) that it's a tough situation to get untangled from. I almost gave up on the book a few times, but kept reading, hoping it might get better somehow. It didn't happen. I'm just left wondering what happened to the wonderful wisdom and insight Jodi had in her other books.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not perfect
Review: I love Jodi Picoult. She is one of my favorite authors. I liked this book, but I wanted to like it more. There's nothing wrong with the subject matter. Domestic violence is a serious issue and people need to be aware of it. What got to me was the emotion that oozed from every single scene, the excruciating psychological agony every character experienced, the nonstop telling us how everyone felt. It's as if they were all overacting, and even if it does take place in Hollywood, the author should have resisted the temptation to descend into melodrama. Thr ending left me feeling it was a hopeless cycle, whether Alex and Cassie got back together or found other partners. I mean, go back and check out Will again. He's a lot more similar to Alex than the first read-through makes you think. He's a career police officer who lost one job--why? It's not the best book she wrote but it is by no means bad. I disagree that Strange Fits of Passion was better. In fact, that one was so awful I stopped reading anything by Anita Shreve. Jodi Picoult writes on a far more intellectual level. I'll go on reading her books.
Rating: 
Summary: Once again Jodi captures my interest
Review: I normally don't read tales of spousal abuse because it hits too close to home. However, reading this book really made me realize that I am not the only one experiencing the same stuff as Cassie is undergoing. If I was in Cassie's shoes, I would have done the one thing right ~~ to protect something so precious. It also helps to know that I am not the only one who was fooled by appearances. Not everything that glitters turn out to be gold. Picoult dives right into the scenery and the characters have more life than you would think. It's not as poignant as her later books, but I really enjoyed this one. I couldn't stop turning the pages even though I figure that if Cassie goes back to Alex, it wouldn't stop. Picoult also gives her usual twist at the ending ~~ this time leaving it open for the imagination. Once again, I am not disappointed with Picoult's talent. Too bad all authors aren't as talented and brillant as she is.
Rating:
Summary: What Goes on Behind Closed Doors...
Review: Jodi Picoult has given me even more cause to pass the word about her writing talent. Picture Perfect is yet another pageturner complete with emotional roller coaster. She has absolute power over me with her sympathetic, realistic, and sometimes enraging characters.In Picture Perfect, anthropologist Cassie Barnett falls in love with princely movie star, Alex Rivers. They quickly marry, and Cassies believes she has found eternal happiness. Until the first time he lays his hands on her in anger. And then the second time and the third time.... And yet she stays!! I was half wanting to throttle Cassie myself! But don't worry. Jodi delivers a shocking ending that left me smiling for days. Also recommended are Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen and The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner.
Rating:
Summary: Far From Perfect!
Review: Jodi Picoult is a great story teller. Writing about relationships is her strength. I have read all of her novels and have been captivated, time after time, by her characters and engrossing storylines. "Picture Perfect" is not one of Ms. Picoult's best efforts, however. This novel of the relationship between a Hollywood super star and a brilliant and acclaimed anthropologist is too contrived for my taste. She writes about an important and difficult societal issue here, but the complexity and real drama of her story are diminished by the unnecessary glitter of her characters and the addition of a subplot, so tangential, it is superfluous. Cassie Barrett is a physical anthropologist and lecturer at UCLA. She has been assigned to work at one of the university's sites in Tanzania for the semester when she is disturbed by the crew of a film production company in the process of making a movie. Since the film just happens to feature an anthropologist, she is recruited as a consultant and meets super star actor and heartthrob Alex Rivers. In a Cinderella romance with overtones of the "Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous," the two fall in love and marry. But gold does not lie beneath the glitter. Alex carries tons of baggage from an abusive childhood. Cassie has baggage of her own. Picoult describes the psychological dynamics of the couple with a sharp and knowing eye. Her characters are finely drawn, realistic and compelling. Characters and a parallel story are introduced that would make an interesting novel in itself, but are so removed from the main plot that their presence is distracting. I was left with a feeling that the author had added apples to oranges and hoped to come up with a logical rational for her character's actions. This is not typical of Ms. Picoult's usual taut plots and tight writing style. Apples and oranges do not mix well in this novel and I was left hungry.
JANA
Rating:
Summary: Perfect...
Review: Jodi Picoult never fails me. This is the 5th book of her that I've read, and despite the fact that it isn't one of her page-turning courtroom drama types, Picture Perfect ranks right up there with my favorite, Plain Truth. Anthropologist Cassie Barrett wakes up in a cemetary with a cut on her head and wondering how it got there. Will Flying Horse, a Native American police officer for the LAPD, finds Cassie wandering the streets and rescues her. Cassie doesn't know who she is or what she is doing -- a classic case of amnesia. Will aides in finding Cassie's family only to discover that she is none other than famous Hollywood actor Alex Rivers's wife! Slowly Cassie integrates back into Alex's life of fame, fortune, and house help. Until one day, triggered by something she sees, Cassie's memories and the reason for the cut on her head come flooding back to her. Now the only thing left for Cassie to do is escape.... I don't know what it is exactly that made me love Picture Perfect so much. The writing, as always, was exceptional, and the style of the writing was very easy flowing. And the story itself was very interesting, honest and believeable. I am an avid fan of Jodi Picoult's and reading Picture Perfect was a solid reminder of why. Kudos to you, Jodi, for another wonderfully rendered portrait of a novel.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty as a Picture or so it seems.
Review: Now let's take a look at the real world. Wonderfully written as all of Picoult's books are; this one has a lot of heart, and a whole lot of selfless love or so Cassie thinks. Is her behavior selfless or foolish? Alex Rivers is a mega star in Hollywood and Cassie is the most unlikely of people to grace his arm at a premiere among the Hollywood golden set. She is an anthropologist with her head in the books and her mind on the next dig, happy to be in a bush jacket and jeans as she unearths her latest treasure. Two worlds collide in more ways than one when Alex and Cassie meet and marry. A study in abuse that will touch your heart, and leave you cheering for both sides because of the love the author so eloquently makes you feel for both characters. Ahhhh but just how much can one person take, and is there a way out, is the question that has to be answered. This book had me guessing till the last 25 pages. Picoult has a new book coming out in May titled PERFECT MATCH. I'll be first in line for that one too. This author has never disappointed me. Kelsana 4/29/02
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment
Review: This book recounts the almost fairytale like romance and marriage of anthropologist, Cassie Barrett, and silver screen star, Alex Rivers. All that glitters, however, is not gold, as Cassie will soon discover. It seems that her handsome husband has a dark side to his personality. When Cassie undergoes some form of temporary amnesia, she makes the acquaintance of William Flying Horse, a rookie police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. He is immediately attracted to this lovely, though mysterious, woman. He treats her tenderly and, ultimately, falls in love with her. He does not reveal his feelings, however, as she is eventually claimed by her husband, who has been looking for her. As her memory returns, Cassie recalls what was it that drove her away from Alex. Unfortunately, Alex is the product of an abusive childhood, and the psychological trauma that he sustained growing up rears its ugly head in a way that is not conducive to a happy marriage. Cassie, however, is the great enabler, as she has allowed Alex to continue with this pattern of behavior, rationalizing it to herself. This is a formulaic story that the author tries to augment with some Native American Indian lore that is somewhat interesting but, ultimately, fails to carry the day, as it spirals into the ridiculous. All of the characters, including the Native American ones, are one dimensional and, consequently, the reader ends up caring very little about what happens to any one of them. Neither of the readers of this unabridged audio book are talented enough narrators to make this book into something other than what it is: a mediocre work of fiction not worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Snooze
Review: This story had a beginning that had a lot of potential. A woman is found with a cut on her head, wandering around a cemetary and church. The mystery is set as to what happened to this woman? But the amnesia didn't last long, and soon Cassie remembers everything that happened that lead to her loss of memory. Three years prior Cassie married Hollywood star Alex Rivers. Life was just wonderful except for those wee moments when Alex would beat her. And so the tale that leads Cassie to eventually leave her abusive marriage, but only after doing what every other battered woman does: keeps going back hoping he'd change, getting into therepy, having a baby. I was glad to see that this novel did not involve a court case, as all the other novels by Picoult did. And the author also portrayed domestic violence quite accurately. But for some reason, I was not immediately pulled in, and felt I could predict the next turn.
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