SPOILERS BELOW!
After another lull in my usual heavy reading routine I've gone back to my comfortable favorite, Jodi Picoult, who has yet to write a story i didn't want to finish.
Picture Perfect is the story of Cassandra Barrett-Rivers who wakes up in a graveyard with amnesia and is discovered by Will Flying Horse, an LAPD officer who is half Lakota and is avoiding his past. Cassie is claimed by her husband, Hollywood's biggest actor Alex Rivers and for a week or so Cassie tries to fit back into her "picture perfect" life, her career as an anthropologist and as Alex's wife, but as her memories seep back in she slowly realizes her life is not as it appears to be and the Alex who came to claim her is merely playing the part of the perfect husband.
Cassie's character is very well layered, her work as an anthropologist, carefully piecing skeletons back together mirrors the fractures of her relationship and her own body. Her obsessive love and need of Alex and his of her despite the violent abuse. It was interesting to read the back story of their relationship, explore the reasons behind Alex's behavior and Cassie's decisions to both stay and eventually leave, twice.
When Cassie leaves with Will its such a big cheering moment, I kind of wanted the book to end right there, with them riding off into the sunset together, but its never that easy with Picoult and unfortunately, Cassie and Will both have demons to face.
I liked and disliked this book in perfect symmetry, Picoults portrayal of a woman who both loves and fears her abusive husband is well written, even when Cassie leaves to protect her unborn son she still knows she will eventually return, the end in which Cassie realizes that to truly break free she would have to irrevocably break her and Alex was brilliant and I really hoped that beyond the pages Cassie makes things work with Will. Will was a frustrating character though his feelings for Cassie were clear his inability to stand up and take real action on them was annoying, but I suppose the true romance was that he let her go knowing that she would come back to him. Alex did not translate to page however as the desirable, spellbinding movie star I feel he was supposed to, though the reader is obviously aware of his abusive side I think we were also supposed to gain an understanding of why Cassie loves and stays with him and for me, I just didn't get it. Neither did I understand the point of the worlds worst best friend Ophelia. Its a three out of five for me, a strong novel, with some slight annoyances but as always, one i wanted to finish.
