Picture+Perfect+by+Jodi+Picoult

=PICTURE PERFECT BY JODI PICOULT=

Week 1 Role Assignments
 * A: Victoria
 * B: Gab
 * C: Marie
 * D: Amanda and Rachel

**Week 1: B- Gab**
When I read the first 1/5 of the book, three main characters are identified. The first is a woman named Cassie Barrett who was first introduced as someone who had amnesia and had no idea who she was. Eventually she is found by a police officer, Will Flying Horse, and later realizes she is the wife of a famous American actor, Alex Rivers. Because Will was the first person she met, after she awoke and had amnesia, it seems like she trusts him the most out of all the characters in the book. When Alex picked her up from the police station, she liked Alex but she seemed to be unable to connect with him like she did with Will. Later on, she starts to trust Alex more and gets used to being the wife of a famous actor. Also, she gradually gets her memories back and discovers that she was an anthropologist that discovered the skeletal hand of a Tanzanian person. When Cassie starts to get her memories back, she discovers that she had a childhood friend named Connor whom she shared her first kiss with. She does not know why she stopped talking to Connor but somewhere in the book it mentions that he died. When I was reading the book, I felt bad for Cassie because it must be a lot from not knowing who you are to discovering that you are the woman every other woman dreams of being.

Another main character is Will Flying Horse. He is the police officer that discovered Cassie. When he took care of Cassie for a few days, Will treated Cassie very kindly and it seems that he has a crush on her. His parents both died in a car crash when he was young and his father is of Indian descent, the Sioux tribe to be exact. Many people make fun of him being Indian which makes him very self conscious about it. Will and I are kind of similar because I am also sometimes self conscious about being Asian, but then I get over it :).

Alex Rivers is the final main character in __Picture Perfect__. He reminds me of someone like Brad Pitt because he seems to be very respected by everyone and I kind of picture him looking like Brad Pitt. He appears to love Cassie very much but he does lie about his feelings and even Cassie can tell that he's lying. It is revealed that he had a miserable childhood and horrible parents. He is my least favorite character because he seems really fake and although he tries to hide it, readers can tell that he really is a jerk.

To be honest I don't really like any of the characters in __Picture Perfect__ but I'm sure that as I read more, I will start to learn more about the characters and possibly like them.

**Week 1 - C: Marie**
In English class yesterday, we had a great discussion about //Picture Perfect// by Jodi Picoult. We started off by eating some of Victoria's delicious crumb cake. After that, we started by talking about the interesting opening. All of us gave input on what we thought the opening meant how we interpreted it. We also conversed about if we thought Alex Rivers, the famous actor, was really the great person he is depicting himself to be. We discussed all of the main characters who were introduced to us throughout the first fifth of the novel as well.

After debating over all of the characters and talking about their personalities, we went through both Rachel's and Amanda's discussion questions. These questions are listed below. Another interesting topic that came up was how Alex Rivers had an awful childhood. He was raised poorly, which may be the reason for why he treats Cassie the way he does. We all predicted at the end of our discussion what we think will happen next in the book or even at a later time in the book. We think Cassie, the main character who has amnesia, will wind up being pregnant, and in the end we all think Cassie will end up with Will, the Native American who found her.

**Week 1-D: Rachel & Amanda**
1. Do you think Alex is a good husband? Why or why not?
 * Alex obviously cares about Cassie, but he's very aggressive and he takes things a little too far. He gets angry and says or does things that often hurt Cassie. It seems like he doesn't even realize what he's doing. He loves Cassie, (or at least acts like it) but he's a little on the rude and obnoxious side.

2. Why do you think Cassie never talks about Connor? **
 * We think Cassie never talked about Connor, her old best friend, because he passed away

3. Does Will love Cassie? Why or why not? **Yes because all he wants to do is call her to make sure she's alright. Also, he researched her at the library and held unto her picture. You can tell by the way he cared so much about how Alex treated Cassie, or how hurt he was when she left his home for good. Will is constantly thinking about her.

4 . Do you think Cassie having amnesia will change her personality for the better?
 * Yes because all of the influences and advice people have been giving her are changing her personality. Cassie probably never really spoke up about what she felt was right or her wants before the amnesia. Now Cassie is finally starting to stand up for herself.

5 . Do you think Alex's personality has to do with his childhood? Explain. **Yes, because when he was a kid, his father controlled how he acted. Now he is controlling Cassie. If Alex's father never made fun of his personality and interests, he would most likely be a much nicer person overall. 6. Do you think Cassie is going to end up with Will by the end of the book? Why or why not?
 * Most likely, yes. Cassie and Will are probably going to be together by the end of the novel. Will is always concerned about Cassie's well- being, and Cassie thinks about Will when Alex does or says something that offends her.

7. What do you think about the strong presence of Native American influence in the book? Does it all help or hurt the telling of the story? **
 * We are not really sure of what this all really has to do with the plot, but it may be a little clearer later on in the novel.

8. Do you think Alex really cares about Cassie, or is it all just a move to boost his career? Explain.

9. Do you think Cassie is a strong person considering what she’s been through?

10. Give 2 examples of how Cassie grew up quickly as a child. **

**Week 2**

Week 2 Role Assignments
 * A: Amanda
 * B: Rachel
 * C: Gab
 * D: Marie and Victoria

2-D: Marie

1. Why is the story about Cassie running away from Alex italicized? -She was having a flashback, while she was sitting in the sink.

2. What is the importance of the legend in between chapters 9 & 10 ? -The bird is like Alex and the women is like Cassie because the women thought she was in paradise with her husband but it turned out bad. After a while she figured out the truth about her husband and learned things she didn't know about him before. They had a similar relationship to Cassie and Alex.

3. How does Alex's childhood effect him now, as a famous actor? -When he was in the hospital and he could not do anything because of the hole in his heart, he just played make-believe and pretended he was a pirate, etc. This got him into being someone he is not, therefore he went into acting.

4. Do you think Cassie had feelings for Alex when they first met on the set for his movie? -At first, she liked him but told herself she didn't because she did not want to like him because he is such a jerk, but she felt heat when he walked by her and she loved the way he looked, but she hated the way he treated other people. But when they went out to dinner, she started to like him a little for who he is, but she disliked how he had control of everyone and could act like such a jerk.

5. Why was Alex so nervous inside the hospital? -He spent so much time there as a child because he had a rare condition where he was born with a hole in his heart.

6. Do you think that Alex is going to have a huge impact on how Archibald thinks of Cassie? -He will probably want to fire her, but never gets around to it.

7. If you had a friend like Connor who died how he died, do you think you would react any differently than Cassie had a the funeral? -Rachel, Marie, and I would have attacked the person and demand them to give me his ashes, where as Gab and Amanda would scream at home.

8. If you found out you were pregnant and Alex was calm and not mad at the time, do you think you would have told him about the baby? -No, we would wait until his movie filming was over.

9. Do you think when Alex hurts Cassie it should be considered abuse, considering when he threw her to the ground then kicked her? -YES

10. Of all the places to run why do you think Cassie run to a graveyard? Do you think you would have done the same thing? -Don't really know, Alex might have thrown her out of the car or maybe because she had her first kiss with Connor in the graveyard.

Jodi Picoult focuses on using flashbacks in this novel to tell the story. Flashbacks are usually a little annoying to deal with, but in this book particularly, it helps explain the situations Cassie gets into. Her writing is very descriptive and helps the reader have a clear picture of what’s going on. There is not much dialog, but no one seems to mind. We still manage to get to know each character with a limited amount of conversation. We all agree that Picoult’s writing doesn’t interfere with our understanding of the story. Although it may be simple, the plot is no less interesting and the age range recommended for readers does not change.
 * Week 2: B-Rachel**

I don’t know about the rest of the group, but I prefer simpler language with a few new words that I can learn. This book gives a reader exactly that. It is far less complicated than __A Tale of Two Cities__, but __Picture Perfect__ is no children’s book either.

This novel also really focuses on the characters and their past, just like many of the other books written by this author. I’m starting to pick up on each character’s mannerisms and what provokes certain emotions from them. I feel like I know Cassie, the main character, as well as one of my friends because I’ve found out so much about her.

I personally think that this book is for people in and out of high school because of the fact that there is some sexual content. Also, in certain parts of the novel there is a large amount of violence. I don’t even think people under 13 would understand //that// much of the plot.


 * Week 2: C- Gab

At our 2nd discussion for //Picture Perfect// we had Amanda's amazing Entenmann's donuts! We all had one and Victoria had two. :) Afterwards we talked about how much we liked the book so far. I personally hate it because I think that the story just seems stupid. Victoria and Rachel LOVE the book and Marie and Amanda both think it's okay. After we shared our opinions on the book, we answered the discussion questions that Marie and Victoria had prepared for us. While we were answering the questions we discussed possible reasons as to why Cassie was found in the graveyard in the beginning of the book. We all agreed that the book would be quite disappointing if it fails to mention that reason. Also we talked about what we think is going to happen later in the book and some of our predictions were pretty funny.

The main discussions questions we talked about were questions that had to to with "what would you do if you were in Cassie's place?" Cassie has had a really depressing life because her childhood friend/crush was shot by his father and she found him and his family dead when she was 15. Also her husband is very selfish and treats her really poorly. We also talked about how she was pregnant but was afraid to tell her husband about the baby because he would be mad. All of us came to the conclusion that Cassie surely has our sympathy because let's face it: so far in the book, her life sucks!!!

****Week 3**

A: Marie B: Victoria C: Amanda D: Rachel ** and Gab
 * Week 3 Role Assignments:

** 1. Do you think Connor appearing in Cassie's dream foreshadowed anything? Why or why not? Yes, we all agree that Connor showing up in Cassie's dreams foreshadowed how marrying Alex was a bad decision. There is even a specific part of the book where Cassie says that Connor comes to her when something bad is about to happen. Connor was constantly telling Cassie that she was making the worst decision of her life, all the way to a few nights before the wedding.
 * Week 3: D-Rachel

2. Do you think Alex has some sort of disorder causing him to constantly lash out? Explain. Not a disorder, but he had a rough childhood, which is most likely why he's so angry most of the time.

3. Do you think that if Alex wasn't an actor, he wouldn't have the rapid mood swings he often has in the book? Why or why not? No, Alex would probably still have his anger issues whether or not he went into acting. If anything, his mood swings would be worse, because he would have absolutely no creative outlet.

4. Is Cassie hurting her marriage each time she tries to help Alex? Do you think she should have left Alex long ago? Alex gets angry regardless of what Cassie does for him. Cassie obviously should have left him before all of the abuse got extremely terrible.

5. If you were in Cassie's position and you had the miscarriage, would you tell Alex what he did? Why?
 * oops. I read ahead. pretend you didn't read this.**


 * Week 3: D-Gab**

1. Do you think the reason why Alex acts the way he does if because of his past? yes

2. Do you think Cassie should have gotten all emotional the day Alex and Janet were filming "that scene"? some say yes some think it's no big deal

3. Do you think it's creepy that Connor comes to Cassie in her dreams? no it actually happens to people

4. If Connor never died and him and Cassie were a couple by the time she went to Africa, how different do you think things would be between Cassie and Alex? Alex would be trying to win her over

5. Do you think Cassie should have been more insistent on canceling the marriage with Alex? yes


 * Week 3 Roles**
 * A: Marie
 * B: Victoria
 * C: Amanda
 * D: Rachel
 * D: Gab

__B: Victoria__ The mood of the book is that is very serious. It shows the hardship of two children who grow up in very climates, but going through similar situations. Throughout the book, it flashes back to their pasts, and it helps shape who Alex and Cassie are as characters. In the current time/present time in the book, it is still serious. Alex can be very aggressive and abuse at times, and Cassie just goes along with him because she is too afraid of the consequences she will receive if she back talks. This book is not a humorous one, and even at the times that Alex was telling her that the loves her, it was a very serious situation.

C: Amanda

This week for our discussion of Picture Perfect started with some amazing munchkins that Marie brought in. We each had about 30, but that's besides the point. We started to talk about how the mood of the book is kind of harsh and serious The main characters all had difficult pasts. We see how Alex, hasn't really been able to overcome these because of his mood swings and his behavior toward Cassie. Besides Rachel, we can all agree that book is sort of pointless. The story really isn't going any where and it is pretty boring.

In our discussion, we also talked about some of the questions that Rachel and Gab wrote. One of them was if we thought Connor appearing in Cassie's dream foreshadowed anything? We all said that it was foreshadowing because Connor is basically like Cassie's conscience. He is telling her that Alex isn't going to be a good husband to her. We also talked about the question if we thought that if Alex wasn't an actor, he wouldn't have the rapid mood swings he often has in the book? We all thought that regardless if he was an actor, we would still have these mood swings. This is due to his troubled past.

A. Rachel B. Marie C. Victoria D. Amanda & Gab
 * Week 4**


 * Week 4 - B: Marie**

Throughout the novel, there are many themes being portrayed. Such as, bravery, love, and heroism. Bravery is a main theme because Cassie is extremely brave and courageous throughout the story. Her husband is a famous movie star and she has to go through so much just by being married to him. Not to mention, he beats her often and she puts up with it because she knows that Alex needs her. When she finds out she is pregnant, even though Alex made it pretty clear he did not want kids, she runs away to protect her baby, planning on returning after the birth.

Love is another main theme because although Cassie and Alex have some problems, it seems although they truly love each other. Cassie gives up so much for Alex and Alex does a lot for Cassie as well. Yes, Alex does beat Cassie if she is late or if he is having a bad day. But he cannot help himself, he had so many issues as a young child that he does not know any other way to express his anger. If he could hurt himself and not Cassie when he was mad, he would do that in a heart beat. It really shows Alex has a deep love for Cassie when Cassie goes missing and Alex turns the world upside down looking for her.

Lastly, heroism is also a big theme in //Picture Perfect// because every main character has come off as a hero in different ways. Cassie, has depicted a heroic being by knowing she is a huge part of her husband's life. Not many women would stay with a man who beats them. But Cassie does because she knows everything that happened to Alex during his childhood. How his dad left him, at six years old, on an island with awful living conditions and no people for days and days at a time to teach him how to become a man and to find his own food. His dad also bought him a wagon that needed to be put together, and his dad promised they would assemble it together. Instead, his dad made Alex do horrific things to earn assembling the wagon together. Alex had to go to extreme measures just to get his own father to want to spend quality time with him. Not to mention his parents were both bitter, old, drunks. Alex is seen as a hero to the whole world because of his acting talent. Alex also is also being portrayed as a hero because of the different measures he went to, to help Cassie regain her memory. He took time to dig out photo album, after album, after album. He bought a human skull for her to put together to remind her of her profession. He took Cassie around all of his residences and talked to her all the time about what her life was like. Another hero in this novel is Will Flying Horse. He found Cassie lost on the streets of Los Angeles and took her in to his own home until someone claimed her. Will also goes to the trouble to drive Cassie all the way to Colorado from California to hide her from Alex.

Jodi Picoult draws very detailed images for the readers in //Picture Perfect.// The image of Andrew Riveaux, Alex's father, not raising Alex properly is very strong. The reader gets chills immediately and feels awful for Alex when Picoult describes what went on when Alex was little. There is no excuse for Alex to sometimes treat Cassie the way he does, but the reader right away understands why Alex does what he does. Picoult uses this image because she wants the reader to realize why Alex became an actor, and how since he was grown up on beatings, he does not know another way to let his feelings out besides expressing them through acting and letting it out on Cassie.

1. What do you think caused Cassie to finally run away from Alex? -Because she wants to protect her baby. 2. What do you think makes Alex aggressive toward Cassie? -His childhood makes him aggressive and angry. 3. Why is Will helping out Cassie so much? -Because he loves her and has a kind heart. 4. If Alex knew that Cassie was pregnant, do you think he would act the same way toward her? -Yes and he would probably be more aggressive to her. 5. Do you think Cassie will eventually leave Alex for Will? Explain. -Some of us think that Cassie will end up with Will, but others think she will go back with Alex.
 * Week 4- D: Amanda

**Week 4 D-Gab

1. Do you think anything could've happened to keep Cassie and Alex together? No because Will had such a strong impact on her.

2. What would you do in Cassie's situation? Run away, and divorce Alex.

3. Do you think it's awkward that Will and Cassie are so friendly with each other, even though they met for like 2 days? No one does, but Gab thinks it's weird.

4. Do you think Cassie should've tried to work her relationship with Alex and try to use some different method of letting him know how she felt instead of just running away? No, he would've beaten her up again. Marie and I would hire two body guards and sit down with him and talk with him with the two body guards present.

5. Did we ever find out why Cassie was at the church in the beginning of the book, because I think we did and I just don't remember. Apparently that church is her refuge and she goes to pray fro Connor there.

C- Victoria

Today in class, we ate delicious pumpkin bread that Rachel's mom made, and we discussed the themes of the book. We talked about how we believe in the end of the book that Cassie is going to end up leaving her husband, Alex, permanently for the man who helped take care of her when she had her memory loss. She leaves him because of the abuse he is showing her, and knows that she can do better than him. One of the themes we talked about was the abuse Cassie feels from Alex, and how no matter what, she will not leave him even though she knows she has to. We don't exactly understand why she does this, but we know that she will leave him. We all predict that she is going to go back to Will by the end of the book. Although there is a chance we may be wrong, we're almost positive we can correctly predict the ending of this book.

Week 5


 * A: Gab
 * B:
 * C: Rachel
 * D: Marie

D - Marie 1. Why did Cassie finally decide to divorce Alex? - Cassie finally divorced Alex because she didn't want him to hurt her baby when he was abusing her.

2. Why does an Eagle represent Will at the end of the book? -Will watches over Cassie like an eagle flying over the city.

3. What are your final thoughts on the book? -We felt Picoult should have taught us some sort of lesson, but she didn't and it was not worth reading.

4. How did the ending connect with the beginning and middle of the book? -Will found Cassie and in the end Will was flying over her in eagle form.

5. How does Alex react to the divorce and why? -Alex cries and shows up at the press conference and cries and he seemed shocked.

D- Victoria

1. 5 years after the book ends where do you think Cassie will be? -Most likely dead, or move to the ghetto

2. Do you think Alex will ever remarry? -Yes, someone like Pamela Anderson

3. Do you think Will is ever going to find Cassie? Why or why not? -Yes, he will stalk her

4. Do you think Cassie truly loved Alex in the first place? -She just had a crush on him and figured why not

5. If you were Cassie would you have divorced Alex earlier or not? -Gab and Amanda say yes, Rachel and Marie no

We all didn't think that this book was worth reading. The book was really boring and had no direction. All of the characters were quite dumb and made really stupid decisions. We all thought the book was really bad. We all decided that we would not recommend this book to our peers. The topic of spousal abuse has been more effectively discussed in other books. This book doesn't really show the the severity of abuse and how horrible it really is. Lastly, we do not think this book should be part of the curriculum. This book doesn't teach us any valuable information. It only talks about being manipulated by your husband and giving into his wants before your own.
 * Amanda: B**

Most of my group highly disliked the book, and Victoria even said that it was boring and predictable. There are a few questions that were never answered in the novel, and that frustrates us all. I like the book, but I’m the only one. We feel that it was a bit of a let down. Also, it seems like Jodi Picoult tried to teach the reader a lesson, but it didn’t have the impact it was supposed to. Victoria and I both like the style of writing. (Picoult is always very descriptive and often uses powerful imagery.) We also feel that after Cassie leaves Alex, her life would fall apart because she still is in love with him. Without him, she feels empty, no matter how badly he hurts her. Most of us claim that if we were in Cassie’s position, we would leave. I’m the only one who feels that I just wouldn’t be able to go no matter what.
 * Rachel: C**