"Family Pictures" by Jane Green

Sylvie and Maggie are total strangers, living on opposite sides of the country, but their lives are connected in a way they could never imagine.  They're both in their forties, mothers to teenagers, and have husbands who spend half of their time travelling.  But they have one thing in common that will shatter their lives forever.  When a secret is exposed, both women feel the pain and must learn to how to forgive, move forward, and love again.

Family Pictures is Jane Green's latest novel about two lives that intersect when one persons secret is exposed.  If you're looking for a book that you want to be able to spend the day with, this is it.

It's hard to write a review for a book like this without giving away too much of the plot and the secret behind it.  I found this book to be pretty typical of what Jane Green writes, which isn't a bad thing.  It's nice to know what you're going to get when you pick up a book.

Sylvie suffered loss in her first marriage but found love again in a second marriage.  Though she struggles to help her teenaged daughter who is hiding an eating disorder, she leads a charmed life.  Maggie has worked hard to redefine herself and achieve her dreams.  Living a life of luxury, she is raising her three teenage children while maintaining her elite status in her well-to-do neighbourhood.  Both women are unprepared for what is about to come.

I'll admit, I figured out what the secret was going to be well before it was revealed.  It's not that I'm a super sleuth but it does become pretty apparent what it's going to be early on.  That doesn't take away from the book however, as the real story is in how the women recover from it and move on with their lives.

I definitely appreciated the character of Sylvie more than Maggie which would seem kind of obvious given their personalities.  But even as the book went on and her nature changed, I didn't feel very connected to her.  But that's a personal thing up to the reader, not something everyone who reads the books will feel.  As well, I sometimes feel as though Green's books could end about 50 pages earlier and I felt that this time, but again, that's really one of those personal reading quirks.

I think I'm having a hard time writing this review without giving away too much!  If you're a fan of Jane Green, you'll be picking up this book.  If you're looking for a chick lit book that goes a little deeper, then this, or any of her other books, would be a very good choice.  Secrets, lies, love, and starting over, this is a tender drama that you won't want to put down.