Synopses & Reviews
Who can you trust if not the ones you love? That is the question at the heart of Family Pictures, an emotional, page-turning story about what it means to be a family from New York Times bestselling author JANE GREEN"Greens novels consistently deliver believable, accessible, heartfelt, often heartwarming stories about real people, problems, and feelings."—Redbook Sylvie and Maggie are two women living on opposite coasts with children about to leave the nest for school. Both are in their forties with husbands who travel more than either would like. The looming emptiness of their respective homes has left them feeling anxious and lonely, needing their husbands to be home now more than ever. It isnt until Eve, Sylvies daughter, happens to befriend Maggies daughter that the similarities between these two women become shockingly real. A huge secret has remained well hidden for years until now—and their lives will be blown apart as dark truths from the past come to the surface. Can these two women learn to forgive, for the sake of their children…and for themselves?"This gripping story is ultimately one of redemption."—Library Journal
Review
Praise for Family Pictures
"Riddled with coincidences and unlikely secrets, Greens latest still manages to explore complex family dynamics with warmth." -- Kirkus Reviews
"This gripping story is ultimately one of redemption. Greens many fans wont be disappointed, and this would be an excellent choice for readers who enjoy the fiction of Jennifer Weiner or Marian Keyes.” -- Library Journal
Praise for Another Piece of My Heart
“In her latest, Green takes a clear-eyed look at our idealized notions of love, family, and motherhood…Green is at her finest with this compelling novel. Deeper, more complicated, and more ambitious than her previous books, it will keep readers on edge as they wait to see how these tense family dynamics play out.” - Library Journal (starred review)
“Fans of Greens female-centric bestsellers will relish this latest family melodrama, in which a single woman finds the perfect man and plans her happily-ever-after. Green paints a clear-eyed portrait of the challenges of stepparenting, while offering hope that in even the most damaged relationships, dreams can come true.”—People magazine
“An ambitious, at times devastating, and always wise novel that conveys the endless ways in which family both destroys us and saves us, very often at the same time.”—Jonathan Tropper, bestselling author of This is Where I Leave You
"Green ramps up the emotional stakes." —Kirkus Reviews
“A gripping story about motherhood.” --Kate White, editor-in-chief, Cosmopolitan magazine
"Jane Green surpasses herself in her latest novel, a powerful and moving story of a family on the edge of emotional wreckage, and how love truly can--when combined with strength, patience and a little bit of grace--conquer all. I flew through it, unable to sleep until I knew how it turned out. That's how much she made me care." -- Dani Shapiro, bestselling author of Devotion
"Jane Green writes of true love, instant families and the heartache of happily ever after with skill, grace and wisdom. You will laugh and cry as you read Andi's story, and you'll be inspired to pick up the phone and call your best friend to read a scene aloud. It's that good. It's that riveting. It's essential reading for the modern woman looking for connection and escape.”--Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Shoemaker's Wife
Review
Praise forFamily Pictures"Family Pictures left me feeling envious of the friends to whom I recommended the book, because they had the prospect of an engrossing story to gobble up in the near future. Green's novels consistently deliver believable, accessible, heartfelt, often heartwarming stories about real people, problems, and feelings." —Redbook"Will linger with you after you close the book." —People"A riveting story about two women who are strangers until a shocking secret brings them together."—SheKnows.com"Explores complex family dynamics with warmth. An inverted fairytale in which happily-ever-after occurs without the prince."—Kirkus Reviews"An absorbing read with a gratifying conclusions."—Booklist"The women she writes about are believable and likable characters, but their lives are also complicated and rooted in realities that keep them grounded."—Baltimore Sun"Bestselling author Greens compelling novel will shock and surprise readers with a startling revelation as surely as it will tug on their heartstrings. Once again she displays her gift for creating characters readers will care about."—RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)"Family Pictures is a page-turner with a fire lit to it…Green manages to entertain, while digging into the deep psyches of her characters to uncover the painful truth that lies within us all."—Woodbury Magazine
Synopsis
With Family Pictures, New York Times bestseller Jane Green delivers a riveting novel about two women whose lives intersect when a shocking secret is revealed From the author of Another Piece of My Heart comes the gripping story of two women who live on opposite coasts but whose lives are connected in ways they never could have imagined. Both women are wives and mothers to children who are about to leave the nest for school. They're both in their forties and have husbands who travel more than either of them would like. They are both feeling an emptiness neither had expected. But when a shocking secret is exposed, their lives are blown apart. As dark truths from the past reveal themselves, will these two women be able to learn to forgive, for the sake of their children, if not for themselves?
Synopsis
New York Times bestseller Jane Green delivers a riveting novel about two women whose lives intersect when a shocking secret is revealed From the author of Another Piece of My Heart comes the gripping story of two women who live on opposite coasts but whose lives are connected in ways they never could have imagined. Both women are wives and mothers to children who are about to leave the nest for school. They're both in their forties and have husbands who travel more than either of them would like. They are both feeling an emptiness neither had expected. But when a shocking secret is exposed, their lives are blown apart. As dark truths from the past reveal themselves, will these two women be able to learn to forgive, for the sake of their children, if not for themselves?
Synopsis
New York Times bestseller Jane Green delivers a riveting novel about two women whose lives intersect when a shocking secret is revealed From the author of Another Piece of My Heart comes Family Pictures, the gripping story of two women who live on opposite coasts but whose lives are connected in ways they never could have imagined. Both women are wives and mothers to children who are about to leave the nest for school. They're both in their forties and have husbands who travel more than either of them would like. They are both feeling an emptiness neither had expected. But when a shocking secret is exposed, their lives are blown apart. As dark truths from the past reveal themselves, will these two women be able to learn to forgive, for the sake of their children, if not for themselves?
About the Author
From the author of Another Piece of My Heart comes the gripping story of two women who live on opposite coasts but whose lives are connected in ways they never could have imagined. Both women are wives and mothers to children who are about to leave the nest for school. They're both in their forties and have husbands who travel more than either of them would like. They are both feeling an emptiness neither had expected. But when a shocking secret is exposed, their lives are blown apart. As dark truths from the past reveal themselves, will these two women be able to learn to forgive, for the sake of their children, if not for themselves?
Reading Group Guide
FAMILY PICTURES
Jane Green
Book Club Discussion Questions
1. First, a show of hands: Who among you knows someone who appeared to have picture-perfect life—only to see it all come crashing down? Take a moment to talk about perception versus reality in marriage and in family life. Did reading Family Pictures force you to take a closer look at the lives of your friends, your neighbors, yourselves? And if so, what did you see?
2. When we first meet Sylvie, she is contemplating what her life will be like once Eve goes away to college and she is on her own. Do you think its common for mothers to feel this way? Discuss the ways in which the female characters in Family Pictures struggle to find and define themselves in the domestic realm and beyond. You may wish to share your own personal experiences as well.
3. In an early scene with Sylvie and their friends, Mark tells a story about how his identity was stolen years ago. "Thats why Im paranoid," he said. "I know that people arent necessarily who they say they are." This is a recurring theme throughout the book; its also an example of how the author uses foreshadowing to set the stage for the eventual, shocking truth about Mark. What other examples can you recall? Could you predict any of the plot points? What were the most powerful "aha!" moments in Family Pictures for you?
4. Sylvie performs exhaustive online searches to locate photographs of Mark and his other family. Maggies landlords learn everything about her scandalous past via Google. Eve chats on Facebook to make new friends and Grace and Buck do the same to stay in touch. Talk a bit about the characters "virtual reality" in Family Pictures. What issues of privacy and/or oversharing do we all face in the Internet era? Are we closer to each other than ever before? Or does living in the second dimension allow us to carefully curate our identities…and lead double lives?
5. In the marital realm "were flawed," says Sylvie. "None of us is infallible." Do you agree? Do you view the laws of marriage in black and white? Or do you tend to see them in shades of gray? (E. L. James pun not intended!)
6. After Marks deception tears their lives apart, Sylvie is shielded by her friend Angies fierce love and loyalty; Maggie finds comfort in the company of Patty, Barb, and Mrs. W; and, in the end, Sylvie and Maggie are healed by one another. Talk about the power of female friendships in Family Pictures. (You may choose to bring Eve and Claudia/ Grace, into the discussion as well.)
7. "I have lost everything," Maggie says. "But in doing so, I cant help but start to wonder what ‘everything meant." How would you define Maggies everything? What is your own definition of "having it all?"
8. Eves eating disorder is one of the darker elements of the novel. Why do you think she starved herself? What was she trying to show or hide, control or let go of? Moreover, how did Eves illness function—for better or for worse—as a narrative device to bring all the characters closer together?
9. Another show of hands: Even though theyre obviously not related by blood—and did not know one another at all until they were young adults—do you find the love affair between Eve and Chris acceptable? Or too close for comfort? Discuss your reasons.
10. The real definition of a "modern family" is as good as anyones guess. What is your impression of the final snapshot we are left with in the novel? Is everybody in this family happier, as Sylvie suggests, than when Mark was in it? How do the losses measure against the gains? Do the ends justify the means?