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Then Phoebe's mother, Beth, becomes the traveling spokeswoman for Bee Beautiful Cosmetics, a job that keeps her away from home indefinitely, and Phoebe's father, a respected judge, finds himself embroiled in a trial that has the whole town choosing sides. What's more, the new next-door neighbor is a gorgeous widow who seems to want to take Beth's place in the family. All of a sudden Phoebe's once-solid family is on very shaky ground.
In the year that follows, Phoebe is pushed to her limit as she struggles to cope with the changes in her life that just keep coming, ready or not -- and as she learns what it really means to love...and to forgive.
Gr 6-9
Phoebe Trask's story begins with the hot Texas summer before her freshman year in high school. A self-proclaimed daddy's girl, still Phoebe struggles when her mother becomes a traveling spokeswoman for a cosmetics company, virtually abandoning the family. Phoebe's sister is away at college; her best friend recently moved; and her father, a judge, is always busy, so she and her brother often find themselves on their own. Then a new next-door neighbor shakes things up: Beverly Grace, a lonely writer recently returned from Italy, strikes up a friendship with the judge. As Phoebe worries about events like her first kiss and her first dance, she also worries that her family won't survive her parents' separation. When her mother finally comes home for good, it is because she has been diagnosed with cancer. Despite a plethora of issues cluttering the plot (including a controversial case that the judge must decide and Phoebe's boyfriend's alcoholic father), the family dynamics are realistic, and the protagonist's voice rings true. The uplifting ending will leave readers satisfied.
—Laurie SlagenwhiteCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Anonymous
Posted October 29, 2011
This book is wonderful to read and I would recommend it to many other girls out there. I coud read again and again!
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Posted February 27, 2011
This book was very interesting and kept me turning the pages. A young person might find this book very good.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 9, 2009
I Also Recommend:
I am a sophomore at Holt High School and I recently read the book Picture Perfect by D. Anne Love. I read this book because the title was intriguing and the front cover said "A picture is worth a thousand words.but does it tell the whole story?"
The main characters are Phoebe, a fourteen-year-old; Zane, Phoebe's stubborn older brother; Phoebe's father; Shyla, Phoebe's older sister; and Beth, Phoebe's mother. Phoebe lives with her parents and her brother Zane in Texas. Phoebe's sister moved to a bigger town to become a lawyer. Phoebe's mother is a traveling spokeswomen for a beauty product called Bee Beautiful Cosmetics. She got a promotion to move out of state to further her career, and didn't have any hesitation of leaving her family behind. The family kept in touch but Phoebe was upset that her mom could just walk out like that and prefer her job over her family.
Meanwhile a new neighbor moves in and Phoebe's father has an interest in her. The family goes through many struggles while the Beth is gone. Phoebe and her brother create a closer bond because they have to work together to keep the family running the right coarse. They are all on shaky grounds but make it through the rough times whether there ready or not.
The main theme in this book is family.
I would recommend this book to teenage girls who like to read about family struggles and how they get through it.
This book connects to many movies and books, including The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Alice series.
I would give this book 4 stars out of 5. It is very intriguing and the conflicts keep coming. There is not one part of the book that is boring.
PICTURE PERFECT is like a photo album depicting a year in the life of the Trask family. The family is headed by Judge Trask, a respected member of the Eden community. His wife, Beth, is a saleswoman for Bee Beautiful cosmetics. Shyla Trask is an honor student attending college in Austin. Zane is a popular high school student, and youngest sibling, Phoebe, has just turned fourteen.
Life is fairly typical for the Trask family until the day Beth Trask wins a contest with Bee Beautiful comestics, and while attending the convention in Las Vegas decides not to return home. Judge Trask, Zane, and Phoebe are left to fend for themselves. What follows is a year of change and confusion.
The summer begins with a new neighbor, beautiful Beverly, moving in next door. She is determined to become part of the family and seems particularly smitten with Judge Sumner Trask. Phoebe and Zane begin to suspect that they need to keep their eyes on her or they may find their mother has been replaced.
As fall arrives, Phoebe struggles to begin her first year of high school. Without her mother's presence, Phoebe depends on rare but welcome help from her older sister and the constant butting-in of neighbor Beverly. Zane rebels by joining his buddies in some teenage-type vandalism, and incurs the wrath of the Judge. The Judge has his own problems when faced with a difficult case that results in threats to his family's safety.
The Trask family muddles through on the home front until Beth Trask finally comes to her senses and returns from her saleswoman adventures. Her return is not all sunshine and roses however, since her first announcement is that she has cancer. And the year continues...
D. Anne Love brings the Trask family struggles to life with believable characters and experiences. From Phoebe's first kiss to Judge Trask's beating, readers will keep turning pages to find out what will happen next.
Anonymous
Posted April 5, 2008
this is an amazing book it has it all..... i really enjoyed it i could not put it down!i would read it a million more times if i could
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Posted October 12, 2007
I really enjoyed this book. It was very well written and D. Anne Love has a very good writing sense. I would recommend this book to young teenage girls. I also would recommend this to anyone going through family problems and see how someone else handled it and to try and help you out.
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Posted December 25, 2010
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Posted January 9, 2010
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Posted October 28, 2008
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Posted July 10, 2011
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Overview
So far, life for fourteen-year-old Phoebe Trask has been picture perfect. Her parents are successful; her older sister, Shyla, is on track to becoming the youngest lawyer in Texas; and her sixteen-year-old brother, Zane, the all-American best brother ever, is a star on the high school swim team.
Then Phoebe's mother, Beth, becomes the traveling spokeswoman for Bee Beautiful Cosmetics, a job that keeps her away from home indefinitely, and Phoebe's father, a respected judge, finds himself embroiled in a trial that has the whole town choosing sides. What's more, the new next-door neighbor is a gorgeous widow who seems to want to take Beth's place in the ...