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    Picture This: A Novel
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    Picture This: A Novel
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    Picture This: A Novel
    Ebook384 pages6 hours

    Picture This: A Novel

    By Jacqueline Sheehan

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Jacqueline Sheehan made serious waves with her much beloved runaway bestseller, Lost and Found. Now she treats readers to a sequel, Picture This—a story of rebirth and personal redemption that is as moving, funny, and heart-soaring as its predecessor.

    Peaks Island, Maine vibrates with its own special magic, a unique flow to life that knits together the small community that calls it home. The people, the animals, and even the houses have a charm and personality all their own. Just ask Rocky Pelligrino. Devastated by her husband Bob’s sudden death, she found hope thanks to a relentlessly loyal black Lab named Cooper. Warm friends and a new job—as the island’s Animal Control Warden—have helped Rocky chart a course toward a promising future. She’s even ready to try at love again with Hill, the gentle and patient archery instructor. And there is an old house haunted by lost love and forgotten secrets that speaks to her soul.

    But a phone call from a troubled young woman looking for her biological father shakes Rocky’s newfound joy. Could this young girl hold a tendril of the man who was the love of her life? Or could the girl’s appearance throw Rocky’s world into chaos . . . and shatter her heart again?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMay 22, 2012
    ISBN9780062101532
    Unavailable
    Picture This: A Novel
    Author

    Jacqueline Sheehan

    Jacqueline Sheehan, Ph.D., is a fiction writer and essayist, the bestselling author of the novels Lost & Found and Now & Then. Currently on the faculty of Writers in Progress and Grub Street in Massachusetts, she also offers international workshops on the combination of yoga and writing. She writes travel articles about lesser-known destinations and lives in Massachusetts.

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    Reviews for Picture This

    3.5/5

    70 ratings23 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Very enjoyable read for a quiet Saturday afternoon. Love Cooper the black lab!
    • 5/5
      PICTURE THIS brings back Rocky Pelligrino and her Peak’s Island community first met in Sheehan’s bestseller, LOST AND FOUND. The author’s fascination with using psychology to develop strong and complicated characters is back too, and this is a page-turner of a story. Rocky is contacted by Natalie, just out of foster care and convinced she’s the unacknowledged daughter of Rocky’s late husband, Bob. Or is she? Sheehan’s fourth novel is both an exciting read and a profound exploration of the damage done to childhood, the nature of evil, and the difficulty of knowing what is true.
    • 4/5
      This touching book reminds us all that we should love the ones we are with, but you never know what secrets that may be keeping. After Rocky's husband, Bob, passes away, a young woman claims that Bob is her father. Should Rocky trust the girl and welcome her into her life? Will it change how she feels about her deceased husband if he kept this child a secret all those years?With a strong voice and descriptive writing, Sheehan really brings her characters to life.
    • 2/5
      This is the sequel to Lost and Found, the story of a young widow and psychologist, struggling after her great loss, and her messy attempts to move on with life. She has settled in with the wonderful dog, Cooper, we met in ther first story, who is the best character in these books by far. This sequel was difficult to enjoy and I put it down several times. There is the introduction of a young disturbed character so hard to take that she steals the magic of the story. I did eventually finish the book and the widow, Rocky, finally regains some rational thinking. There are plot twists that make the last part of the book worthwhile reading, but you have to go through so much junk to get there. Finally,redemption comes at the end of the story, but the characters are not as likeable this time around.
    • 3/5
      I was very excited to find this sequel to "Lost & Found", because I really loved that book. So...although I enjoyed reading this book, I was still somewhat disappointed. It felt like everyone urged the author to write a sequel, so she did, but she wasn't completely feeling where the characters should go. Although she was certainly distraught in the first book, she seems to have completely lost her mind where Natalie is concerned. Did she really believe her beloved husband would have ignored and denied the existence of a daughter if he knew of her? Nope. Not buying it. Also, I loved Cooper's role in the first book. His voice is nearly absent here, and instead we have the house she wants to buy with it's own voice.I still enjoy her as an author and I'll look forward to future works, but it's just not a worthy follow-up to Lost & Found. Darn.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed reading this book,if you are an animal lover ,you would do well to read this book,and it's previous book"Lost and found".Cooper,our hero,is a lovable ,almost human,black lab.The "humans are readable,as well,each brings their personalities and tales to life. I thank Librarything for puting this book in my hands.
    • 3/5
      I received "Picture This" as a review copy, and only then realized that it was a sequel. Conveniently, I came across a bargain copy of "Lost and Found," so read it first, thinking the two would make good summer reading. They satisfied the fluff-on-the-beach requirement, and I found them mildly entertaining, but also repetitive and predictable.
    • 3/5
      It was hard for me to get into this book. It seemed like a lot of it had nothing to do with anything. It was just filler or a setup for the next book. I did finally get into it, but it was really implausible. I liked the first book a lot more.
    • 4/5
      'Picture This' begins as Rocky, a recently widowed transplant to Peaks Island is contacted by a young woman who claims to be her deceased husbands child. Rocky is shocked and surprised but offers the girl a temporary home until they can prove paternity by DNA testing. Trouble is Rocky disposed of her husbands personal belongings long ago and there is no DNA to be found. The young woman Natalie is a result of the Foster Care system and all it's flaws, she has had a tough time of it, but is she really all she appears to be? Cooper, Rocky's' big black lab is not so sure.I'm a sucker for any story with a dog in it and this book did not disappoint. Cooper, the main characters pet, is not exactly the star of the show but certainly has a wonderful personality and plays a big role in all the characters lives and story line. I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it for a fun, light read. Good characters and an interesting story with an ending I did not expect. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      A wonderful sequel that weaves in some threads from the first novel but gives us new characters and a new story just as great as the first. I loved this book, I was anticipating recieving it and found it to be as much of a feel good read as I thought it would be. Reccomended as a beach read, a rainy day read or an anytime comfort read!
    • 3/5
      Rocky has been living on Peaks Island, Maine for over a year since her 42 year old husband Bob died suddenly of a heart attack. She has finally begun putting the pieces of her life back together when a young woman named Natalie calls claiming to be Bob's daughter. Rocky's new world is shaken by the possibility that a part of Bob still exists. Natalie is damaged, having been left by her mother and passed through the foster care system, but Rocky is determined to be the family Natalie never had, something she knows for sure that Bob would want his daughter to have. Rocky's friends are concerned as she begins making quick and large decisions about her life based on Natalie as part of her family before Rocky is even sure that Bob was Natalie's father, and Natalie's appearance particularly puts a wedge between Rocky, Melissa, Cooper and Hill.Is Natalie who she says she is? If so, how can Rocky gently assimilate her and create their own new family?If Natalie is not who she says she is, then what is her true agenda? And how will the lives of those at Peaks Island be affected?What I LikedRocky's relationship with Melissa - these two have figured out a way to co-exist...counselor and eating disordered teen...without every really discussing Melissa's problem...it's as if they have their own language about it. This speaks volumes to me about what kind of counselor Rocky was...a very smart one indeed...she knows when to push, when to back away, and when to ease into something. This is also the reason I was so mad at Rocky through half the book when she started acting like a doofus.Hill - what a guy. Rocky's ambivalence toward him frustrated me. Is it so hard to find an honest, hardworking fella to spend the rest of your life with? And, would it be too much for her to quit jumping to conclusions? Melissa - I want to know more about this girl. Damaged herself, she doesn't take crap from anybody...and she sees the truth before anyone else does. She's found her therapy in Cooper and in her newfound eye for photography, and she fights her eating disorder straight on without whining.Tess and Len - this is THE love story, the recovering alcoholic ex-husband who realizes all he's missed, but is satisfied with being friends with his ex-wife if that's all she'll allow him to be.The End - everything's not wrapped up in a nice little package at the end, leaving room for another Cooper/Rocky novel :) but also when you're dealing with damaged individuals (and aren't we all damaged somehow?), every single day is a work in progress. Everybody can't be saved - there's a huge bite of reality here...those who want to work on their issues work on them. Those who don't, don't. And, sometimes damaged people are just too far gone, some hurt runs too deep, and trauma can change a person's very core.What I Didn't LikeThe House's perspective - I can actually see where a story told from a House's perspective or as a major part of another story would be effective...but this felt thrown in to me. There were only a few places where the old house Rocky buys is the focus of the chapter, but again, it just didn't feel right.When Natalie appears, Rocky loses it. Her behavior becomes erratic and I got really really tired of it. She could also come up with some really corny reasons to justify her impulsive actions...and the mother instinct thing got old fast as well...who in their right mind would long to parent a teenager...let alone allow one to move into your home without checking him/her out thoroughly????? Honestly, when I looked back at my annotations in the book before writing this review, I actually found some frowny faces, the comment "OH BROTHER" and several cartoon faces with the tongue stuck out. I loved one particular quote by Melissa because she said EXACTLY what I was feeling, "It was like Rocky had gone stupid." I drew a big smiley face with stick hair by this comment :PAs much as I dislike this Rocky, I realized eventually that Sheehan very possibly made me feel that way on purpose. I just wish she'd let me in on her strategy a little sooner because honestly for about 1/2 the book, I was so disappointed...then WHAM, here we go. I couldn't put it down after that.Natalie - I can't say much here except that she gave me chills in places...and not the happy kind.Overall RecommendationAs with Lost and Found, an interest in animals and psychology are a must for this story as is reading Lost and Found first. I think if you've read Lost and Found and already love these characters, you'll push through the slow parts and get to the really good stuff.
    • 3/5
      Rocky Pelligrino moved to Peaks Island, Maine after the unexpected death of her husband. Reeling from her loss, she traded in her job as a college psychologist for animal control warden on the island. In this sequel to Lost and Found, Rocky is slowly unfreezing emotionally and starting to make connections and open her heart up to life again. She has some wonderful neighbors who care about her, a budding romantic relationship, a thoughtful boss, and of course, Cooper, the big black lab, who saved her as surely as she saved him from the arrow that almost killed him.But recovery is fragile and Rocky is about to get derailed. First the phone rings and a girl claiming to be the biological daughter of Rocky's late husband is on the other end. Then she sees Hill, for whom she has come to care quite a lot, with his estranged wife and she knows that she cannot tolerate a cheater. She is completely emotionally overwhelmed and makes some impulsive choices without thinking things through. She breaks it off with Hill before she even hears his explanation. She buys a house on the island which needs some serious renovation. And she invites the very damaged Natalie, who might or might not be Bob's biological daughter, to move in with her thinking that this girl/woman could be a way for her to preserve a piece of Bob.The narration of the book rotates among the different characters, including Cooper the dog and the neglected house Rocky's bought. This allows the reader to see the internal motivations of not only Rocky as the main character but also those around her. And it is in being privy to every character's thoughts that the reader realizes, long before Rocky does, that everything is not as it seems and she needs to be on her guard. While this narrative technique gives the reader additional insight into the story, it is initially a bit choppy and the addition of Cooper's narration and the house's narration might come off as too far fetched for some readers. It is frustrating, if understandable, to watch Rocky, who is clearly intelligent, make such foolhardy choices because she is still so close to the clutches of crippling grief.Rocky's relationships with the other characters seem very tenous in the novel. Perhaps reading the first book would have changed this for this reader, laying a groundwork missing here. Rocky's attachment to Natalie and her horror at hearing how the foster system damaged her beyond belief is much better fleshed out, as it must be since Natalie is a new character in this book. And really, the story here centers around Rocky and Natalie and the truth that stands between them rather than about Rocky and the community of people who have embraced her. There is some pretty strong foreshadowing here but the actual turn of events in the end of the novel are surprising. The tension increases as the story progresses and the island folk become embroiled in a situation not of their making. Some of the resolutions are a little too easy but overall this is a nice read and fans of the first book will enjoy revisiting with Rocky and Cooper and the people of Peaks Island.
    • 3/5
      I never read Lost and Found, though I will probably pick it up now, but I found this book enjoyable. Not great, but readable. The author spent a lot of time setting up the situation, to the detriment of the story. I would have liked to have seen more of Hill and Isaiah--the set up led me to believe that I would. Then the crisis and the wrap up seemed to happen pretty quickly.
    • 4/5
      Rocky, Tess, and Melissa are very likable characters, the kind of people anyone would like to have for a friend. Natalie is easy to dislike and mistrust. Copper is a Big Lovable character himself. The story line is also very believable and easy to imagine. My only problem with this book is that it could have been shorter. But don't let that stop you from reading is wonderful book.jjjjo=]-
    • 4/5
      Intriguing story of love lost, canine devotion and the heartbreaking effects of child abuse. Rocky Pelligrino is a young, childless widow grieving the death of her husband. She has rescued a wounded black Lab who helps her from the abyss of her sorrow. Eighteen year old Natalie is the victim of child abuse and the product of the foster care system. She contacts Rocky claiming that she is the daughter of her late husband. The mystery of Natalie's paternity and what her agenda is plays out in the tranquil setting of Peaks Island. The characters are believable and the dog's perspective is heartwarming. Enjoyable reading.
    • 4/5
      Picture This is the sequel to one of my favorite summer reads from a few years ago: Lost and Found by Jacqueline Sheehan. It is the story of Rocky, a grieving widow, whose husband died suddenly and she goes to Peaks Island off the coast of Portland, Maine to recuperate. She puts her old life on hold, and temporarily becomes the islands game warden where she helps a wounded black Lab, named Cooper, go through a tenuous recovery and he helps her towards her healing. In this book we meet up again with the people on the island that befriended her; including an emotionally fragile teenager that she and Cooper had helped through a difficult time. Rocky is now more settled into island life and is wondering if the time has come to go back to her old life, when another teenager, recently aged out of foster care, turns everything upside down.These are great characters, interesting, and special and flawed. The author built so much tension into the 2nd half of the book that I couldn’t put it down until I found out what happened. If you love dogs, mysteries and want to spend time visiting Maine you’ll love this novel. There are some psychologically scary moments with children, so be forewarned. I’m glad she wrote a sequel and hope there will be more. Read through the Amazon Vine program.
    • 4/5
      The sequel to "Lost & Found". The story picks up right where it left off, but immediately throws a wrench into the life Rocky has made for herself. Out of nowhere Natalie calls, an 18 yr old girl claiming that Rocky's late husband is her father. Twists and turns in the story this time make for a good follow up to the first book. Cooper the Labrador once again shines as one of the principle components of the story.
    • 4/5
      Good story. I enjoyed this book. The cover says that this book is a sequel to another title by the author. I had not read the first one. I have now added the first one to my list.The book was easy to read. The plot twist was excellent. The characters were all pretty much average people. The dog was exactly as I could imagine him. I will look forward to reading more from this author. I hope to read more stories with these characters.
    • 4/5
      I loved the varied and many characters on this book, but especially the very human Cooper the black lab. There is Rocky, the grieving widow learning to love and trust again and Natalie the wounded girl that came from an abused past. Even the decrepit house that Rocky purchases has its own personality and starts to come to life under Rocky's care. The characters are believable and each has their own vulnerability that is so beautifully revealed by the story. I loved them all! If you want a fun, easy summer read, this is your book.
    • 5/5
      In this sequel to JS's first book Lost & Found, Rocky Pelligrino is still living on Peak’s Island off the coast of Maine with Cooper, the black Lab she rescued in the first book. Still healing from the death of her husband, it’s time for her to decide whether or not to return to her home in Massachusetts and her career as a psychologist on a college campus. Then a phone call from a stranger looking for her biological father sends her life into a tailspin. Could her husband have fathered a child and not known about it? On an impulse, she invites the girl to come and stay with her. Natalie has recently turned 18 and been released from the foster care system. She claims that when she left the foster care system, she asked to see her records and found another birth certificate in them indicating that Rocky’s husband was her father. There’s the impression that this could be a scam or maybe it’s real. The author deftly weaves the story to allow for both possibilities.Many characters from the first book appear in the second book; however, doesn't depend too much on what happened in the first book, so it can be read as a stand-alone book. There are plenty of side stories and issues to keep the story interesting. The suspense builds – there were times when I couldn’t stop reading and times when I had to put it down, afraid to know where the author might go next. And I especially liked the chapters written from the dog’s point of view.
    • 4/5
      This book is the sequel to Lost and Found. I won 'Picture This' through Librarything and I borrowed Lost and Found from the library so I would know the characters. I highly recommend both books. I love books that show the love of animals for their human companions.
    • 3/5
      In my opinion, three stars is a good solid read. This book is the second in a series, by Jacqueline Sheehan is indeed a solid read. The story revolves around Rocky Pelligrino, and her dog Cooper. She also has acat and they live comfortably in a cozy cottage she is renting from her current employer. Rocky is there to recover from a personal loss, as she recently became a young widow, and took a break from her career to work out her feelings and consider her life and her options. She iscurrently working as the Peak Island Maine's animal control warden. She is deciding whether to take her rescue pets and return to her former life in Massachusetts, and her former life and career. When she receives a phone call from a young woman claiming to be her dead husbands daughter, that becomes her entire focus. She is still vulnerable enough to hope that some essence of the loveof her life exists. She suddenly begins to make some questionable choices, and the good friends she has made on the island are concerned for her. Some of these choices took away from the story for me. It is far easier to suspend belief if you are reading a fantasy or sci fi novel. When a woman's fictionteeters into the realm of wondering if the character has lost her mind, suspending belief is a bit more difficult, in my opinion. This was a fine read for a rainy afternoon, but I will not be following the series.
    • 3/5
      Rocky is a recently widowed 39-year-old animal control warden, living on an island off the Maine coast. When she receives a phone call from a young woman who claims to be her deceased husband's child, she invites Natalie to come stay with her temporarily. A very promising beginning, but I wasn't as enchanted with the whole package as I had hoped.Sheehan spends a lot of time bringing the reader up to speed on events from her previous novel, Lost and Found, which I have not read, and, in which most of the characters in the current story were introduced. Although all the narration is third person, each chapter focuses on one of the characters, including Cooper, an amazing and lovable black Labrador retriever. They are not particularly well-drawn, and a couple of them are downright irritating. Tess is a physical therapist who has lost her synesthesia (the ability to smell colors and hear textures, among other powers), and if she had spent one more moment lamenting it, I was ready to tell her to get over it. The rest of us manage OK in a non-synesthetic world.Sheehan's style seems more suited to a teen-age audience than to adults, and perhaps I missed that in the description of the book. A few too many coincidences, too much repetition is some cases, not enough explanation in others, left me confused and somewhat frustrated. The love story didn't really work.But....all that being said, the author addresses problems in the foster-care system, deals to some extent with the grieving process, and spins a tale of damage and deceit of which the last fifty pages were quite suspenseful. I was happy with a not-too-saccharine, believable ending. And I loved Cooper!