Kid Konnection: Perfect

Four high school students are seeking perfection, each in their own way, but at what cost?  They all struggle and have to give up a part of themselves in order to pursue an ideal that has been thrust upon them by their parents or society.  The four students are:

• Cara – her parents expect her to do whatever it takes to get accepted by Stanford
• Sean – is trying to live his late father’s dream of becoming a professional athlete
• Kendra – hopes to become a model and pursues society’s ideal of physical perfection
• Andre – his parents have big dreams for him, but all he wants to do is dance

Perfect, by Ellen Hopkins, is written in verse and is told from the points of view of all four students and, let me just say, this book is phenomenal!  It touches on so many issues facing teens – drug and alcohol use, sexuality, suicide, date rape, eating disorders, just to name a few.  With so many issues, I would generally say an author tried to do too much in one book, but in  Hopkins’ capable hands it works- every issue seemed to be a natural part of the story.  The author’s note and the statistics in the back of the book make quite an impact as well.  Reading this book made me realize just how difficult it is to be a teen these days because it all felt very realistic.  It’s hard for me to express just how much I loved this book but the fact that I was in tears and emotionally drained as I finished it should tell you a lot.

If you’ve never read a book written in verse, don’t let that deter you from picking this one up.  Because of the format, readers feel the emotions and experience the thoughts of the narrators and, believe me, it’s powerful.  Don’t let the length deter you either – because of the format, it reads fairly quickly.

I think Perfect is a must read for older YA readers and their parents.  It will give them a lot to think about and discuss.  I also think this would be a wonderful book for a high school English class.  There is some language and sexuality in the book but it’s so well done and appropriate, I can’t imagine it offending anyone.  If I were a bookseller, I’d thrust this book into the hands of every teen who walked through the door.

For more children’s books reviews, go to Booking Mama’s feature, Kid Konnection. If you’d like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children’s books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week,  leave a comment as well as a link on her site.

Review copy provided by Simon & Schuster.  I am an Indiebound Affiliate.