Review: Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

Goodreads synopsis:

Everyone has something, someone, somewhere else that they’d rather be. For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there. Cara’s parents’ unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her, perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of love. Kendra covets the perfect face and body—no matter what surgeries and drugs she needs to get there. To score his perfect home run—on the field and off—Sean will sacrifice more than he can ever win back. And Andre realizes that to follow his heart and achieve his perfect performance, he’ll be living a life his ancestors would never have understood.
Everyone wants to be perfect, but when perfection loses its meaning, how far will you go? What would you give up to be perfect? A riveting and startling companion to the bestselling Impulse, Ellen Hopkins's Perfect exposes the harsh truths about what it takes to grow up and grow into our own skins, our own selves


Release Date: September 13, 2011
Pages: 622 (Hardcover)
Series? #2
Publisher: Margeret K. Mc Elderry Books

REVIEW:

Perfect is the sequel or companion to Impulse. What surprised me and what I really liked was how it was set at the same time as Impulse, featuring other characters. Among others, Conner's sister Cara and their family and his ex-girlfriend Kendra and her family.

Perfect was in many ways different from Impulse. For one, it didn't take place in a mental facility, but in a small town where the four characters lived.
With that came the aspect of what I'd call a bit more "normal" than Impulse. Although the four characters all struggle with something, most of the time the pressure of being perfect, the majority of them does not have to look back on a truly disturbing childhood.

Which then again, doesn't mean that they are a bunch of happy kids. Kendra has to deal with anorexia in this book, Cara finds herself in a family where noone really cares about anything concerning her - apart from her academical success maybe. Andre has trouble deciding if he should follow his parents' expectations or decide for himself what he wants to do with his life and Sean chooses the wrong way to get where he wants to be.

All these problems, though, felt a bit more identifiable to me, because I think the light versions are what every teen has to go through.
Another reason I could identify with the stories was, of course, again Hopkin's amazing writing style that transports you directly into the characters' skin and lets you become a part of the story.

All in all I think Perfect was another great, deep Ellen Hopkins novel. I'd recommend reading Impulse first, although if you think the stories in Impulse are more than you could handle, it might be a good decision to read Perfect first, because as I said I find it to be a little bit easier to read.

RATING: 3 out of 3 Smarties