Perfect by Natasha Friend

Perfect
Author: Natasha Friend
Appropriate For Ages: 13 and up
Number of Pages: 172
Lexile: 590
Bean's Rating: Bertie Bott's Beans


Summary:

After the death of her father, Isabelle Lee struggles with an eating disorder. After her sister April catches her making herself throw up, her mom forces her to attend a therapy group. There, she sees a seemingly perfect, extremely popular girl from school, Ashley Barnum, who struggles with bulimia just like she does. They bond over their binging/purging habits, and Isabelle begins to sit with Ashley at the popular table at lunch. Through group therapy, and with the help of her Aunt, Isabelle begins to connect with her mother and sister again and realizes that even if someone looks perfect on the outside, they are not always truly happy with themselves.

My Thoughts:

When I first read Perfect, I definitely thought it looked interesting, but I had no idea just how good it would be. Natasha Friend crafts a beautiful novel and provides enormous insight into the world of the bulimic. Isabelle is a very strong, young girl and seemingly has the weight of the world put on her shoulders. It's hard to imagine how bad that would be, and the extent that she goes to purge herself completely matches her situation's severity.

I loved Ashley Barnum's character as well. She was the person my parents always tell me about. My mom always says to me, "Even though their life seems perfect, it never really is. Every one's got something they're dealing with." That's exactly how it was with her. She was this girl, who, according to Isabelle, was absolutely flawless, but in reality was dealing with a lot herself. It wasn't until Isabelle got to truly know her that she found out that she wasn't "perfect".

Overall, this book was very well written and had very strong characters. The feeling encompassed in these 176 pages was immense. I loved it, and I know you will too.