Reviews

YES YES YES!!! This was an amazing book with a great message!! NOBODY'S PERFECT. PERFECT IS OVERRATED. BE FLAWED, BE PROUD. I loved Celestine's character and all the characters in between. Celestine is a realistic character who really never chose to be a leader. She's different then most protagonists in dystopian novels and I love it. She has to try super hard to be someone to cause change. I liked how the author placed focus on the plot and the Guild. Instead of focusing on minor things like Art or Carrick, Ahern really wanted to show the outcomes of having pressure to be perfect. I just hope there's no love triangle in the next book. Otherwise GREAT READ.

2020:
I think I love this book even more now. Lately I’ve been finding myself struggling with perfectionism and I’ve been working myself till I burn out which is so not good. This book really acted as a reminder that I am allowed to make mistakes and I shouldn’t be treated differently because of it if I learn from it and grow. Truly an amazing book. Cant wait to read Perfect again!!

girlreading's review

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4.0

I unexpectedly enjoyed this so much! I say unexpectedly because I've not read many dystopians in the past, due to being a little dubious of the genre after the huge surge of them a few years ago but this had me hooked from the moment it started. The concept was very intriguing, although sometimes the parallels between this fictional government and historical governments was a little unsettling and questionable! An aspect I really enjoyed and appreciated was the fact that being deemed 'perfect' wasn't synonymous with anything other than your actions. People weren't deemed 'flawed' because of anything that people have been oppressed because of )in the past or present), which is something I'll admit I was initially concerned about with this book. Being 'flawed' or 'perfect' had nothing to do with how you looked, who you loved, what you believe in etc. Instead it's about whether you lie, steal, or are disloyal to the government etc. That being said, the plot focus's on just how flawed these laws and government ideas are!

I really enjoyed the characters in this and what I especially loved in the main character, Celestine, was how quickly she began to question the authority figures and everything she's grown up understanding, which is something I've doing often takes characters far too long to do. She also soon begins to recognise her own prejudices against people who are 'flawed' and on numerous occasions calls herself out on them, which I thought was really great.

"I don't expect them to show any gratitude for something that should have been said from the beginning."

At times she definitely makes some questionable decisions and comments but you definitely see her character grow throughout the book! The family dynamics were also really interesting to read and watch evolve and I kind of love the fact that, despite there being a romance, it definitely took the back burner to the action and questions the story bought up.

I did want to put a trigger warning that there are some quite violent and distressing scenes in this, which definitely shocked for a YA. So if that's something you're more sensitive to, you might want to give this a miss.
But although those scenes definitely distressing to read, I found it somewhat refreshing to see some darker, gritty scenes and having a YA book pushing the boundaries. But again, I do want to put a trigger warning on it, as it's not something I expected and I can see it potentially being upsetting to some readers.

Overall, this book definitely made me think. It's fast pace made it a total page turner, although I will say that I'm still undecided on how I feel about a few of the elements featured. However I'm definitely intrigued to see how this story ends in the next book!

lori_89's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

A different genre of read for me. I couldn't get through the book fast enough. I wanted to keep going to see what would happen next to Celestine the main character after she is found to be flawed in her society this now puts her in a new lifestyle not locked up but treated as a criminal of sorts. Curfew. Basic food only forever. People around her that have known her for life refusing to talk or look at her for a simple compassionate act that should not be punished in anyway.

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