A review by girlreading
Flawed by Cecelia Ahern
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!
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!