Perfect

by Natasha Friend

The Author
Natasha Friend, author of Perfect, has also written Lush, Bounce, For Keeps, My Life in Black and White, and Paul Tucci en ik/ drunk 1. She’s won many awards, Milkweed Prize for Children's literature, The Golden Sower Award for State of Nebraska, A.L.A. Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers Association Teen Choice, and Rhode Island Teen Book Award Winner 2008. Natasha has always wanted to be a writer. She also sees herself in a lot of her characters. While writing Perfect she saw herself as Isabelle because of her problems and strength, yet many of her friends might say she’s more of an Ashley Barnum because from the outside shes perfect. She had a personal experience with an eating disorder when she was younger. As a gymnast she took laxatives (once) and binged then vomited. She found the name Perfect because of the simplicity and irony.

The Story
Perfect is about a typical teenage girl. The main character Isabelle Eliza Lee is a 13 year old 8th grader who faces many daily challenges like the death of her dad a few years ago and an eating disorder. She thinks she’s too fat so she finds a dangerous way to “diet.” She starts going to an eating disorder group once a week where she discovers one of her classmates, Ashley Barnum, also attends. Ashley’s the prettiest person in school and she seems so Perfect, it shocks Isabelle when she sees her.
Milkweed Editions. 172 Pages. $7.95.

Critique
In this book I loved how the author describes her thoughts in great detail. It helps the reader understand the story line more because you know all her feelings. Another thing I liked was how at the beginning of a chapter the first sentence either gives what you’re going to be reading about or some of the setting. I also really liked the part of the story line where things were kept secret, because it made the story so much more interesting and fun to read. Last I liked the little icon pictures at the beginning because it also helped get a visual of what would be going on.

Book List. “Isabelle's grief and anger are movingly and honestly portrayed, and her eventual empathy for her mother is believable and touching.” DEBBIE CARTON.

Publishers Weekly. “The story arc here is fairly predictable: Isabelle learns that Ashley's life is not so perfect after all, and this combined with therapy puts her on the road to recovery.” COPYRIGHT 2004 REED BUSINESS INFORMATION.

Teenreads. “PERFECT would be an excellent book for mothers and preteen/teen daughters to read together. The damaged relationship between Isabelle and her mother is a key element of the book, as is the acknowledgment that eating disorders are becoming problems for younger and younger girls.” NORAH PIEHL.