Perfect
by Natasha Friend
Milkweed, 2004, 172pp., $6.95 ISBN 1-57131-651-5
Perfect is about a 13-year-old girl who’s father died. She is facing problems every girl faces at one time or another in her life. She thinks she’s fat and does one of the worst things you could do in that situation, she becomes bulimic.
When her younger sister, April, finds her leaning over the toilet puking, Isabelle realizes that her secret is about to become big news. Instead of letting April tell their mom Isabelle bribes her. Isabelle tries everything she can think of; the tank top with a stain, the wonder bra, and the red boots, but of course Ape face doesn’t want any of it. April put in her idem that she wanted, Isabelle’s Mountain Bike. When Isabelle tells her no way April breaks the code of sister hood, she told her mom!
Isabelle and her mom’s compromise was having Isabelle go to “group”. In-group Isabelle meets the most unusual people including the most popular girl in school, Ashley Barnum!
Though group, Isabelle and Ashley become great friends and realize they have more in common then they thought.
Perfect is a great book for teenage girls, and girls with eating disorders. Even though I don’t have an eating disorder, it really opened my eyes and made me realize that things like that really happen. And that if you try hard enough you can make most, not all, but most things happen.
When my sister first recommended Perfect to me I thought, “Why the heck would my 13-year-old sister want me, a 10-year-old, to read a book about a girl who makes her self through-up?” But after I read the first two pages I was hooked!
This is my second favorite book; it has drama; people throwing up, and people losing friends, sadness; a dad dying, thinking your fat, and your best friends hating you, weird moments; eating every thing in your friends cabinet, and things you would never do.
I would recommend it to anyone and every one in the age group of 10-20. It’s a great book about friendship, goals, beauty, trust and much more.
~ reviewed by Audrey
