Perfect You
by Elizabeth Scott
Book Summary (from Amazon)
Kate Brown’s life has gone downhill fast. Her father has quit his job to sell vitamins at the mall, and Kate is forced to work with him. Her best friend has become popular, and now she acts like Kate’s invisible.
And then there’s Will. Gorgeous, unattainable Will, whom Kate acts like she can’t stand even though she can’t stop thinking about him. When Will starts acting interested, Kate hates herself for wanting him when she’s sure she’s just his latest conquest.
Kate figures that the only way things will ever stop hurting so much is if she keeps to herself and stops caring about anyone or anything. What she doesn’t realize is that while life may not always be perfect, good things can happen — but only if she lets them….
Britney’s Book Review
What I liked most about Perfect You is that it is realistic. The problems that the main character, Kate, goes through are hard to read at times, but it makes them that much more relatable.
Basically, Kate’s dad quits his corporate job in order to fulfill his so-called dream of selling vitamins at the mall. This takes a huge toll on Kate’s family financially, especially now that she has to help her dad sell the vitamins at the mall. As if that isn’t bad enough, her best friend Anna ditches her at the beginning of the year for the more popular crowd, leaving Kate lost and friendless.
What I really like about this book is the way Scott keeps you rooting for the wrong team. You want Kate’s dad to wake up and realize that his family is more important than his vitamin dream. You want Anna to be best friends with Kate again. When it comes down to it, she leaves it up to you to decide who is the bad guy.
And then there is the boy. (There’s always one, isn’t there?) Kate and Will have a jumble of feelings towards each other, which range from sarcastic to passionate to completely stubborn. Another reason I couldn’t put this book down was because of the chemistry between the two of them, and wondering if they were going to eventually be good for each other.
Scott reminds me of Sarah Dessen, but it’s definitely refreshing. She brings out the perfect voice for Kate. As a reader, you’re chucking at a joke she cracks. You’re feeling her anger and resistance towards her parents. You even want to yell at her for not picking up typical boy signs from Will. But it’s all a part of being sixteen again; trying to sort out millions of feelings while not wanting to accept that life isn’t always fair.
This is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. I fell in love with the characters, and the fact that the story line is not cliché. I loved that I didn’t know what to expect, even at the very end. It really brings you back to high school, whether that’s good or bad, it’s still a wholly relatable experience.
