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Perfect    by Ellen Hopkins Amazon.com order for
Perfect
by Ellen Hopkins
Order:  USA  Can
Margaret K. McElderry, 2011 (2011)
Hardcover, CD, e-Book

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* *   Reviewed by Lyn Seippel

Four high school seniors strive for perfection in their lives. But who decides what perfection means? Meeting the goals others have for them won't always allow them to be true to themselves.

Kendra spent her childhood being driven to beauty competitions by her mother. It'll soon pay off in a modeling contract. If she can just get down to a size two.

Cara understands why her twin brother attempted suicide. Striving for the perfection expected by their parents is an unwinnable situation. Now she's been left to meet her parents' expectations alone.

Sean's quest for an athletic scholarship from Stanford relies on perfect hits and runs. It was his dad's plan that he become a baseball superstar. Sean's plan includes going to college wherever Cara goes. He'll do whatever it takes to manage both.

Andre wants to be a dancer. He's afraid to share his passion with his parents so he keeps his dance lessons a secret. Dancing instead of college won't fit into their plans for their only son.

This is a companion book to Hopkins' novel Impulse which features Cara's twin brother Conner. Perfect alternates points of view between the four seniors. Cara shows the most strength of character of the four, followed by Andre whose problems aren't as unsolvable. It's written in Hopkins' usual style of lyrical and narrative prose, so that readers will soon get caught up in the lives of Cara, Kendra, Sean and Andre. Perfect is thought provoking and often sad.

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