Review by Bridgetbruso99 -- Perfection and Other Illusiv...

[Bridgetbruso99]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Perfection and Other Illusive Things" by J Mercer.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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What if you woke up perfect? That's exactly what happens to Eden Calloway in J. Mercer's new book Perfection and Other Illusions . Eden's best friend, Billie wants her to be more like her. Wes wants her to be his girlfriend. Isaac wants to to follow the rules and fly right. Eden starts paying more attention to what she wants:to be less boring, Hawk (her poet crush), and be more like Ivy. And then one day she wakes up perfect. We are with Eden on her journey on trials of navigating her new found perfection, and it's not all fun and games.

I really enjoyed how the book was more focused on the girl within and her struggles with how she expected herself to be versus who everyone else wanted her to be. We are different things to different people and the author expressed this beautifully. The characters were rich and multi-dimensional. It really makes you think about what being perfect means. Being your authentic self is the theme of this book and the journey to get there is the story. Changes take adjustment and your true friends will stay with you through the end. That is why I gave this book 3 out of 4 stars .

The only thing I didn't like about this book was the chapter names. Sometimes the chapters had names for days of the week to indicate which chapters were the same day, and others were left blank. I would have preferred to have had all chapters having titles with something like "Monday Morning" or "Monday at Lunch" added to them to be more consistent and professional.

I think any reader who is in high school or has been in high school would enjoy this book. It is senioritis at it's best! It is very unique to find a story of a more accepted person wanting to join the counterculture. There is some language and adult situations, so I do not recommend this book under high school age level. As J. Mercer wrote on the dedication page:" To all types of girls that you see yourselves truly."

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Perfection and Other Illusive Things
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