Perfect Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B005MM7HNY | Format: PDF
Perfect Description
New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins makes her Simon & Schuster Audio debut with the young adult novel, Perfect.
Everyone has something, someone, somewhere else that they'd rather be. For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there.
Cara's parents' unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother spiraling toward suicide. For her, "perfect" means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of love. Kendra covets the perfect face and body - no matter what surgeries and drugs she needs to get there. Sean will sacrifice more than he can ever win back in order to score his perfect home run - on the field and off. And Andre realizes that to follow his heart and achieve his perfect performance, he'll be living a life his ancestors would never understand.
A riveting and startling companion to the best-selling Impulse, Ellen Hopkins's Perfect exposes the harsh truths about what it takes to grow up - and grow into our own selves. Because everyone wants to be perfect, but when perfection loses its meaning, how far will you go?
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 8 hours and 9 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Audible.com Release Date: September 13, 2011
- Whispersync for Voice: Ready
- Language: English
- ASIN: B005MM7HNY
Wow. In the companion to Impulse, Ellen Hopkins shares with us what is going on back home while Connor is at Aspen Springs. Puts his life into more of a context then you got in Impulse. Terrifying.
Yet another book that left me crying at the end.
Summary: It is so hard to be perfect. Cara's parents have expectations for her that no one can live up to, Kendra pushes her body to the limit to reach beauty, Sean will do anything to be the best athlete he can be, and Andre is hiding his true ambitions from everyone. All 4 teenagers just want to please those around them, but is it worth the risks and consequences?
What I Think: Perfect runs parallel to Ellen Hopkins's Impulse. While Connor is at Aspen Springs, the psychiatric hospital, in Impulse, Perfect follows his sister and some of their friends back home. In Impulse sometimes I couldn't connect with Connor and the way he was feeling, but Perfect gives you the back story I wished for- and more! I now truly understand why Connor ended up where he did.
One of my favorite parts of the book was whenever the point of view changed, the new section began with a very lyrical poem vs. the narrative ones that drive the story. It set the emotional tone for the section and character. Also, they are truly beautifully written.
Because this book has multiple points of view, there are so many different issues that are dealt with: Abuse, Alcohol, Drugs, Ambition, Race, Eating Disorders, Depression, Sexual Orientation, Rape, Expectations, Stalking, Love, Abandonment, Steroids and more. Although you may not be able to connect with all of the trauma within Perfect, everyone can connect to something. It is also because of all of the trauma that Perfect truly draws out emotions and causes you to physically react. If you have read Impulse, it is a similar experience.
My last thought is that I am glad that I don't live in the neighborhood/school district that Ellen Hopkins built for this book.
By Kellee M.
Where do I begin with another amazing book by the ever-so talented Ellen Hopkins... Perfect is a novel that everyone must read, not just teens. It's message transcends age, gender, sexuality, race and time. We all want to be perfect, and for each and everyone one of us defining what is 'perfect' is different. Ellen Hopkins explores the idea of 'perfection' through characters that struggle with things that many of us have and still do: being the prettiest, the best at sports, the best academically, and to be just perfect for ourselves by being who we are.
One of my favorite characters is Cara, Connor's sister (from Impulse). Not only is she under thumb of her parents' constant pressure to be the best academically and at everything else, she is left behind while Connor works on his own issues (must read Impulse to find out more about this). And if that wasn't enough she is finding something about herself she never knew... she could be be a lesbian. Can I just say this girl has a strength of wills like no other!
Such a simple question that carries so much meaning and weight. Ellen Hopkins has created a reality in verse perfectly (no pun intended), a reality that many of use tend to ignore or pretend doesn't exist. Ellen Hopkins continues to grab the attention and respect of all her readers through her brute honesty and artistic craft. Without her our Literary World would be less than it is. She gives us hope to find the truth in ourselves, that we are all perfect, just the way we are, in Perfect.
By Patricia Leppla
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