Title: Perfect
Author: Natasha Friend
Genre: Teen Fiction
Comments:

This week I’ve been reading a different book than usual- actually, this book was about a teen and her father’s death + her eating disorders.
Thirteen-year-old Isabelle Lee is dealing with the death of her father. Isabelle, her mother, and her younger sister April, all miss him desperately, but they can't seem to talk about him- ever. "You cry in your room. I cry in my room. Mom cries in Mom's room. And in the morning everyone pretends like they never cried even once in their lives. Like, it's going to be a great day, kids! Pass the orange juice!'" (Friend 68)
‘Group’ is horrible for Isabelle; she hates journaling, and she can't bring herself to talk about her dad's death in front of other girls. Much to Isabelle's surprise, Ashley Barnum, the most perfect girl in the eighth grade, shows up at Group. It turns out that Ashley also has bulimia. At first, Isabelle revels in this new connection with Ashley, who had never noticed her before. The two of them go out for breakfasts and late-night sundaes and then throw up together (these scenes are often described in graphic and excellent detail in my opinion). Pretty soon, though, Isabelle realizes that Ashley's perfect life might not be so perfect after all and that Ashley's problems might be the result of her own family history.
I would recommend this book to just about anyone! However, I think that PERFECT would be an excellent book for mothers and teen girls to read together. The damaged relationship between Isabelle and her mother is a key element of the book, as is the acknowledgment that eating disorders are becoming problems for younger and younger girls. All in all, I enjoyed reading this book and I am looking forward to reading Natasha Friend’s other novels as well.