Perfect

by Natasha Friend

Milkweed
Ages 12-up
232 pages

Bulemia is addressed here, but this book is by no means about one issue. Rave reviews since the book's publication in 2004 speak of the writer's uncanny ability to talk to teens and teach about coping with school, family, issues...

Everything is fine, says eighth-grader Isabelle Lee, but actually everything is not fine. Isabelle's younger sister, April, and their mother are coping with many problems, not the least of which is the mother's inability to accept their father's sudden death two years prior. Isabelle, finding comfort in her eating disorder, was discovered by her sister and packed off by their mother to weekly group therapy.

To Isabelle's surprise, someone else is there. Someone no one would have expected to have a problem.

This book takes the reader, young and old, watch the characters struggle with tough issues and journey to understanding. Any teen can learn from this book on the issues of self-esteem, family relations, school angst, popularity, and coping with life in general. Winner of the Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature. Try Friend's other books, "Lust" and "Bounce".

Review by D.