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No Such Thing As Perfect
Collette is determined to make a fabulous new start to her life when she begins seventh grade at a new school. Thinking it will mean good times and new friends, she is unprepared when she meet a jealous rival and an older boy. As she is figuring out how to survive junior high, tragedy threatens her family. When everything in life is uncertain, Collette learns who her real friends are and how to stay true to herself and her faith.
- GenresChristian Fiction
185 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2013
About the author
Samantha Wilcoxson
24 books432 followersWriter, history enthusiast, and sufferer of wanderlust, Samantha strives to reveal the deep emotions and motivations of historical figures, enabling readers to connect with them in a unique way. She can frequently be found lakeside with a book in one hand and glass of wine in the other.
New Release: James Alexander Hamilton: Son of the American Revolution, published by Pen & Sword History
WIP: Wars of the Roses trilogy, published by Sapere Books
New Release: James Alexander Hamilton: Son of the American Revolution, published by Pen & Sword History
WIP: Wars of the Roses trilogy, published by Sapere Books
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 24, 2014
This book gave some helpful resolves to situations that pre teens may find themselves in at high school. It is cleverly crafted and easy going to read - a bit 'stilted' in places. The print in my book (obtained via giveaway) was open and larger than average print in a book, and margins wide...so it may appeal to those who feel 'non-advanced' in their reading. Small print, hundreds of pages, and narrow margins can put 'to-be-encouraged' young readers off. So I say it is recommended. It is a very good topic to handle and will give young readers insight into how to resolve some personal dilemmas where friendship jealousy is involved, for instance.
March 11, 2014
No Such Thing as Perfect (Samantha Wilcoxson) This book was advertised as middle school Christian fiction, and it certainly embodies the norms of that genre. The protagonist is Collette, a Christian teenage girl, struggling with the problems of relating to non-Christians in her school and home environment, having to cope with being attracted to a non-Christian boy in her class, and having to endure the bullying from a rival.
If you were to pick up the book as a non-Christian, however, the title would be a real puzzle, as, from a secular point of view, Collette is irritatingly close to perfect – pretty, intelligent, sympathetic (mostly) and with a strong family supporting her. Only when you get past the exterior and into Collette’s mind do you see the less-than-perfect creation that the Christian lives with – full of doubt, too often thinking uncharitably of people, even if somehow you manage to stop the impulse to utter the unkind word or repay mischief with mischief.
The early chapters concentrate on showing Collette’s strong relationship with her mother, so that when the crisis comes, and Collette is unable to turn to her mother, her other friends must come to her aid. Fortunately, by then Collette has begun to master her selfish impulses, and her enemies have begun to respond to her agape-love.
The book is aimed squarely at reassuring its young, female teenage Christian readership that prayer and Christ-inspired selflessness will triumph over all adversity. Certainly for Collette all ends happily, but if I had to pick out a weakness, it is that it does have such a pat ending. Very few humans, Christians or not, will recognise such a neat-and-tidy life.
So the book belongs firmly with moral fables, demonstrating the ideal, but glossing over the messiness of real life as it makes its point. I imagine it would work in a church youth group, as a read-and-discuss exercise.
So how to rate it? It is what it is – Christian pre-YA fiction – and it would be unfair to judge it against the standards of secular fiction. However, there is some Christian fiction aimed at a more adult market that is genuinely thrilling, where people suffer, and fall from grace, and are sometimes, but not always redeemed. It should be possible to incorporate greater tension, and more uncertainty about the outcome, while still staying true to Christian teaching, and being a better outreach.
My verdict: 3 out of 5 stars.
A final, minor, point. The PDF I read suffered from an irritating inconsistency in typesetting, switching unpredictably between serif and sans-serif fonts. Probably caused by mixing styles and default formatting in the original manuscript, but it could do with a final proofing pass.
If you were to pick up the book as a non-Christian, however, the title would be a real puzzle, as, from a secular point of view, Collette is irritatingly close to perfect – pretty, intelligent, sympathetic (mostly) and with a strong family supporting her. Only when you get past the exterior and into Collette’s mind do you see the less-than-perfect creation that the Christian lives with – full of doubt, too often thinking uncharitably of people, even if somehow you manage to stop the impulse to utter the unkind word or repay mischief with mischief.
The early chapters concentrate on showing Collette’s strong relationship with her mother, so that when the crisis comes, and Collette is unable to turn to her mother, her other friends must come to her aid. Fortunately, by then Collette has begun to master her selfish impulses, and her enemies have begun to respond to her agape-love.
The book is aimed squarely at reassuring its young, female teenage Christian readership that prayer and Christ-inspired selflessness will triumph over all adversity. Certainly for Collette all ends happily, but if I had to pick out a weakness, it is that it does have such a pat ending. Very few humans, Christians or not, will recognise such a neat-and-tidy life.
So the book belongs firmly with moral fables, demonstrating the ideal, but glossing over the messiness of real life as it makes its point. I imagine it would work in a church youth group, as a read-and-discuss exercise.
So how to rate it? It is what it is – Christian pre-YA fiction – and it would be unfair to judge it against the standards of secular fiction. However, there is some Christian fiction aimed at a more adult market that is genuinely thrilling, where people suffer, and fall from grace, and are sometimes, but not always redeemed. It should be possible to incorporate greater tension, and more uncertainty about the outcome, while still staying true to Christian teaching, and being a better outreach.
My verdict: 3 out of 5 stars.
A final, minor, point. The PDF I read suffered from an irritating inconsistency in typesetting, switching unpredictably between serif and sans-serif fonts. Probably caused by mixing styles and default formatting in the original manuscript, but it could do with a final proofing pass.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews