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Perfect
(Impulse #2)
by
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 Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her, perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of l ...more
Cara’s parents’ unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her, perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of l ...more
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Hardcover, 622 pages
Published
September 13th 2011
by Margaret K. McElderry Books
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Start your review of Perfect (Impulse, #2)

I'm dying. Holy guacamole. That was beautiful.
I can't express it into words, what Ellen Hopkins can do. She's unbelievable. A superhuman? I cannot disagree otherwise. To be honest, I'm usually not the person to cry in books. I didn't even cry in Impulse. (Heartless, yeah.) (view spoiler) ...more
I can't express it into words, what Ellen Hopkins can do. She's unbelievable. A superhuman? I cannot disagree otherwise. To be honest, I'm usually not the person to cry in books. I didn't even cry in Impulse. (Heartless, yeah.) (view spoiler) ...more

1.5 stars. This book had some really good stuff going for it, which was ruined by some really horrible treatment of rape victims and lgbt people.
The writing style is good, as long as you like Ellen Hopkin’s writing. I happen to find it easy to devour. Usually, her verse style gives good character insight, but I didn’t totally feel that here. Now, the characters themselves were not as much a strength as I usually find they are.
~ Kendra’s character spent 600 pages in the throes of anorexia, and ...more
The writing style is good, as long as you like Ellen Hopkin’s writing. I happen to find it easy to devour. Usually, her verse style gives good character insight, but I didn’t totally feel that here. Now, the characters themselves were not as much a strength as I usually find they are.
~ Kendra’s character spent 600 pages in the throes of anorexia, and ...more

I read it. It was so beautiful. More beautiful than Impulse? Maybe. I don't know. What I do know is that I fell in love with characters here more than in Impulse.
Cara, especially since I identify with her so much... (I know what you're thinking, and I don't care if you think it.)
I loved Cara/Dani. I love any gay pairing to be fair. I'm not sure why. As a huge straight against hate supporter, I guess that comes naturally.
Cara, Cara, Cara. The only one worth talking about. Perfection. I adore he ...more
Cara, especially since I identify with her so much... (I know what you're thinking, and I don't care if you think it.)
I loved Cara/Dani. I love any gay pairing to be fair. I'm not sure why. As a huge straight against hate supporter, I guess that comes naturally.
Cara, Cara, Cara. The only one worth talking about. Perfection. I adore he ...more

In Perfect Ellen Hopkins tells the story of four teens trying to find their flawless selves. Cara's brother has been committed to a psychiatric hospital after a failed suicide attempt, and she is struggling to deal with their parents' overbearing expectations as well as her sexual identity. Sean utilizes steroids in order to succeed, but does not realize that the risks and the consequences may make his efforts futile. Kendra covets the perfect body, yet cannot see beyond the idea that skinny is
...more

I've read enough Ellen Hopkins books to have an idea of her average character. Addicted to something, self-destructive, beautiful, liable to fall in love over the course of the book. And at the beginning of Perfect I thought that was exactly what I got. It followed the structure perfectly; multiple intertwined lives meshing to prove the same point. It's the point that made on the very first page: perfect is an illusion.
I guess I was a bit disappointed.
There was alcoholism and pill-popping and st ...more
I guess I was a bit disappointed.
There was alcoholism and pill-popping and st ...more

www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com
I didn't like this book as much as I did the first one, Impulse, but it's still pretty good.
You have Cara who is Conner from the first books sister. Then there is Sean, Cara's boyfriend, Andre a new character, and Kendra who used to date Conner before he dumped her.
So the story focuses on these four. There are some other characters that are involved in their stories but it's all about them from each of their perspectives.
Cara has trouble with her parents th ...more
I didn't like this book as much as I did the first one, Impulse, but it's still pretty good.
You have Cara who is Conner from the first books sister. Then there is Sean, Cara's boyfriend, Andre a new character, and Kendra who used to date Conner before he dumped her.
So the story focuses on these four. There are some other characters that are involved in their stories but it's all about them from each of their perspectives.
Cara has trouble with her parents th ...more

I really enjoyed this book! Ellen Hopkins always does such a great job at writing about difficult topics. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars, is that sometimes I would get the characters confused. I had a hard time telling all the girls apart and how everyone was connected to each other.
"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’ unre ...more
"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’ unre ...more

So sad 😭😭😭

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins must be read before 'Perfect' since 'Impulse' sets up to some degree in a sideways fashion what happens in 'Perfect'. In 'Impulse' seventeen-year-old teens are getting psychiatric care because they tried to kill themselves. Three teens in the previous book, the main characters in therapy, talk about their parents and other overwhelming issues which brought them to Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital in Nevada. The novel 'Perfect' follows up on some of the issues in 'Im
...more

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Cara's parents are controlling which led to her twin brother Conner trying to commit suicide. When she discovers something about herself, she doesn't know how she can be who her parents want her to be. Kendra wants to be a runway model, but how far will she go to achieve that goal? Sean wants to play baseball for Stanford and live a happy life with Cara and will stop at nothing to get w ...more
Cara's parents are controlling which led to her twin brother Conner trying to commit suicide. When she discovers something about herself, she doesn't know how she can be who her parents want her to be. Kendra wants to be a runway model, but how far will she go to achieve that goal? Sean wants to play baseball for Stanford and live a happy life with Cara and will stop at nothing to get w ...more

Well, this was a big improvement over Impulse for me. I do think that Hopkins's writing has steadily improved over the course of her writing, a little better with each book. The thread that tied all of these stories together is a little thinner than in some of her other books, but certainly closer than in Tilt. The one thing all four of her viewpoint characters have in common is that they're being pressured to be perfect, by their parents, by themselves, or both. We have two guys and two girls,
...more

"Fighting Depression is hard when you have no real reason to fight it."
...more

I couldn't get past the blatant victim blaming and that happened to Jenna's character. I had high hopes for this book because I loved some of Ellen Hopkins's other works, but how Jenna's character was treated made me physically ill. I had to pause for several minutes after Andre visited her in the hospital because it was too much. I couldn't believe how everyone just shrugged it off as she got what was coming to her, especially considering how much of an activist Ellen Hopkins is. Not a book I w
...more

Rhyanne Lynch
January 23, 2012
Period 2
“Perfect” Review
Sex. Sexuality. Deprivation. Desperation. Abuse. Abandonment. The pursute of complete and udder perfection is a very messy one with many turns and tricks. Hopkins positively describes the true emotions and feelings of confused individuals and explaining perfect as an expectation you hold to yourself, not one someone holds for you. The saying “Went looking for perfection, got lost.” comes to mind when reading Ellen Hopkins enthralling book, “ ...more
January 23, 2012
Period 2
“Perfect” Review
Sex. Sexuality. Deprivation. Desperation. Abuse. Abandonment. The pursute of complete and udder perfection is a very messy one with many turns and tricks. Hopkins positively describes the true emotions and feelings of confused individuals and explaining perfect as an expectation you hold to yourself, not one someone holds for you. The saying “Went looking for perfection, got lost.” comes to mind when reading Ellen Hopkins enthralling book, “ ...more

I've read almost all of Ellen Hopkins' books besides Fallout, I think. I absoloutley adore them. She is one of my favorite authors. I love how she writes, it's so artistic and beautiful. She really makes you connect to her characters, and I love how she normally always has more than one main character to follow, and you can always at least relate to one.
I expected this book to be AMAZING, and I even bought it the day it came out. I've been waiting for it to come out, and I'm not gonna lie, I wa ...more
I expected this book to be AMAZING, and I even bought it the day it came out. I've been waiting for it to come out, and I'm not gonna lie, I wa ...more

Without a doubt, Perfect is my new favorite book.
Perfect tells the story about four teens: Cara, whose parents demand that she be perfect in everything she does, and her parents' drive for perfection have already landed her brother in Aspen Springs, after he tried to commit suicide. Kendra, who desperately wants to model, and she wants the perfect model body, no matter how many pills and plastic surgeries she needs to get her there. Sean, who is obsessed with having muscles on top of muscles. He ...more
Perfect tells the story about four teens: Cara, whose parents demand that she be perfect in everything she does, and her parents' drive for perfection have already landed her brother in Aspen Springs, after he tried to commit suicide. Kendra, who desperately wants to model, and she wants the perfect model body, no matter how many pills and plastic surgeries she needs to get her there. Sean, who is obsessed with having muscles on top of muscles. He ...more

So before reading this book I hadn’t read anything by Ellen Hopkins. I probably never would have, because from what I’d heard her books sounded pretty heavy (heavy as in emotionally heavy), and I don’t tend to pick up heavy books for fun because, well, they’re called “heavy books” for a reason.
I joined my schools book club, and someone picked this book for December (whose idea was this?). I figured no harm in at least trying an Ellen Hopkins book. They're pretty popular after all.
Now that I’ve f ...more
I joined my schools book club, and someone picked this book for December (whose idea was this?). I figured no harm in at least trying an Ellen Hopkins book. They're pretty popular after all.
Now that I’ve f ...more

I've been waiting to read this book for a year ever since I read Impulse, and now that I've finished all I can say is Oh my gosh! I can't even explain all the emotions I'm going through after reading this book; and since I'm not very good at making reviews, I'll make this short and sweet.
Obviously, it was beautiful. The novel talks about how individuals (particularly teenagers) are so focused on achieving perfect standards that are superficial and unrealistic that they lose their identity in th ...more
Obviously, it was beautiful. The novel talks about how individuals (particularly teenagers) are so focused on achieving perfect standards that are superficial and unrealistic that they lose their identity in th ...more

Whether its getting good grades in school, getting the girl or guy, or if its just meeting expectations, we all strive to be perfect. Ellen Hopkins best selling book “Perfect” tells about four strangers aim to be perfect sets them into a downward spiral.
Ellen Hopkins, a poet, freelance writer, and the award-winning author of twenty nonfiction titles and five NY Times Bestselling novels-in-verse, draws in her readers by her style of writing and presenting powerful themes of lost love, betrayal, ...more
Ellen Hopkins, a poet, freelance writer, and the award-winning author of twenty nonfiction titles and five NY Times Bestselling novels-in-verse, draws in her readers by her style of writing and presenting powerful themes of lost love, betrayal, ...more

Of the Hopkins books I've read, this one is her weakest. The idea of perfection actually gets lost in a smorgasbord of other issues, especially at the end when the catalyst for all of the characters waking up comes through a character who never got caught up in this very issue (I realize that statement is debatable but since we never see Conner on page, I won't buy it).
The other issue I have with this one is that verse novels are hard. Hopkins is, however, a master. There is no question she can ...more
The other issue I have with this one is that verse novels are hard. Hopkins is, however, a master. There is no question she can ...more

DECEMBER 2014:
WOW. THAT WAS PERFECT.
THIS. I CAN'T EVEN.
This book takes place during the events of impulse (the 1st book in the duology) and is from Cara's POV (Connor's sister) & 3 of her "friends".
While Impulse concentrated on suicide & the meaning of life etc, Perfect is all about Perfection and what it is to achieve "perfect".
But this book is so powerful! It deals with sexuality, substance abuse e.g. drugs & alcohol, body image, eating disorders, relationships, abuse, rape, parental & sibli ...more
WOW. THAT WAS PERFECT.
THIS. I CAN'T EVEN.
This book takes place during the events of impulse (the 1st book in the duology) and is from Cara's POV (Connor's sister) & 3 of her "friends".
While Impulse concentrated on suicide & the meaning of life etc, Perfect is all about Perfection and what it is to achieve "perfect".
But this book is so powerful! It deals with sexuality, substance abuse e.g. drugs & alcohol, body image, eating disorders, relationships, abuse, rape, parental & sibli ...more

At first, I wasn't liking this one as much as the first one, but then I realized that I relate to this one more than the first one. This writing is so beautiful, it's like nothing I've read before. Ellen Hopkins has that unique style that makes you want to keep reading. I read this in a day, just like the first book of this series. It was great to see how Cara was dealing with life while Conner was in Aspen Springs. All of these characters really discovered theirselves and it was great. The endi
...more

I listened to this on audiobook, and it was cool to hear 4 separate voices paired up with the characters. Each person had a painful story to tell, and even the supporting characters had pasts that hurt to hear about. The main theme though of striving for perfection, pleasing other people over yourself, not being good enough, etc., really hit home and I feel most people will have an emotional connection to it in some way.

This book is defiantly for more mature readers. I really liked this book because I can tell the author isn't afraid to bring up certain topics that most authors are afraid to bring up in there books. Things like suicide, depression, and anxiety. This book defiantly brings up those and many other things people deal with as daily struggles because of our society and that's what I like about it so much. This book doesn't hold back at all and shows you the truths of how this world turns and it defia
...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

This book was different from the first book in this little series. There were different characters, but the same timeline and small bits of Conner's life. At first I found the new characters to be confusing and I had a hard time allowing them in, for I felt so dearly for the characters in the pervious book. I'm starting to see a theme in Ellen Hopkins's books. Lots of same gender relationships, drugs, alcohol problems, ect. Okay now into the novel... Throughout the whole book I had a difficult t
...more

My review is about the book "Perfect" by Ellen Hopkins. This book is about how four teenagers go about finding their own type of perfection.
The book takes the reader through the fight between Cara and her parents. They want her to be their idea of the perfect child and student, but the pressure of these same goals made her brother, Conner, suicidal. Kendra wants to be the most beautiful girl alive. She wants the prettiest face and the skinniest body, and nothing, not even her health or her moral ...more
The book takes the reader through the fight between Cara and her parents. They want her to be their idea of the perfect child and student, but the pressure of these same goals made her brother, Conner, suicidal. Kendra wants to be the most beautiful girl alive. She wants the prettiest face and the skinniest body, and nothing, not even her health or her moral ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Diversity in All ...: Perfect (February 2020) | 4 | 22 | Feb 07, 2020 12:32PM | |
Ellen Hopkins Fan...: Perfect | 2 | 17 | Sep 14, 2015 09:18PM | |
Characters | 5 | 36 | Jul 07, 2015 04:47PM | |
WORD GAME! starting with.... you have to look and see! | 1 | 14 | Jul 07, 2015 04:43PM | |
Who is your favorite character throught the whole book and why? | 1 | 5 | Jul 07, 2015 04:39PM | |
Rape or Honest Mistake? | 30 | 196 | Sep 11, 2014 06:22AM |
Ellen Hopkins is the New York Times bestselling author of Crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical, Tricks, Fallout, Perfect, Triangles, Tilt, and Collateral. She lives in Carson City, Nevada, with her husband and son. Hopkin's Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest pages get thousands of hits from teens who claim Hopkins is the "only one who understands me", and she can be visited at ellenhopkin
...more
Other books in the series
Impulse
(2 books)
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Known for gritty novels in verse for young adults, the narrative poet talks about her first book for an adult audience. Triangles explores...
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3 trivia questions
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1 quiz
“HOW
do you define a word without concrete meaning? To each his own, the saying goes, so
WHY
push to attain an ideal state of being that no two random people will agree is
WHERE
you want to be? Faultless. Finished. Incomparable. People can never be these, and anyway,
WHEN
did creating a flawless facade become a more vital goal than learning to love the person
WHO
lives inside your skin? The outside belongs to others. Only you should decide for you -
WHAT
is perfect.”
—
281 likes
do you define a word without concrete meaning? To each his own, the saying goes, so
WHY
push to attain an ideal state of being that no two random people will agree is
WHERE
you want to be? Faultless. Finished. Incomparable. People can never be these, and anyway,
WHEN
did creating a flawless facade become a more vital goal than learning to love the person
WHO
lives inside your skin? The outside belongs to others. Only you should decide for you -
WHAT
is perfect.”
“She is madness,
sanity. She is hell, and
paradise.”
—
171 likes
More quotes…
sanity. She is hell, and
paradise.”