Books I've Read: Better Than Perfect

I really didn't enjoy this book much, which is a shame, because I really liked the author's previous novel, Maybe One Day. It's always a disappointment when that happens...

The book follows Juliet, a high-school senior whose perfect life falls apart when her parents split up and her mother falls apart.  As she tries to hold herself and her life together, she begins to realize that maybe things weren't as perfect as she first thought.

My biggest problem with this book was the protagonist.  I just didn't like her.  She's shallow and self-centered and particularly lacking in any self-awareness.  She seems to do things just because she feels she has to, not because she actually wants to.  And that includes her relationship with boyfriend Jason (who is so painfully boring and underwritten as a character I couldn't understand what she ever saw in him).

When she meets Declan, sparks fly, yet she doesn't even consider that maybe that's a sign that she needs someone different in her life, someone who doesn't obsess over whether or not she's done her Latin homework.  But when Declan's sister insists she join their band, Juliet takes the plunge.  Briefly.

Even though she enjoys being in the band and spending time with people who are very different to the ones she usually surrounds herself with, she quits at the first sign of trouble and represses the desire she has to do something different - and maybe someone different too.

It's not until Juliet actually gets everything she thinks she wants that she begins to wonder why she still feels unfulfilled.  And that's the point where the book begins to get interesting.  Unfortunately, it's too late and many readers probably will have given up on the book long before that moment comes.

So unfortunately, this isn't one I'd recommend.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

Juliet Newman has it all. A picture-perfect family; a handsome, loving boyfriend; and a foolproof life plan: ace her SATs, get accepted into Harvard early decision, and live happily ever after.

But when her dad moves out and her mom loses it, Juliet begins questioning the rules she’s always lived by. And to make everything even more complicated there’s Declan, the gorgeous boy who makes her feel alive and spontaneous—and who’s totally off-limits. Torn between the life she always thought she wanted and one she never knew was possible, Juliet begins to wonder: What if perfect isn't all it’s cracked up to be?