BOOKS

We all want to be perfect at something: Sports, school, art—the list goes on and on. Although we tell ourselves that "practice makes perfect," that’s not always the case because, really, being a perfect human being is unrealistic.

In Finding Perfect by Elly Swartz, 12-year-old Molly Nathans strives to perfection in everything she does.  Her definition of perfect ranges anywhere from having a perfect personality, to having newly sharpened and perfect No. 2 pencils. However, what’s not so perfect in her life is the fact that her mother is moving away from the family for work. While her mother promises that she will be back in one year, Molly knows that promises are sometimes broken. She’s convinced herself that her mother will not be back until something major happens in the family.

Molly’s plan to make her mother feel obligated to come home is by winning the Lakeville Middle School Poetry Slam Contest. The winner of the contest is honored at a luxurious banquet and being the perfectionist she is, Molly instantly believes that she’d be the one who will win the prize.

As time goes on, Molly realizes that writing and reciting slam poetry is not her forte and, just like that, everything suddenly becomes harder. She is already struggling to deal with her mom out of town, a vulnerable young brother and a best friend that might move away. But deep down inside, she’s dealing with something much more difficult.

When she begins to realize that she cannot keep everything in order, her entire world becomes chaotic. What makes it worse is that she feels she has to keep her mental struggle a secret so that other kids in school won’t think she’s crazy.

Will Molly be able to overcome her struggle? Will her mom come back for her? Read Finding Perfect to find out!

by Yasmeena Fakhouri | 9/3/2016