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A review by theengineerisreading
Pushing Perfect by Michelle Falkoff
3.0
RATING: 2.5 stars
I was hooked in the overall storyline of this mystery thriller YA novel but at some point, the sudden explode of all the sub-plots made it wearisome to comprehend; don’t get me wrong, I still finished this book but the ending worsened the general rating for the book.
I don’t want to sound like I really *HATE* Pushing Perfect by Michelle Falkoff for I am not a fan of spreading animosity and I think, at the beginning, I kind of liked the premise of this novel so let me clarify my stand and explain at what part did this book fail.
First of all, this book is a story about a senior high school teen named Kara who studies at Marbella High. Being a top achiever since her elementary days and having the pressure from her successful, Stanford alumni parents, Kara often tend to exert too much effort in all that she does which lead to episodes of anxiety and depression. But with the upcoming SATs that will determine whether she’ll make it to an Ivy League school or not, Kara tried her best to sooth and calm her mind to avoid another panic attack which she already experienced during one of the practice SATs in Marbella. With all these happenings, Kara met a new friend in the name of Alex Nguyen, a Vietnamese, techie teen who admits being addicted to online poker after her gambler uncle taught her some skills, who stepped up to be her confidante and study buddy. During one of their review session, Alex mentioned a way to help Kara steady her mind during the SAT and that is through an illicit drug named Novalert. Desperate to ace her final chance on the SAT, Kara veered from the perfect course and wildly accepted Alex’s help and tried Novalert. But with this decision comes a series of unanticipated consequences that will surely bring her down to hell if it’s not addressed as soon as possible. With the help of the unexpected friends she met along the way, Kara will find a way to escape the dark maze she led herself into. The catch it, will she make it out alive or will her secrets be spilled to the rest of the world and unravel how imperfect ‘Perfect Kara’ is?
What I liked about this novel is how it focused on the premise of teen/student mental health and how toxic perfectionist environments can be. I kind of relate to her character since there were instances in my life when I felt so ‘pressured’ of what other people will say to me if I made this or that decision. Which is kind of a good avenue to venture (though it’s risky as well since we know how sensitive this topic can be) if handled carefully.
Another thing I liked about this book is the pacing. It was set in a ‘not-too-fast-that-it-will-make-you-forget-some-details-but-not-too-dull-that-you-almost-DNF’ pace; I mean, it was in a good pace that is great enough to make you want to flip another page and finish another chapter before turning the nightlamp.
Let’s go the the DARK SIDE… first, there’s a lot of sub-plots that were not justified enough throughout the book like the Kara-Becca-Isabel’s triangle friendship, the Blocked Sender’s insane history, Alex-Justin backstory. This is one of those book that could have been so GOOD but it went downhill because there was a lot of information to take in when it can actually focus in fewer important highlights, in the first place.
Last thing that I kind of did not like with this novel, which is the most influential factor in my book rating, is the ending. I have read a good mystery novel this year like Hidden Pieces by Paula Stokes and its realistic ending made a huge impact in my reading journey but this book’s ending is totally unacceptable. At first, I thought that there will be some major twist in the last five chapters after the blackmailed squad decided to finally meet the Blocked sender but nothing good happened for the narrative focused on the idealistic anecdotes of the characters. What I mean with this is that a whole lot of mess was made within this novel but not a single person will clean up the chaos? That is just unfair. Ciao.
I was hooked in the overall storyline of this mystery thriller YA novel but at some point, the sudden explode of all the sub-plots made it wearisome to comprehend; don’t get me wrong, I still finished this book but the ending worsened the general rating for the book.
I don’t want to sound like I really *HATE* Pushing Perfect by Michelle Falkoff for I am not a fan of spreading animosity and I think, at the beginning, I kind of liked the premise of this novel so let me clarify my stand and explain at what part did this book fail.
First of all, this book is a story about a senior high school teen named Kara who studies at Marbella High. Being a top achiever since her elementary days and having the pressure from her successful, Stanford alumni parents, Kara often tend to exert too much effort in all that she does which lead to episodes of anxiety and depression. But with the upcoming SATs that will determine whether she’ll make it to an Ivy League school or not, Kara tried her best to sooth and calm her mind to avoid another panic attack which she already experienced during one of the practice SATs in Marbella. With all these happenings, Kara met a new friend in the name of Alex Nguyen, a Vietnamese, techie teen who admits being addicted to online poker after her gambler uncle taught her some skills, who stepped up to be her confidante and study buddy. During one of their review session, Alex mentioned a way to help Kara steady her mind during the SAT and that is through an illicit drug named Novalert. Desperate to ace her final chance on the SAT, Kara veered from the perfect course and wildly accepted Alex’s help and tried Novalert. But with this decision comes a series of unanticipated consequences that will surely bring her down to hell if it’s not addressed as soon as possible. With the help of the unexpected friends she met along the way, Kara will find a way to escape the dark maze she led herself into. The catch it, will she make it out alive or will her secrets be spilled to the rest of the world and unravel how imperfect ‘Perfect Kara’ is?
What I liked about this novel is how it focused on the premise of teen/student mental health and how toxic perfectionist environments can be. I kind of relate to her character since there were instances in my life when I felt so ‘pressured’ of what other people will say to me if I made this or that decision. Which is kind of a good avenue to venture (though it’s risky as well since we know how sensitive this topic can be) if handled carefully.
Another thing I liked about this book is the pacing. It was set in a ‘not-too-fast-that-it-will-make-you-forget-some-details-but-not-too-dull-that-you-almost-DNF’ pace; I mean, it was in a good pace that is great enough to make you want to flip another page and finish another chapter before turning the nightlamp.
Let’s go the the DARK SIDE… first, there’s a lot of sub-plots that were not justified enough throughout the book like the Kara-Becca-Isabel’s triangle friendship, the Blocked Sender’s insane history, Alex-Justin backstory. This is one of those book that could have been so GOOD but it went downhill because there was a lot of information to take in when it can actually focus in fewer important highlights, in the first place.
Last thing that I kind of did not like with this novel, which is the most influential factor in my book rating, is the ending. I have read a good mystery novel this year like Hidden Pieces by Paula Stokes and its realistic ending made a huge impact in my reading journey but this book’s ending is totally unacceptable. At first, I thought that there will be some major twist in the last five chapters after the blackmailed squad decided to finally meet the Blocked sender but nothing good happened for the narrative focused on the idealistic anecdotes of the characters. What I mean with this is that a whole lot of mess was made within this novel but not a single person will clean up the chaos? That is just unfair. Ciao.