 | When is Perfect Perfect Enough? |
Source: Bought from Half.com.
Book Description from Back Cover:
Quiet, studious Shannon D'Angelo has never made trouble before--and she's not about to start now! People have started to figure out that she's got a problem with anorexia, but she's certain she can handle the situation on her own. There's no point in worrying her parents; they have enough problems dealing with Caitlin, Shannon's troubled younger sister, who's been getting involved with everything from car accidents to house fires. How can Shannon's struggles even compare?
But Shannon quickly learns that there are some things she can't control, including her illness and, well, life. That means if she's ever going to get well, she's going to have to let go of her need to be perfect and allow herself to be loved and healed by the ones--and the One--who love her most of all.
My Review:
When is Perfect Perfect Enough is a young adult Christian novel. This book is the sixth in a series. This story appears to have began in book five (which I haven't read), but the things that have come before this regarding Shannon's anorexia and her sister's misbehavior are summarized at the beginning of this book. Certain events from books four and five regarding Ira are mildly spoiled in this one.
Of the four books in this series that I've read, the other three seemed to push events to extremes to increase the suspense. This one felt more realistic to me in terms of it being a situation the readers are more likely to encounter (in person or in a friend) and in how the characters reacted to the events. All of the characters were more rounded out and complex in how they dealt with problems, and we got to know them on a deeper basis. I liked that. I also liked how her friends were involved and how they learned how to help her.
The Christian element was mainly some God-talk ("we'll pray" and "God loves you"), and God was credited for helping Shannon make progress. There was some "he cussed" style bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I would recommend this book.
If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.
Excerpt from Chapter One
Before I go any further, I need to tell you about my sister. My younger sister Caitlin, not my older sister, Colleeen.
Colleen is three years older than I am, and about three light-years more mature. She always did everything way ahead of the age I did it--shaving her legs, wearing a bra, starting her period. Good grief, she even opened her own checking account at sixteen. She did that when she started to work in a music store so she could save up extra money for college. Turns out she received a partial scholarship to William and Mary, in Virgina. Colleen never did anything less than independently.
Now Caitlin, she never did anything less than infuriatingly. I mean it. From the time she could pull herself up to the coffee table, when I was three and she was a year old, she would look right at my mother and reach for the Lenox china candy dish. Mom or Dad would tell her no, but she would keep looking at them, keep reaching, and keep nodding her little dark curly head yes.
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