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rileyswan's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Worst Perfect Moment was an absolute charm.
The humour was spot on from page one. It's rare for me to read a young adult book where the protagonist's voice is authentically that of... well, a young adult! But Shivaun Plozza pulled through with a consistently accurate depiction of the modern teenage mind: nihilistic and damn hilarious with it. Every comedic moment was timed perfectly, and it was a perfect contrast with the grief-stricken narrative.
Speaking of which, this book had a unique depiction of the afterlife, and dealing with being dead. The main character, Tegan, has been given a heaven in what is apparently her greatest memory, but was actually the location where she spent all her time as her life fell apart around her. Reading about her coming to terms with the complexity of her heaven, and picking apart the entangled feelings associated with the beloathed memory was enthralling.
It felt like reading an episode of The Good Place, but even better because gay people were in it! This book had the perfect combination of normalised LGBTQIA+ identity and explorations of our struggle. Tegan's lesbianism was simply there, inarguable and tasteful, and even more so was her romance with Zelda, the angel who created her imperfect heaven. But that didn't stop Plozza from using Tegan and Zelda's trips through memories and time to retrospectively navigate Tegan's journey through her first lesbian crush and date and heartbreak.
If you love grief narratives, complicated sapphic romances, and unique portrayals of the afterlife, heaven, angels, time travel, and God herself... pick up Plozza's The Worst Perfect Moment!
The humour was spot on from page one. It's rare for me to read a young adult book where the protagonist's voice is authentically that of... well, a young adult! But Shivaun Plozza pulled through with a consistently accurate depiction of the modern teenage mind: nihilistic and damn hilarious with it. Every comedic moment was timed perfectly, and it was a perfect contrast with the grief-stricken narrative.
Speaking of which, this book had a unique depiction of the afterlife, and dealing with being dead. The main character, Tegan, has been given a heaven in what is apparently her greatest memory, but was actually the location where she spent all her time as her life fell apart around her. Reading about her coming to terms with the complexity of her heaven, and picking apart the entangled feelings associated with the beloathed memory was enthralling.
It felt like reading an episode of The Good Place, but even better because gay people were in it! This book had the perfect combination of normalised LGBTQIA+ identity and explorations of our struggle. Tegan's lesbianism was simply there, inarguable and tasteful, and even more so was her romance with Zelda, the angel who created her imperfect heaven. But that didn't stop Plozza from using Tegan and Zelda's trips through memories and time to retrospectively navigate Tegan's journey through her first lesbian crush and date and heartbreak.
If you love grief narratives, complicated sapphic romances, and unique portrayals of the afterlife, heaven, angels, time travel, and God herself... pick up Plozza's The Worst Perfect Moment!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Abandonment, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, and Car accident
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