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genevieve_eggleston's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Biphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, and Cursing
Minor: Abandonment, Acephobia/Arophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
dwoht's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
good bisexual representation!
i started reading this thinking it's the typical best friends to lovers story, turns out i was wrong but it's a good kind of wrong because i like the two main characters. they're cute and they complement each other well.
i know darcy will be revealed as the locker 89 but i still dreaded it and when it finally happened i felt so uncomfortable and embarrassed! i closed the book for a few minutes to recover.
darcy was held accountable for her actions of course and she's also self aware and tried to correct her mistakes as best as she can. darcy is relatable as all of the characters combined, but darcy is something. she's endearing. (maybe because i see a bit of myself in her lol)
it also reminds me of sex education's first season where they also do the relationship advice thingy which is cool.
i enjoyed this book despite the second hand embarassments that i felt. it's a great read, can't complain much.
i started reading this thinking it's the typical best friends to lovers story, turns out i was wrong but it's a good kind of wrong because i like the two main characters. they're cute and they complement each other well.
i know darcy will be revealed as the locker 89 but i still dreaded it and when it finally happened i felt so uncomfortable and embarrassed! i closed the book for a few minutes to recover.
darcy was held accountable for her actions of course and she's also self aware and tried to correct her mistakes as best as she can. darcy is relatable as all of the characters combined, but darcy is something. she's endearing. (maybe because i see a bit of myself in her lol)
it also reminds me of sex education's first season where they also do the relationship advice thingy which is cool.
i enjoyed this book despite the second hand embarassments that i felt. it's a great read, can't complain much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity
imstephtacular's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Classism, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Vomit
Minor: Physical abuse, Violence, Bullying, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Acephobia/Arophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Stalking, and Panic attacks/disorders
bubbly_lara's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Loved it :) read the original English couple of weeks ago and liked it so much, I pre-ordered the German translation. The translator did an amazing job and captured Sophie Gonzales' writing beautifully, bringing it to a German speaking audience. I loved reading this in my native language and wished, this book was available when I was 17. I would've loved it then as much as I love it now. Highly recommend if you fancy a good rom-com reminiscentof early 2000's teen movies :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Minor: Drug use, Alcoholism, Vomit, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Biphobia, and Alcohol
bubbly_lara's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS!!! What a wholesome story. This gave me major classic 2000's teen movie vibes, and I'm living for it! Highly recommend for a fun, fluffy read that will give you major throwback vibes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Sexual content, Alcohol, Biphobia, and Vomit
Minor: Violence, Vomit, Sexual content, Drug use, Bullying, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship
lanawils's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content
skudiklier's review against another edition
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
5.0
This book was absolutely lovely! I read it all in one day while laying in bed sick, and it was a great read for that. I read the synopsis months ago, and kind of forgot it by the time my library hold became available, so it was refreshing to not know which relationship to root for. Also, to have a scene with a bunch of queer people telling a bi woman she's queer even if she's dating a straight guy--god, it feels so good to be seen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia and Vomit
Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Cursing, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content and Stalking
taleofabibliophile's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Biphobia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Violence, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Drug use
anika222's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Perfect on Paper gave me 10 Things I Hate about You and Chasing Amy vibes, but it presents a much more updated bisexual experience and is set in an overall more diverse setting!
Darcy's relationship advice is threaded throughout the story and it both hit home for me personally and shed light on the characters and plot. I especially appreciated the lens that relationship advice can only fully be applied by the person inside the relationship - every situation is complex even if there are themes and tools to help us better understand ourselves and others.
The bisexual experience is really well written. Sophie Gonzales uses the trans inclusive definition of bisexual (someone attracted to two or more genders), which as a bisexual and pansexual I really appreciated. The affirmation for bi folks is truly healing and brought me to tears more than once.
And last but certainly not least I loved the story and the romance! A great enemies-to-lovers (really more annoying strangers to friends to lovers, but similar vibes), I loved their dynamic of riling each other up but also just fully appreciating each other for who they are. The story was really interesting and held my attention as Gonzales threaded multiple stories together and made them all fit. Overall a really delightful read.
Representation: bi main character, Asian best friend/love interest, lesbian best friend/love interest, trans woman sister, various racially diverse side characters, various LGBTQIA+ side characters
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Drug use, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content
Underage drug use (marijuana) and alcohol use; biphobia is challenged as part of the storylinespearly's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
So, maybe I didn’t always get things right, about myself, or about others. And maybe a part of learning my place in the world was about accepting that I wouldn’t always have the answers, and I wouldn’t always be the hero in every scenario, and maybe I wouldn’t win everything I attempted.
But I was pretty sure about a couple of things.
Perfect on Paper follows Darcy Phillips, a bisexual high school student who runs an anonymous relationship advice business out of a vacant locker. When classmate Alexander Brougham catches her collecting letters from the locker, he enlists her to be his personal dating coach and help him get his ex-girlfriend back.
This was a refreshing YA story that artfully wove in themes of sexuality that a lot of young adult novels don't explore outside of some minor side-character. Darcy is bi, and totally in love with her best friend Brooke. And she's used her anonymity to meddle into Brooke's love life not once, but twice. On top of dealing with her feelings toward her best friend, she spends much of the novel as Brougham's personal dating coach. And, in true YA fashion, she starts to realizes he maybe isn't as awful as she thought he was.
I loved that Gonzales including a high school group called Queer & Questioning (or Q&Q for short) to help our characters work through their distinct experiences as queer teenagers. It also allowed the audience a little insight without coming off as preachy or expositional. We saw Darcy dealing with internalized biphobia after she begins to have feelings for Brougham, a guy . We see another character join the Q&Q meetings after seeking advice from locker 89 about not wanting to have sex with her boyfriend. After it's revealed to the school that Darcy is behind the lockers, we have a gay Korean character explain that he never wrote in to Locker 89 because he figured it was some white, straight girl behind the locker (and, as he says, he was "half right"), and he doesn't need advice from someone who doesn't know the first thing about his life.
Darcy has a great arc in this novel. Like Gonzales intended, I'm sure, Darcy is very naive in the beginning. She thinks her advice is near full-proof, she thinks it's alright to betray her best friend's trust to "protect her" (when really, she was just jealous), and she doesn't think through the consequences of her actions. It's only when Brougham starts to push back on things that she's able to look at her advice more objectively.
For all that I enjoyed about this novel, however, it's still middle of the road plot-wise and pacing-wise for me. Specifically, I think the big bad thing that Darcy is trying to keep Brooke from finding out could have been revealed later. I will try to be more lenient with the melodrama since, even though I thought the misunderstandings between all the characters were a bit flimsy, I have to remember these characters are 16. I was a drama queen, too. I misunderstood things, too. I thought I knew everything, too.
So, a solid read, and a happy addition to my bookshelf!
But I was pretty sure about a couple of things.
Perfect on Paper follows Darcy Phillips, a bisexual high school student who runs an anonymous relationship advice business out of a vacant locker. When classmate Alexander Brougham catches her collecting letters from the locker, he enlists her to be his personal dating coach and help him get his ex-girlfriend back.
This was a refreshing YA story that artfully wove in themes of sexuality that a lot of young adult novels don't explore outside of some minor side-character. Darcy is bi, and totally in love with her best friend Brooke. And she's used her
I loved that Gonzales including a high school group called Queer & Questioning (or Q&Q for short) to help our characters work through their distinct experiences as queer teenagers. It also allowed the audience a little insight without coming off as preachy or expositional. We saw Darcy dealing with internalized biphobia after
Darcy has a great arc in this novel. Like Gonzales intended, I'm sure, Darcy is very naive in the beginning. She thinks her advice is near full-proof, she thinks it's alright to betray her best friend's trust to "protect her" (when really, she was just jealous), and she doesn't think through the consequences of her actions. It's only when Brougham starts to push back on things that she's able to look at her advice more objectively.
For all that I enjoyed about this novel, however, it's still middle of the road plot-wise and pacing-wise for me. Specifically, I think the big bad thing that Darcy is trying to keep Brooke from finding out could have been revealed later. I will try to be more lenient with the melodrama since, even though I thought the misunderstandings between all the characters were a bit flimsy, I have to remember these characters are 16. I was a drama queen, too. I misunderstood things, too. I thought I knew everything, too.
So, a solid read, and a happy addition to my bookshelf!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia
Moderate: Vomit, Homophobia, Drug use, Cursing, and Addiction
Minor: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
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