A review by bookstolivewith
The Flipside of Perfect by Liz Reinhardt

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I found a new book boyfriend! (And yes, he is, yet again, too young for me unfortunately.) Thank you to @netgalley for this e-ARC of The Flipside of Perfect by Liz Reinhardt. 

Synopsis: Adelaide Jepsen lives a double life. One with her family in Michigan as AJ and one with her family in Florida as Della. No one ever said having divorced parents was easy. But as she approaches college, AJ is tired — of lying, of pretending to keep up appearances and of herself. Florida is where she can get her world right again before her senior year of high school — so why is everything falling apart the second she shows up? (TW: divorce, teen pregnancy, alcoholism) 

This is a great, joyful YA novel about finding the real you as a teenager and learning to make yourself happy instead of making others happy while you’re miserable. Also, the sister trio/quads that pop-up throughout had Covey sister vibes. On top of that, there’s a super sweet pseudo-enemies-to-lovers relationship with a soon-to-be-crowned all time book boyfriend, Jude, who I swear had me in butterflies and giggles. 

The downsides are that it’s a bit over dramatic, as high schoolers are widely known to be, and a little too faith-based for me. There’s a lot of prayer circles, preaching moments and there are some scenes that felt a bit pro-life to me, which I’m not really about. However, it’s not a cruel faith in any context, so it’s manageable. 

If you’re a fan of YA novels in general, I think is a very readable one and pretty cute overall! It’s out in early April so keep your eyes peeled! 
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