FAKING PERFECT by Rebecca Phillips
Release Date: 06/30/15
K-Teen 272 pages
Praise:
"Edgy and honest, Faking Perfect is the real thing." - Huntley Fitzpatrick
"Poignant, edgy, and real, Faking Perfect is an honest look at the courage and strength it can often take simply to be yourself." - Julianna Scott, author of The Holders
Summary from Goodreads:
When Lexi Shaw seduced Oakfield High's resident bad boy Tyler Flynn at the beginning of senior year, he seemed perfectly okay with her rules:
1. Avoid her at school.
2. Keep his mouth shut about what they do together.
3. Never tease her about her friend (and unrequited crush) Ben.
Because with his integrity and values and golden boy looks, Ben can never find out about what she’s been doing behind closed doors with Tyler. Or that her mom’s too busy drinking and chasing losers to pay the bills. Or that Lexi’s dad hasn’t been a part of her life for the last thirteen years. But with Tyler suddenly breaking the rules, Ben asking her out, and her dad back in the picture, how long will she be able to go on faking perfect? Add to
Goodreads.
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BOOK REVIEW:
Rating: 3.7 of 5 stars
Lexi Shaw as a heroine is hard to like at first. She kept on insisting with the whole "pretend to be perfect so your supposed friends will not find out who you really are and maybe dump you if they don't like it" facade. The first few chapters I really thought of her character as someone shallow and way too vain who cares too much of other people's opinions but cares very little about how she feels about herself. The whole faking perfect thing she's got going on? Yeah I hated it. But what I hated even more is her obsession over Ben. Okay it might be a bit extreme to call it obsession but right now I have no other words to describe it so I'll stick with the word... Okay fine, it was more of an admiration slightly bordering on obsession. So there. Ben was the perfect guy with the perfect hair, perfect grades, perfect clothes, perfect freakin' everything. But what Lexi saw in her I did not at all see. I always were more biased towards the imperfect bad boy and/or nerd who secretly cares and shows it in his imperfect, sweet ways. So Ben? Yeah, wasn't a big fan of his.
And now that that's all out of the way, I'd tell you why I loved FAKING PERFECT. Tyler Flynn would be on top of my list. Tyler Flynn with the rumpled clothes and bad boy personality. He's the exact opposite of Ben and I couldn't not love him. Although I'm a bit disappointed that Tyler and Lexi's relationship was underdeveloped I couldn't complain about the swoon-inducing moments Rebecca Phillips wrote. Whenever Tyler was in the picture I couldn't help feeling the urge to shake Lexi and yell at her to stop fantasizing about Ben when Tyler is in front of her and clearly cares. Granted, Tyler isn't exactly the kind of person you'd think would want a committed relationship but a girl would have to be completely blind to not see that the infamous bad boy likes her. One of the things that actually drew me in to this book (aside from that gorgeous cover) is the idea of a secret, illicit relationship between Lexi and Tyler. If that doesn't intrigue you and makes you want to read the book, I don't know what would. And I'm so glad I've got Tyler Flynn to add to my ever growing list of book boyfriends (Of course with Will Herondale still being number one and the rest tied at two.)
Secondly, although I did mention about Lexi seeming vain and shallow, I admired her honest flaws. I know we all have this fear of not belonging and we'd be willing to go through lengths to feel accepted and that's exactly what Lexi was trying to do. And in that regard I could relate. So after the first three to four chapters, I went from disliking her to admiring her and rooting for her. I loved watching her grow into her own self and own up to being her no matter what anyone thinks. The journey of discovery she went through felt real and was heartbreaking at times. It takes a lot of courage to be who you are and that's exactly what Lexi has shown.
I'm still not sure what I think about Lexi's father returning to her life. Again, this is one of those things I would've wanted to have been given more attention by the author.
Lastly, I love the writing. It's simple and direct with just the right pace. And although some of the minor characters are completely forgettable, Nolan is amazingly written. I think half the fun of reading this book came from him. I've always wanted to see a platonic relationship between a girl and a boy. (Most novels and even tv series nowadays revolve around a boy and a girl bffs who turn out to be in love with each other and I'm kinda getting sick of it.) Some people say it's impossible but I believe if there's one other thing aside from family that's gonna withstand time and distance, it would be friendship. And I loved seeing the genuineness of Nolan and Lexi's.
Overall, FAKING PERFECT is far from being perfect but it does have its merits and I highly enjoyed it. It would be really wrong of me not to recommend it.
I received an arc of the book as part of the tour.
Lexi Shaw as a heroine is hard to like at first. She kept on insisting with the whole "pretend to be perfect so your supposed friends will not find out who you really are and maybe dump you if they don't like it" facade. The first few chapters I really thought of her character as someone shallow and way too vain who cares too much of other people's opinions but cares very little about how she feels about herself. The whole faking perfect thing she's got going on? Yeah I hated it. But what I hated even more is her obsession over Ben. Okay it might be a bit extreme to call it obsession but right now I have no other words to describe it so I'll stick with the word... Okay fine, it was more of an admiration slightly bordering on obsession. So there. Ben was the perfect guy with the perfect hair, perfect grades, perfect clothes, perfect freakin' everything. But what Lexi saw in her I did not at all see. I always were more biased towards the imperfect bad boy and/or nerd who secretly cares and shows it in his imperfect, sweet ways. So Ben? Yeah, wasn't a big fan of his.
And now that that's all out of the way, I'd tell you why I loved FAKING PERFECT. Tyler Flynn would be on top of my list. Tyler Flynn with the rumpled clothes and bad boy personality. He's the exact opposite of Ben and I couldn't not love him. Although I'm a bit disappointed that Tyler and Lexi's relationship was underdeveloped I couldn't complain about the swoon-inducing moments Rebecca Phillips wrote. Whenever Tyler was in the picture I couldn't help feeling the urge to shake Lexi and yell at her to stop fantasizing about Ben when Tyler is in front of her and clearly cares. Granted, Tyler isn't exactly the kind of person you'd think would want a committed relationship but a girl would have to be completely blind to not see that the infamous bad boy likes her. One of the things that actually drew me in to this book (aside from that gorgeous cover) is the idea of a secret, illicit relationship between Lexi and Tyler. If that doesn't intrigue you and makes you want to read the book, I don't know what would. And I'm so glad I've got Tyler Flynn to add to my ever growing list of book boyfriends (Of course with Will Herondale still being number one and the rest tied at two.)
Secondly, although I did mention about Lexi seeming vain and shallow, I admired her honest flaws. I know we all have this fear of not belonging and we'd be willing to go through lengths to feel accepted and that's exactly what Lexi was trying to do. And in that regard I could relate. So after the first three to four chapters, I went from disliking her to admiring her and rooting for her. I loved watching her grow into her own self and own up to being her no matter what anyone thinks. The journey of discovery she went through felt real and was heartbreaking at times. It takes a lot of courage to be who you are and that's exactly what Lexi has shown.
I'm still not sure what I think about Lexi's father returning to her life. Again, this is one of those things I would've wanted to have been given more attention by the author.
Lastly, I love the writing. It's simple and direct with just the right pace. And although some of the minor characters are completely forgettable, Nolan is amazingly written. I think half the fun of reading this book came from him. I've always wanted to see a platonic relationship between a girl and a boy. (Most novels and even tv series nowadays revolve around a boy and a girl bffs who turn out to be in love with each other and I'm kinda getting sick of it.) Some people say it's impossible but I believe if there's one other thing aside from family that's gonna withstand time and distance, it would be friendship. And I loved seeing the genuineness of Nolan and Lexi's.
Overall, FAKING PERFECT is far from being perfect but it does have its merits and I highly enjoyed it. It would be really wrong of me not to recommend it.
I received an arc of the book as part of the tour.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rebecca Phillips has been a fan of contemporary young adult fiction ever since she first discovered Judy Blume at the age of twelve. After a brief stint writing bad poetry as a teenager, she finally found her niche with realistic, coming of age YA. Her third novel, OUT OF NOWHERE, was a finalist in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. She's also the author of the best-selling JUST YOU series. Her next YA novel, FAKING PERFECT (Kensington), is set to be released on June 30, 2015.
Rebecca lives just outside the beautiful city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with her husband, two children, and one spoiled rotten cat. She absolutely loves living so close to the ocean. When she’s not tapping away on her laptop, she can be found vacuuming up cat hair, spending time with her family, watching reality TV, reading all different genres of books, or strolling around the bookstore with a vanilla latte in her hand.
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