Better Than Perfect
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
They say the higher you climb, the harder you fall – how will Juliet cope when her perfect world starts to crumble around her?
Juliet seemingly has it all. Popular, pretty, with laidback, loving parents, a devoted boyfriend and an effortless straight A report card. But then the cracks start to show: her parents separate, which leads to her mother taking an overdose. With the stress of college applications looming on the night of her mother’s hospitalization, Juliet takes comfort in the arms of a stranger. Now her relationship with Jason is on the rocks too – can she piece her perfect life back together before the shockwaves threaten to collapse it completely?
About the author
Melissa Kantor is the author of Confessions of a Not It Girl, an ALA Booklist Best Romance Novel for Youth in 2004; If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?, a YALSA Teens Top Ten Pick in 2006; the breakup bible, an ALA Best Books for Young Adults nominee in 2007; and Girlfriend Material. She is a teacher in Brooklyn, New York, where she lives with her family.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With affluent and supportive parents, a great boyfriend, a coveted internship, and a plan to attend Harvard, Juliet's future seems written in the stars. Then Juliet's father abandons the family, and Juliet finds her mother passed out from an overdose one night, covered in blood. Juliet's mother enters an inpatient psychiatric facility, and Juliet moves in with her boyfriend's charmed family. But the night of her mother's hospitalization, Juliet unexpectedly hooked up with a boy, Declan. Rather than regretting her decision, she finds exhilaration from straying off the path that has been so carefully laid out for her, questioning whether striving for perfection at all costs has allowed her to develop real self-awareness. Kantor deals with the difficult topic of a parent's depression and recovery with sensitivity and grace. Juliet navigates complex and unfamiliar emotions, eventually arriving at the gratifying if predictable recognition that struggles and setbacks lead to growth. Juliet's attempts to meet the expectations of those around her will readily resonate with readers under similar strains. Ages 13-up.
