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Customer Reviews

Perfect You Review

2008-10-06
In Perfect You, I found the plot to be very unrealistic and for the most part not very relatable. Through out the book, it annoyed me how Kate always thought the worst scenario possible, needless to say she had very low self esteem and confidence. Seeing how she lost her best friend who is now popular and acts like she doesn't know her I might be able to see why she does. Kate's dad was also was a bit annoying, his thinking and inconsideration to his family was ridiculous. Towards the ending of the book though it picked up and was better than the first half. Kate began to realize things could be possible with a positive attitude and outlook. I think the theme of this was to believe in yourself and to not let life's obstacles keep you down.

Somewhat Perfect 3.5 Stars

2008-09-13
This book was okay for me. It was entertaining, but I became a little frustrated with Kate's low self-esteem, her dad's childish behavior and her mother's acceptance of it, risking her family's security.

Surprising to me, one of my favorite character's was will, Kate's love interest. I really liked his personality, better than Kate's.

Overall this book was okay. I didn't mind reading it and it did keep my interest. It was fast reading, though the issues, not so lighthearted.

Another surprise, the grandma, who's made out to be sort of monstrous, was indeed not a great person, but she was right on the money with her thoughts about her daughter's choices and the loser husband she picked and stayed with.

Perfect Book:)

2008-07-31
I absolutely fell in love with this book. It was so cute and heart felt and funny.

Okay, the narrator of this story, Kate Brown has been having a sucky year. Her best friend got a new look and dumped her for new friends, popularity, and a hot boyfriend. Her brother is moving back in, and then her dad quits his job to sell Perfect You vitamins and her sassy tongued grandmother comes to live with them indefinitely. And to top it all off, Will Miller, the "King of hook-ups", takes an interest in her and starts to talk to her. Kate acts like she hates the guy but she actually has a crush on him, but is too stubborn to admit it.

Then later in the book, her parents' relationship is strained, her ex-best friend is talking to her again, but is she really trying to be friends again? AND then Will asks her out, and she doesn't know what to believe anymore.

Anyways, this book was about how changes can be a good experience for you and that it won't necessarily ruin your life.

Charming, humorous, and utterly satisfying

2008-07-25
Elizabeth Scott's second novel is just as poignant and addictive to read as her well-reviewed debut, BLOOM --- perhaps even more so. In the year since BLOOM's publication, Scott has clearly honed her skills, crafting a tighter story that fluently captures the anxieties of talking to (let alone trusting) a first crush, the self-deprecation and anguish of losing a best friend, and the bemusement that comes with having to parent...your parents.

But what does all of this have to do with vitamins?

It all started when Kate's father quit his job at a prestigious software company because his desk had broken in half. He figured it was a sign. Not even a month later, he cashed in his retirement fund to purchase boxes full of infomercial vitamins called "Perfect You." His plan? To buy a booth at the mall and sell them to anyone who would take the bait --- with Kate's help, of course.

So instead of going to parties with her friends and cheering for her boyfriend on the basketball team, Kate is stuck trying to hide her mortification when her father wears his B-Buzz vitamin bee costume during her shift, or worse yet, when he gets thrown out of the Sports Shack for pushing vitamins on their customers. But wait. Kate doesn't have a boyfriend. Nor does she have any friends aside from the three Jennifers who are so busy competing to be each other's best friend that they barely notice her.

Granted, Kate's life hadn't always been so terrible. Prior to her sophomore year, she spent every waking second with her best friend, Anna, who never seemed to care what anyone else thought --- at least not until hunky Sam, the boy Anna had been in love with for forever, called her a "wide load."

After that, everything changed. Anna came back from her summer in Maine, determined to be a different person. She was blonde, 70 pounds thinner and suddenly popular, which, of course, meant No More Kate. So for the first few months of 10th grade, Kate spends every day alone --- that is, until Sam's cute friend, Will, kisses her behind the dumpsters at the mall.

In the chapters that follow, Kate bumbles through a series of crushing setbacks (Anna delivers one too many blows to her dwindling self-worth, her parents separate due to her father's seemingly endless mid-life crisis, Will asks her out on a date --- to humiliate her?) before ultimately crumbling in defeat.

But, as those who liked Scott's first novel are aware, Kate's story is far from over despite the trauma she has endured, and readers will breeze through the last few chapters with genuine pleasure.

PERFECT YOU has just the right combination of humor, charm and weight to satisfy old fans and win over new ones. Its rich characters --- especially haughty but wise Grandma --- are brimming with quirky idiosyncrasies meant to both irritate and please. Like in BLOOM, Scott navigates familial dysfunction and teen melodrama with aplomb, and teens will eat up what develops when Kate and Will finally "get real" at the end.

--- Reviewed by Alexis Burling

Entertaining

2008-07-08
Perfect You is the story of a high school sophomore whose life slides rapidly downhill when her father quits his 9-5 job to chase his dream of selling vitamins at the mall, she's forced to work for him, her best friend stops talking to her, and her grandmother moves in with the family to help out financially.

The narrator is not just snarky but truly bitter at times, but it's easy to see why she's so and it's balanced by her vulnerability where her former best friend (fat girl gone mean girl) is concerned. The ending felt slightly rushed and the romance tests belief at times, but there were some great lines and I liked how the various storylines were dealt with in a believable and satisfying manner.

An overall good book

2008-06-20
Kate Brown's life has gone downhill fast. Her father has quit his job to sell vitamins at the mall, and Kate is forced to work with him. Her best friend has become popular, and now she acts like Kate's invisible.

And then there's Will. Gorgeous, unattainable Will, whom Kate acts like she can't stand even though she can't stop thinking about him. When Will starts acting interested, Kate hates herself for wanting him when she's sure she's just his latest conquest.

Kate figures that the only way things will ever stop hurting so much is if she keeps to herself and stops caring about anyone or anything. What she doesn't realize is that while life may not always be perfect, good things can happen -- but only if she lets them....

A great book, from a great author! 2008-05-16
Kate Brown is having a rough year. Her dad decided to quit his job to sell Prefect You infomercial vitamins in the mall, her best friend is too popular to talk to her and Will won't leave her alone. Put all of that together and you have a lethal combination. Kate is struggling with having to work in the mall, for free, with her dad who loves to embarass her. Then, there's also the fact that she can't stop thinking about Will, even though he's out of her league. She also has a college graduate brother that still lives at home and can't get a real job. Can Kate handle what's happening to her family? Can she handle not having a best friend anymore? Or better yet, can she forget about Will?

With Kate's vivid, swanky attitude and Will's charming wit, this book is defintaly a hit. With each turning page, you will see style and grace in Elizabeth Scott's writing. You feel for Kate as she goes through the trials and tribulations of teen years. You will cry with her as her family starts to fall apart, as well as the relationship with her best friend, Anna. You will root for her to overcome and wish she could have her best friend at her side. And eventually you will figure out Will's intentions. This book is well written and a must read.

[...]

The Story Siren Reviews: 2008-05-08
What a great read! This was my first time reading Elizabeth Scott and she will definitely be an author I will continue to read! Perfect You was an insightful look into a teenage girls life, Kate's confusion over her lost friendship is beyond believable. You see that happen all the time in high school. I guess I was lucky I moved in the fifth grade and didn't have to experience losing my childhood friends, although at the time I didn't see it that way. The supporting characters and the back ground story, was something that I think I actually enjoyed the most. I love when a story goes beyond focusing on the main character, sometimes the background characters are what make a story seem real. I was happy to see that in the end Kate learned to give people a chance and not always assume the worst.

The Compulsive Reader's Reviews 2008-04-10
Kate's sophomore year hasn't been the best so far. Her only close friend has stopped speaking her after she lost 90 pounds and made friends with the popular crowd. Her father quits his job to sell cheesy, overpriced vitamins, and money is so tight that her wealthy nightmare of a grandmother moves in, causing even more tension at home.

Her whole life seems to be falling apart around her, but strangely enough, obnoxious Will Miller seems to be paying quite a lot of attention to Kate. But is he looking for an actual relationship or just another meaningless hook-up for which he is notorious for?

Here is a novel full of loyalty, laughter, anger, and tears. Every sort of insecure feeling that you've ever felt is artfully channeled through Perfect You in such a way that each and every reader can make an instant connection with Kate. Her fears, hopes, and expectations are tangible and are those that you can easily empathize with, making her triumphs over each insecurity all the more satisfying. Scott's portrayal of first love is confusing, exhilarating, and refreshing, and readers will delight in the verbal sparring between Kate and Will as they try to find a happy medium. This is the type of novel that will cause you to smile just as quickly as it will make you sad. Wholesome and substantial, Perfect You is as real as it gets.

Perfect You 2008-04-09
This book was very hard for me to get into and while the two other Elizabeth Scott books I've read (Bloom and Stealing Heaven) were hard for me to put down, I felt that with Perfect You the only way I was ever going to finish was by sitting and reading the entire thing from start to finish. It wasn't until I was 3/4s of the way into the book that I was really invested into the plot and the characters. A good book shouldn't be that way.

The dialogue in all of Scott's books are well written and true to how teens would speak, Perfect You was spot on on this one as well.

I loved the realistic ending to this book and I wish there was just a little more for us.