by Cecelia Ahern
Nikki’s Rating: 7 out of 10
Summary: Deemed the most flawed person in the world, Celestine is now on the run from the Guild. As she comes to find that the others who witnessed Judge Crevan’s unsanctioned additional brand on her body have disappeared, Celestine comes to realize that the whole system may be corrupted and flawed. Now Celestine will stop at nothing to discredit Judge Crevan and bring the Guild down once and for all.
7 Pleasant Things about PERFECT by Cecelia Ahern
(May Contain Spoilers)
1. Celestine’s Grandfather
Celestine’s Grandfather is the absolute coolest! Not only does he protect Celestine but he also solely hires flawed individuals for his workers in order to provide them with jobs and a place where they would be more accepted. Overall just a good man, I love the description Celestine gives him:
“He sees the beauty in everything, or perhaps it’s more that he thinks things that are unconventional and out of place are more beautiful than anything else.”
p. 4
2. The Lawyer
Raphael Angelo may be the first fictional lawyer that I’ve ever enjoyed. Eccentric but in an overall endearing way with his house of faux decor to look like humans had been used instead of animals since he doesn’t “believe in the murder of animals for food, fashion, or interior design” and his obsession with movies. Raphael is immensely intelligent and seems to want to help Celestine for the fact that it is the right thing to do. And I love that he embraces his uniqueness:
“’When you’re a teenager, what makes you different can be the worst thing in the world. The older you get, the more you realize that it’s your weapon, your armor, your strength. Your gift.’”
p. 150
3. Justice
“For someone to win, somebody else must lose. For that person to have won they must have lost something in the first place. The irony of justice is that the feelings that precede it and those which fruit from it are never fair and balanced. Not even justice itself is perfect.”
p. 328
And while this quote is absolutely true, I could not help to find glee in the humiliation and downfall of Mary May. I hated that woman more than Judge Craven and I was so happy to see her brought so low. I swear the woman had no redeeming qualities! Just a miserable human being.
4. Redemption
Between the two books for the Flawed series, Art made quite a few bad decisions. The first major one being not backing up Celestine on the bus in the first place but this decision could be understood as self-preservation; Art didn’t want to get in trouble and possibly deemed as flawed. However, his decision to actually join the Guild and become a Whistleblower was a huge betrayal. Thankfully, at the end of “Perfect” Art redeems himself by trying to save Celestine and actually taking a bullet for her. He has shown that he is a better man than his father by far.
5. Celestine and Carrick
While Celestine and Art have history and Art took a bullet for her, I’m happy Celestine ended up with Carrick in the end. Carrick and Celestine have endured so much together and were constantly backing each other as equals. For all the suffering and trauma they went through, I’m happy that they got their happily ever after together.
6. Mistakes
The ultimate lesson to take away from the Flawed series is that we make mistakes and we should not judge or condemn each other for them. This message is so important because in our current society we seem to be terrified of making mistakes. As Celestine says:
“‘Mistakes are nothing to be ashamed of. Mistakes teach us to take responsibility. They teach us what works and what doesn’t. We learn what we would do differently the next time, how we will be different, better, and wiser in the future. We are not just walking mistakes, we are human.’”
p. 258
7. Overall
“Perfect” had an overall satisfying conclusion with the Guild coming to an end, Mary May and Judge Craven being humiliated and disgraced, Art’s redemption and Carrick and Celestine coming back together in the end. The Flawed series as a whole really causes the reader to question the whole concept and need for perfection while also examining how we treat marginalized people. Overall a positive message and gratifying conclusion.
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