You Asked for Perfect

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

To start, I should say I really liked this book. It flew by me and I was done before I knew it. I sat down to start it, not expecting to finish it, not expecting to become invested so heavily in the characters, and yet when I noticed I was close to the end of the book I was shocked.

This book takes a heavy look at the stress and pressures we put on youth to be perfect and get into the ‘best' universities. These pressures are real and while I don't think many youths are feeling the extent of the pressure listed here, that doesn't mean it isn't present or even thought of. Getting into colleges is getting increasingly difficult with all the expectations there are: not only good grades, but also volunteer experience, proof of school involvement, and extracurricular activities. There is a huge toll for getting into college and then on top of it, the cost of school is ridiculously high. The mention of scholarships and the needs to get THOSE is also mentioned, and honestly this book is heart-wrenching.

To get back to the book, this story revolves around Ariel, a high school senior who is aiming for valedictorian, first-chair violin, and all these other things in order to get into Harvard. We don't actually find out what he wants to do with his future, just that he wants to get into Harvard. I totally think the book could have gone into that mess (wanting to get into a “good” college, but having no idea for a major or future career), but that issue could be a whole other book (and probably is). One thing I thought was cool is that Ariel is bisexual, but it isn't his defining characteristic or something with a lot of drama. It is nice to read a book where people of various sexualities just exist and have to deal with normal problems.
So, Ariel is dealing with this pressure, it is stressful and we can see how it is affecting his mental health. Reading about some of his spirals is so painful, because all I wanted was for this kid to succeed, but everything was fighting against him.
Ariel is also Jewish. I feel like religion is always used as a antagonizing force these days, so it was refreshing to see Ariel get support from his religious leader and it is used as a support system, not an anchor.

There is a slight romance here, but it isn't the main focus of the story. It is cute, lovely, and oh so real. I really like how the progression of it and the problems were handled. Ariel's love interest, Amir, is Muslim and Amir's sister is an amazing college student. So, some even more positive diverse rep here.

Ariel isn't the only one with pressure placed upon him. All the supporting characters have something going on in their lives which just shows how it affects us differently and all the different types of stress high school students (and younger kids) deal with. There is also some mention on the stresses of college (which again, could totally be another book).

This is a slice-of-life book, character-driven and it might not seem like there is much of a plot. It works though, and flows so well. So, if you are looking for a character focused contemporary book with lots of positive diversity which doesn't focus on the romance, this is a book I'd recommend to you.