Synopsis: Senior Ariel Stone is the perfect college applicant: first chair violin, dedicated community volunteer, and expected valedictorian. He works hard - really hard - to make his life look effortless. A failed Calculus quiz is not part of that plan. Not when he’s number one. Not when his peers can smell weakness like a freshman’s body spray.
Figuring a few all-nighters will preserve his class rank, Ariel throws himself into studying. His friends will understand if he skips a few plans, and he can sleep when he graduates. Except Ariel’s grade continues to slide. Reluctantly, he gets a tutor. Amir and Ariel have never gotten along, but Amir excels in Calculus, and Ariel is out of options.
Ariel may not like Calc, but he might like Amir. Except adding a new relationship to his long list of commitments may just push him past his limit.
Review: This book hurt my heart real good. You Asked for Perfect is about Ariel who is struggling at being the best at everything so he can get into Harvard. I've known people like Ariel so that's a large part of what I loved about this book. I've seen people struggle the way he does and it sucks. Even in college, I got really close to a fellow graduate student who would do a stupid amount of extra stuff on the side to give himself an even bigger head start. I just wanted to jump into this book and hug the crap out of Ariel. I really liked Amir as well and I loved the relationship they formed. Seeing Ariel and Amir interact was definitely a favorite part of the book, but I'm also glad their relationship wasn't the focal point of the story. It was really about Ariel taking a hard look at himself and seeing how hard his life had become. I also loved that Amir represented people who have hobbies that they don't want to turn into jobs. My review blog is an example of this. I like reading and writing reviews. I like taking the time out to think about the books I've read. That doesn't mean I want to be a professional reviewer and make this my job. Amir spoke to that aspect of my life a lot.
Ariel's story was handled brilliantly. There were so many conversations with different characters about the future and expectations, and I loved them. Laura does a great job of showing how different stress can be for people, especially when you compare the academic pressure Ariel has with the musical pressure that Sook has to face. I will say that I wish there were conversations about college not necessarily being the next step for everyone, and that there's something to be said about learning for fun and enjoyment. There are a lot of reasons why people don't go to college and get degrees. I was hoping this was going to be brought up, but it really didn't. I adored the fact that Ariel found comfort in his religion. There were beautiful moments when he would talk to his rabbi or just find a sort of calm in the synagogue. Finally, I loved that we got to see how Ariel influences others in good and bad ways. Specifically in his sister. I saw a lot of myself in Rachel because I skipped a grade in elementary school. I knew where the story was going to go, but I just wanted to jump in and tell everyone to stop stressing.
Beautiful book with great characters and conversations about school and stress.
5 howls
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