Sara Barnard

Goodbye, Perfect is a beautiful and emotional contemporary YA novel, with a powerful friendship at its heart, by bestselling author Sara Barnard. Now with a bold updated cover look. When I was wild, you were steady . . . Now you are wild - what am I? Eden McKinley knows she can’t count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So it’s a bit of a surprise when Bonnie runs away with a guy Eden knows nothing about five days before the start of their GCSEs. And it's the last person she would have expected. Sworn to secrecy and bound by loyalty, only Eden knows Bonnie’s location, and that’s the way it has to stay. There’s no way she’s betraying her best friend. Not even when she’s faced with police questioning, suspicious parents and her own growing doubts. As the days pass and things begin to unravel, Eden is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world, her best friend and herself.

Goodbye, Perfect

jannike van den biggelaar

The writing itself is fine, but the ending was really disappointing.

When I was wild, you were steady . . . Now you are wild - what am I? Eden McKinley knows she can't count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So it's a bit of a surprise when Bonnie runs away with the boyfriend Eden knows nothing about five days before the start of their GCSEs. Especially when the police arrive on her doorstep and Eden finds out that the boyfriend is actually their music teacher, Mr Cohn. Sworn to secrecy and bound by loyalty, only Eden knows Bonnie's location, and that's the way it has to stay. There's no way she's betraying her best friend. Not even when she's faced with police questioning, suspicious parents and her own growing doubts. As the days pass and things begin to unravel, Eden is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world, her best friend and herself.

Jelke Lenaerts

This took me by surprise. I’m definelty checking out more by this author. This book had everything I love: focus on friendship, important family dynamics and a romance that started before the book.

Ruth Parker 

I love Sara Barnard’s books, I’m a total addict. I think her writing is pure and honest and she captures teenagers in such a clear and believable way. 

I’ve had this book on my TBR shelf for about a month and a long trip to the hairdressers allowed me to gobble it up all in one go.

This book is about Eden’s best friend Bonnie, a seemingly perfect daughter, student and friend, until one day, just before her exams, she runs away with her boyfriend. Eden is a little worried but doesn’t think too much of it, in fact she seems to think the adults are all overreacting to the situation. That is until she discovers that Jack is no ordinary boyfriend. In fact, Eden knows him from school. He’s their Head of Music. 

Im not going to say anymore because I don’t want to spoil this great story. Usually the relationships between teacher and student can become romanticised in novels. But this story takes a new focus; that if the best friend left behind. While it is easy to become frustrated with Eden and her actions in the book, as a reader you understand why she is doing certain things, even if you don’t agree with them. 

I wasn’t a fan of Bonnie as a character, which raised some issues for me. I know she was putting everyone through her through her naivety and at times selfish behaviour, there seemed to be a fair amount of victim blaming in the story. I get that this was written from Eden’s POV and she was annoyed, and as it didn’t have a focus on the actual relationship we don’t hear a lot from or about the teacher involved... the blame seemed to always rest on Bonnie and in Eden’s bad influence. But what about Mr Cohn?? He seemed very glossed over, to the point that he was such a minor character you couldn’t even start on his motives or what he wanted or expected out of the situation. 

Apart from this issue, I found the book enjoyable, easy to read, despite its subject matter and interesting, to the point where I was asking the hair dresser to leave my dye on just another minute so I could finish the chapter I was on!

Sophie Elaina 

This book was a very thought provoking read and is one of those books that both while you're reading and afterwards you just can't out of your head. I think it's because I found the whole situation kind of disturbing and it was really hard to read at times. I was actually very surprised by how hard it hit me. It was a strong story that represents very real things that have actually happened. Things that need to be talked about more in society today. 

Sara Barnard is one of very few authors who have been able to really real me in and make me think. And, I don't just mean a thought here and there while reading. I mean really, while I was reading this book it was all I could think about. So this is definitely not a light read; the plot contains some serious situations and analyses them in a very real, very honest way. I honestly think it will stay with me for a while. 

'When I was wild, you were steady... now you are wild - what am I?'

I feel as though we don't often consider the whole weight of a situation and the fact that this book brought that into the light and recognises that everyone sees things from a different perspective made this a ground-breaking read for me. You don't need to have been through a situation like this to relate to it, because there are meanings behind the plot that can be interpreted in so many ways. It also brought to light something I thought was really great and that was; if you know something about someone or something that could be bad or potentially harmful, and it doesn't personally affect you, that doesn't mean you shouldn't say something or think of it as the serious situation that it is.

The writing as well was excellent and seemed to flow so well making this an extremely quick read. I feel as though the main area that this book lacked in for me personally was the character development. I just don't feel like the main protagonist was explored enough, but maybe thats because it is a pretty short book. I just would have liked more. But what we did get was great and very well done.

'I don’t think you can ever really start over. Because if you’re trying to do that, you’re basically trying to run away from yourself. And you can’t. You’re stuck with you, forever. Wherever you go.'

I also enjoyed that the book went in a different direction that I feel many other contemporaries do. As the book follows Eden, whom is 'the best friend' and dissects her position in what is happening and not the actual girl whom is at the centre of the situation like most books. It was odd but I really liked it. This made the whole style in which the book is written is also very different to what I expected first going into the book. The choice the author made when deciding to write the story this way is strange and intriguing and it made the book even better in my opinion. Because basically anyone could be a 'best friend', a person watching something happen or being affected by another persons choices. The main message I took from the book is that sometimes you have to do something that is right morally but that is a difficult choice to make where your feelings are concerned.

'Everything I've ever lost has been chosen for me. I never had a say. And she's chosen to throw it all away, like it's nothing.'

Overall I think the thing I liked most about this book was that it was different from all the usual tropes and things we see in young adult literature. In other words; praise to Sara Barnard for creating this wonderful book, and a plot that develops in such unique and diverse ways. I highly recommend reading this!

Thank you to MyKindaBook and Pan Macmillan for sending me an early proof of this wonderful book!

For more reviews and bookish posts; check out my blog: https://www.sophieelaina.com/

Kate

3.5* Sara Barnard's writing is incredibly easy to read and impossible not to fly through. It's full of emotion, fantastic messages and interesting characters. Although I definitely didn't enjoy this as much as 'A Quiet Kind of Thunder' (which was one of my favourite reads of 2017) 'Goodbye, Perfect' didn't lack any of these things. It was so refreshing to read a book with a student/teacher plot that didn't romanticise it in any way. I also loved and appreciated how Sara Barnard tackled the topic from the outside, looking in. Rather than from the view of those in the relationship. It gave a new and much needed perspective to this narrative and therefore didn't give such a problematic relationship (e.g a 15yr old & nearly 30yr old teacher) reasoning and excuses. I did find a few of the main character and their actions frustrating at times but in the context of the plot, although I'm not justifying them, I do somewhat understand their mindset (excluding the teacher because just, nah. There are no excuses.)
I thought the underlying exploration of the pressure and stress exams put on young people and how vulnerable it can make them, even to the point of being dangerous, was also absolutely fantastic and something I'd love to push into the government's faces. 😅 
That being said, my favourite part of this whole book was without a doubt the established, unwavering relationship between Eden and Connor. It was so lovely to read and something I so rarely see in YA and Connor is an absolute sweetheart! 
Although I didn't enjoy Goodbye, Perfect as much as I'd hoped to, it was nevertheless a thought provoking, enjoyable read and one I'm glad I got the chance to pick up.

Leah 

Kellie Davis

alya adlina

Saoirse Mannion

Addie 🌻

Tate

Christy Pigott

Amanda

Tímea

Eleanor Luhar

Logan Dittbrenner

“This gripping novel examines anxiety, identity, pressure, and power with Barnard’s characteristic lightness of touch.” —The Guardian “Nuanced, compelling, honest, and important.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Winner of The Bookseller’s YA Book Prize Friendship bonds are tested and the very nature of loyalty is questioned in this lyrical novel about a teen whose best friend runs away with her teacher after suffering the effects of too much academic pressure. Perfect for fans of Morgan Matson and Jennifer Niven. Eden McKinley knows she can’t count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So it’s a bit of a surprise when Bonnie runs away with the boyfriend Eden knows nothing about five days before the start of their final exams. Especially when the police arrive on her doorstep and Eden finds out that Bonnie’s boyfriend is actually their music teacher, Mr. Cohn. Sworn to secrecy and bound by loyalty, only Eden knows Bonnie’s location, and that’s the way it has to stay. There’s no way she’s betraying her best friend. Not even when she’s faced with police questioning, suspicious parents, and her own growing doubts. As the days pass and things begin to unravel, Eden is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world, her best friend, and herself. In this touching and insightful novel, bestselling author Sara Barnard explores just what can happen when the pressure one faces to be “perfect” leads to drastic fallout.