Book Review: Flawless

Flawless
Author: Lara Chapman
Pages: 256 pgs
Reading Level: YA
Published: May 10th 2011
Review Source: Bloomsbury Kids
Available: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Borders

Summary: (from goodreads) Sarah Burke is just about perfect. She's got killer blue eyes, gorgeous blond hair, and impeccable grades. There's just one tiny-all right, enormous-flaw: her nose. But even that's not so bad. Sarah's got the best best friend and big goals for print journalism fame.

On the first day of senior year, Rock Conway walks into her journalism class and, well, rocks her world. Problem is, her best friend, Kristen, falls for him too. And when Rock and Kristen stand together, it's like Barbie and Ken come to life. So when Kristen begs Sarah to help her nab Rock, Sarah does the only thing a best friend can do-she agrees. For someone so smart, what was she thinking?

This hip retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac is filled with hilariously misguided matchmaking, sweet romance, and a gentle reminder that we should all embrace our flaws.

I just picked this one up without doing any kind of research first, so I wasn't aware that it was a retelling ofCyrano de Bergerac. After I finished it, though, it all made perfect sense. I enjoyed this story and the characters came to life for me. I did get a little frustrated with the lengths to which Kristen asked Sarah to help her out with Rock. My heart was breaking for poor Sarah a few times throughout the book.

I really liked the portrayal of Sarah as an intelligent, strong-willed female who stands up for what she believes in (even though she doesn't do what is right for herself). Sarah was willing to put her friends before herself and discovers that is not always the best thing. I also liked how Sarah's mom was a positive role model, who is also intelligent and in a challenging career.

The best part of this book for me was the ending, and not because it was over, but because it left me with a happy heart kind of feeling.