Perfect is the second book in Cecelia Ahern’s duology of young adult novels, and it focuses on Celestine North and her dystopian world obsessed with the concept of perfection. In Flawed, the first book, Celestine is a model student, a hard worker, and fits well into her circle of family and friends. Her world is governed by the Guild, an organisation that captures and brands people when they’re found flawed, or, in other words, when they’re found lacking in character. Celestine supports the Guild, until a transgression finds her branded ‘Flawed’ in Flawed.
In Perfect, the sequel to Flawed, Celestine is still on the run from the Guild, and trying to hide from the persistent and the often cruel Whistleblowers. Perfect is a journey of discovery for Celestine - for one, she’s declared as public enemy number one and the most ‘Flawed’ person in history by the Guild. Second, she bears a secret that threatens Judge Crevan of the Guild. It is a secret that could bring down the Guild, and she knows it. Perfect picks up where Flawed left off, and reintroduces characters from the first book. Celestine is given shelter by people she never would have trusted once upon a time, and as Flawed herself, branded as other Flawed are, she’s forced to see the world from their point of view and feel what they do when society mocks and scorns and isolates them. In the world of the Flawed, she discovers hope and safety, and meets the enigmatic Carrick.
The treatment of the duology’s concepts – the Flawed, the ideals of perfection, the authoritarian Guild, and the Flawed who may not be flawed – are a little heavy-handed in Perfect, but effective. Celestine’s strange world is a place governed by odd laws and stringent rules where the boundaries between perfect and flawed are weak. Anybody might be branded Flawed at any time, for any reason the Guild deems fit.
Celestine comes across as vulnerable and frightened at times but in possession of great fortitude and mental strength that those around her sense at once, even if she doesn’t. There are trust issues for her, and she is betrayed more than once. There are moments when she must appear ruthless. Overall, her characterisation is convincing. She is in turn frustrating and clever and quite realistic, and makes no effort to hide what she feels. Most of the time.
Those around her are equally well drawn. Celestine’s grandfather, with his conspiracy theories and odd ideas, is not as crazy as he sounds. Juniper, Celestine’s sister who looks just like her, is conflicted and even jealous, but willing to stick her neck out for her sister. Celestine’s mother is a model, perfect in every way, or so it seems, and willing to work outside the constraints of the law. Mary May, a Whistleblower assigned to Celestine, is lonely and psychotic. Art, who did not stand up for Celestine in the first book, does not stand up for her in the second… and then the denouement happens. Carrick is a strange personality that Celestine finds intriguing. There is a fair bit of romance in Perfect, with Celestine finding herself attracted to Carrick while brooding over Art, with whom she had a relationship in Flawed. There’s something reminiscent here of many young adult novels, it seems, with the heroine having to choose between two men.
Cecelia Ahern’s world is a peculiar mix of the modern along with the dystopian, where a super-authoritarian quasi-government body manages to keep citizens under control with arbitrary laws and harsh punishment that excludes the punished from the rest of society. How exactly one’s branded Flawed is left entirely to the Guild and its judges, and the reasons could be anything at all. Thrown into the fray are ambitious politicians, sympathetic reporters, a mix of angry protesters who support the Flawed, and Whistleblowers who’re beginning to question their loyalties. It’s not exactly clear why a Flawed would be separated from a criminal according to the Guild’s rules.
There’s a lot of intrigue in Perfect. Celestine finds herself trapped by conniving characters more than once and still manages to escape every single time. The branding chambers evoke the sense of horror they’re supposed to, and the descriptions are graphic. Her romance with Carrick is a little predictable, however, despite their shared understanding of the branding system and their hatred for the Guild.
As the story moves on in Perfect and the action picks up, Celestine gets out of situations a bit too easily at times with a rescue right at hand. Sometimes, the Guild lacks for any sense whatsoever given that it’s all encompassing and powerful, which is very convenient for Celestine, and not so conveniently, nearly every secret in the story is tied up to everything else. Perfect makes for interesting reading as a follow up to Flawed.
In Perfect, the sequel to Flawed, Celestine is still on the run from the Guild, and trying to hide from the persistent and the often cruel Whistleblowers. Perfect is a journey of discovery for Celestine - for one, she’s declared as public enemy number one and the most ‘Flawed’ person in history by the Guild. Second, she bears a secret that threatens Judge Crevan of the Guild. It is a secret that could bring down the Guild, and she knows it. Perfect picks up where Flawed left off, and reintroduces characters from the first book. Celestine is given shelter by people she never would have trusted once upon a time, and as Flawed herself, branded as other Flawed are, she’s forced to see the world from their point of view and feel what they do when society mocks and scorns and isolates them. In the world of the Flawed, she discovers hope and safety, and meets the enigmatic Carrick.
The treatment of the duology’s concepts – the Flawed, the ideals of perfection, the authoritarian Guild, and the Flawed who may not be flawed – are a little heavy-handed in Perfect, but effective. Celestine’s strange world is a place governed by odd laws and stringent rules where the boundaries between perfect and flawed are weak. Anybody might be branded Flawed at any time, for any reason the Guild deems fit.
Celestine comes across as vulnerable and frightened at times but in possession of great fortitude and mental strength that those around her sense at once, even if she doesn’t. There are trust issues for her, and she is betrayed more than once. There are moments when she must appear ruthless. Overall, her characterisation is convincing. She is in turn frustrating and clever and quite realistic, and makes no effort to hide what she feels. Most of the time.
Those around her are equally well drawn. Celestine’s grandfather, with his conspiracy theories and odd ideas, is not as crazy as he sounds. Juniper, Celestine’s sister who looks just like her, is conflicted and even jealous, but willing to stick her neck out for her sister. Celestine’s mother is a model, perfect in every way, or so it seems, and willing to work outside the constraints of the law. Mary May, a Whistleblower assigned to Celestine, is lonely and psychotic. Art, who did not stand up for Celestine in the first book, does not stand up for her in the second… and then the denouement happens. Carrick is a strange personality that Celestine finds intriguing. There is a fair bit of romance in Perfect, with Celestine finding herself attracted to Carrick while brooding over Art, with whom she had a relationship in Flawed. There’s something reminiscent here of many young adult novels, it seems, with the heroine having to choose between two men.
Cecelia Ahern’s world is a peculiar mix of the modern along with the dystopian, where a super-authoritarian quasi-government body manages to keep citizens under control with arbitrary laws and harsh punishment that excludes the punished from the rest of society. How exactly one’s branded Flawed is left entirely to the Guild and its judges, and the reasons could be anything at all. Thrown into the fray are ambitious politicians, sympathetic reporters, a mix of angry protesters who support the Flawed, and Whistleblowers who’re beginning to question their loyalties. It’s not exactly clear why a Flawed would be separated from a criminal according to the Guild’s rules.
There’s a lot of intrigue in Perfect. Celestine finds herself trapped by conniving characters more than once and still manages to escape every single time. The branding chambers evoke the sense of horror they’re supposed to, and the descriptions are graphic. Her romance with Carrick is a little predictable, however, despite their shared understanding of the branding system and their hatred for the Guild.
As the story moves on in Perfect and the action picks up, Celestine gets out of situations a bit too easily at times with a rescue right at hand. Sometimes, the Guild lacks for any sense whatsoever given that it’s all encompassing and powerful, which is very convenient for Celestine, and not so conveniently, nearly every secret in the story is tied up to everything else. Perfect makes for interesting reading as a follow up to Flawed.