Full disclosure, I was provided an advanced copy of this book by the author however I have voluntarily chosen to write a review. All opinions are my own.
It’s not easy being perfect
Rachel Lord is your typical teenager just trying get through her Senior Year in high school. With her two best friends, Janey and Ellie, she does pretty well navigating the usual cliques and clichés with one downfall.
Dani McGuire is a gorgeous, typical popular cheerleader type. She is the quarterback’s girlfriend, class president and part of the most powerful clique on campus: The Perfects. Dani and the other girls grew up together, practically neighbors, and were like sisters until a chemical spill rendered their neighborhood uninhabitable and the friends were forced to move to different neighborhoods. While still in the same general area, Dani became friends with The Perfects –the stuck up, uber popular mean girls of Ridgeview High School and no longer associates with her childhood friends. This has not set well with Rachel and she tends to be a tad obsessed with her former friend. On a snowy evening Janey goes missing and Rachel sets out to look for her. Heading out to the old neighborhood where Janey has been known to retreat to in times of introspection, Rachel has an accident….and wakes up in the body of Dani McGuire
Wait. What?
Rachel has no idea how her consciousness has ended up in the body of her former friend. And what happened to her body for that matter? Rachel attempts to live the life of a Perfect while trying to figure out what the heck happened.
Perfectly Normal is the first book in The Perfects series by Amy Martin and is a real easy read that will take the reader back to high school no matter when you grew up. When I heard about the premise for the book, I thought “oh, cool it’s like a cross between Mean Girls and the Hot Chick”. On the surface this is true, but I found Perfectly Normal to be more than just tired clichés and a retelling of a familiar story. While the basic concept has been explored before throughout the years Amy Martin does so in a way that is fresh and intriguing. Rachel finds out with each new day that being a Perfect isn’t everything it’s made out to be and in some ways, she may even have it better in her boring normal existence. If you’re looking for a fun read that will leave you nostalgic and wondering what happens next, I would recommend Perfectly Normal, but be warned – you may not be able to put this fun story down.
Jennly Reads 