Imperfect

by Melissa Clark

Betsy Wheat purrs - a soft, gentle, seductive hum that manifests in pleasure. But the only problem is she’s horrified by it. Her frenemy Alison was there the first time it happened and exposed this private experience to the entire 7th grade. When Betsy wasn’t being hissed at, she was dodging toy mice and stepping through kitty litter scattered by her classmates. Twelve years later and the scars of childhood remain, leaving Betsy feeling isolated, shamed and imperfect.

Also struggling with these feelings is Ruth Tichner, a hoarder of flea market nick- nacks, making it virtually impossible to get from her living room to the bathroom. At the age of 29, Ruth is on the verge of cracking.

Both women stumble through life doing their best to hide their secrets, every social interaction, career move and boyfriend a potential landmine. But when a second chance of love with Austin Miller presents itself to Betsy, and a weekend getaway goes awry for Ruth, each must face their truths and find healing in unexpected ways.

Genres: Humor, Contemporary, Ebooks

257 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2012

About the author

Melissa Clark is the author of the novels "Imperfect," "Swimming Upstream, Slowly," and "Bear Witness." She created the animated television show, "Braceface" which starred Alicia Silverstone and ran for 5 seasons on ABC Family. Melissa wrote and created the scripted kid's podcast, "Becoming Mother Nature," which can be heard wherever you get your podcasts, as well as created/wrote/produced the podcast "Grandma For President." Melissa works as a private writing/ creativity coach. See her website for more details.

www.melissaclarkwrites.com

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's hard to categorize. Sort of chick lit, but with more depth and insight than is usually found in the genre. Clark's characters, a budding female psychologist with an odd secret, and her first patient, a hoarder, are easy to like, and I followed both their stories with intense interest. Her dialog is spot on, too. Clark (who writes for TV) also knows how to pace and plot, so I kept wanting to return to find out what would happen next. Some surprises along the way. And wonderful nuggets of prose:

"My room was cold and smelled of oregano and hope."

"Shamed people were everywhere. I recognized their posture, their lack of eye contact. I came to understand shame as a ferocious attack on the self."

The book is about overcoming shame, and it will make you laugh and cry, and want to read Clark's next book.

[Robert Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If we book reviewers are honest with ourselves, how we react to a book, how we rate a book, is a function of gender, mood, age, stage in life, and most importantly, whether or not the story resonates with us. For example, in my thirties, I tried to read A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I found it annoying. Had I reviewed it at that time, I would have given it 1 star. In my fifties I read it again. I recognized it as the masterpiece that it is, and I would now give it 5 stars. The difference? My age, and the fact that the second time around, the story resonated with me.

That would be my longwinded way of saying that Imperfect perfectly resonated with me. The story reminds me so much of myself, in so many ways, that it’s frightening. I was no more than 20 pages into the book when I knew it would get 5 stars from me. If this is not resonating, I don’t know what is.

Imperfect truly surprised me. It’s Chick Lit that is totally unpredictable. Nearly every page has an unexpected plot twist. The change of tense, from past to present and back, is a contrivance, but works quite well in Clark’s capable hands. The characters are instantly lovable, yet consumed by the angst of life that consumes all of us. Maybe that’s why they are lovable. Hey, I think that may be a psychological insight. Chalk it up to the dreamy state this book put me in.

Clark is a very smart writer. One of her characters has an idea for a screenplay about a woman who becomes a pen pal with a man in prison. The working title? “The Pen”. Clever, no?

There are enough quirky details in this story to make me believe that there is a fair amount of autobiography mixed in with the fiction. Either that, or Clark has one very quirky imagination. The predominant premise, that the protagonist has a peculiar and very unusual physical attribute, is about as quirky as it gets. I will guarantee that no other protagonist in the history of fiction ever had this trait.

To the hundreds of Goodreads members who “marked it as to read”, and haven’t yet: Do. It will most certainly make you purr.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. But I wish it were longer. It was over just about the time I got invested in the characters. They were true and believable people. So, I would say this is well written. I enjoyed the basic plot, self discovery running parallel to the client and the therapist. Over all a good read. I Want to purr...

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars