Flawed / Perfect

by Cecelia Ahern

The stunning bestselling YA duology from internationally bestselling author Cecelia Ahern

Celestine North lives in a society that demands perfection, and she lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.

But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. Will she be branded as FLAWED? Will all her freedoms be gone?

In a society where perfection is paramount and mistakes are punished, one young woman takes a stand that could cost her everything. But can she prove that to be human in itself is to be Flawed? . . .

594 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2018

About the author

Cecelia Ahern was born and grew up in Dublin. She is now published in nearly fifty countries, and has sold over twenty-five million copies of her novels worldwide. Two of her books have been adapted as films and she has created several TV series.

Reviews

[Ana Jembrek · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Postoji osoba koja misliš da bi trebala biti i ona koja doista jesi. Nisam sigurna tko bih trebala biti, ali sad znam tko sam.”

Mlada irska autorica Cecelia Ahern kraljica je suvremenih bajki. Njezine knjige ljubavne tematike postigle su kultni status gotovo od samih početaka. I kod nas je izuzetno popularna, stoga ćete nerijetko vidjeti da čitateljice opsesivno skupljaju baš svaku njenu knjigu.

I ja sam bila jedna od takvih čitateljica, iako sam nakon četvrte ili pete knjige pomalo izgubila interes. Knjige su joj izlazile kao na traci i moram priznati da se osjetilo i na sadržaju. Iako uvijek dobre i spretno napisane te sa zanimljivim twistom, počela sam osjećati Déjà vu i jednostavno u jednom trenutku više nisam kupila njenu najnoviju knjigu.

Čini mi se da je u jednom trenutku i sama Cecelia osjetila zasićenje, ako ništa drugo, ono žanrovsko. Duologija “Nesavršeni” i “Savršeni” skok je u neistraženo područje distopijskog serijala za mlade. E sad, dok je njoj to izlazak u nepoznato, nama kao čitateljima distopija za mlade nije neka prevelika egzotika. Zapravo, lako bi se dalo argumentirati da je to žanr na svom zalasku. Stoga se postavilo pitanje, može li Cecelia Ahern napisati serijal koji bi unio svježi zrak u ovaj iscrpljeni žanr?

“Ono što sam učinila za Claytona Byrnea u autobusu nije bilo s namjerom da upropastim svoj život, odluku sam donijela na temelju uvjerenja da je ono što je tome prethodilo bilo nehumano. Ono što vi smatrate nesavršenostima, suče Crevane, ja smatram prednostima.”

Romane “Nesavršeni” i “Savršeni” odlučila sam recenzirati zajedno. Lako su mogli biti napisani i kao jedna cjelovita knjiga, ali dobro, možda bolje dvije manje knjige, nego jedna prevelika. Ono što krasi ovaj serijal je zaokruženost priče – priča ima glavu i rep. Ovo bi trebao biti uvjet u svakom serijalu, ali nažalost nije. Koliko sam puta pročitala prvi dio nekog distopijskog serijala za mlade misleći da ima poantu i da priča nekamo vodi, da bih se u drugom nastavku shvatila da autorica ili autor zapravo izmišljaju putem i nemaju pravu ideju kako da priču dovedu u neki logičan zaključak. Ova priča s tim nema nikakvih problema.

Likovi su iznimno jasno osmišljeni, kao i odnosi između njih. Upravo su ti odnosi oni koji možda najizuzetnije pogone ovu priču. Osobito Celestin odnos s ocem njezinog dečka, koji je na početku iznimno pun razumijevanja, humora i simpatije da bi s vremenom prerastao u sadizam i vrlo konkretno neprijateljstvo. Celestine je prekrasna heroina. Hrabrija nego što je svjesna. Duša svake zajednice u koju zakorači.

Svijet koji je Cecelia osmislila korektno je postavljen, sve u njemu funkcionira. Knjige su najbolje kad spretno kritiziraju ljudsku potrebu da segregira i muči one koje smatra manje vrijednim. Tko je tu savršen, a tko nesavršen, nije baš tako lako definirati, a sustav je iznimno sklon korupciji i manipulaciji.

Ova zapravo topla distopijska priča, koja često podsjeća na uzbudljivi politički triler, na momente me naježila. S guštom sam se sklonila u ovaj svijet koji je Cecelia Ahern hrabro osmislila. Nadam se da će i u budućnosti eksperimentirati sa svojom zonom ugode, jer očito je spretna kad je u pitanju eksperimentiranje sa žanrovima.

Originalnu recenziju možete pročitati ovdje: https://knjigesumojsvijet.com/2019/02...

[Helen Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not her usual type of book, but, I enjoyed reading both. You have to read them both. Well worth a read and it helps to forget what is going on in our world.

[Diane Poppleton-brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This dystopian duo is a departure from Cecelia Ahern’s usual style and is her first foray into the Young Adult genre. It follows Celestine North who lives by the Rules, she strives to be Perfect, because in Perfection is happiness.

What would it be like to live in a world that applauds perfection in all things? Behaviour is monitored closely, and slips of any kind are punished by the all powerful 'Guild', an organisation that sits outside of the law and makes decisions regarding an individual's suitability for inclusion in society. If The Guild deems an individual guilty they are branded (quite literally) as Flawed, they lose all privileges, live a meagre existence and are shunned by everyone who comes into contact with them.

Celestine North lives in such a society, she adheres to, understands and agrees with the rules. She is a poster girl for all that is right with this regime, but then, one day, she slips bringing down on her the weight of The Guild. She has always taken comfort in the rules, believed they kept her and everyone else safe, but now .... things are different.
Now, how does she convince everyone that there’s another way?

Compassion and logic, the perfect partnership.'

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed these books they were great fun with a moral aside.

‘Let us all know that to be human is to be flawed, and let us learn from every mistake made so that we don’t make them again’
Cecelia Ahern - Acknowledgements

[Danelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very different than Ahern’s usual style. I have always loved her story ideas. I feel like this one was trying very hard to deliver a message rather than just telling a nice story. Read Perfect without realizing it was a two-part story. No need for me to read the first, as I already know how it all ends.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual page turning books. Genius writing!

[Robin Lacey📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book read for the second time last month along with the 2nd book perfect easy reading but also one that gets you thinking

[Lukrēcija Jaunzema · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very intriguing book series.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series tore me apart to pieces and put me back together in a whole new way

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this duology, every chapter had a cliffhanger and I mean EVERY, almost finished the first book in a whole day and then rushed to get the 2nd book asap

[Rineeta · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some books that create an impact on you that lasts forever. For me, this was THE book.

Both the books addressed a single aspect. What do you mean by flawed and is any one of us really perfect? Inspite of its dystopian settings, the question of flawed/perfect is relatable in our present society obsessed with perfection. But what is perfection? Can we really accept flaws? If we do, are we letting ourselves go? Hits a nerve, right? Atleast it did for me.
The protagonist is young Celestine North attempting to find a place in the world when she got pushed out of her privilege. In that discomfort she learns to accept herself, question society and find her own place in her world.
The first book Flawed remains more nerve hitting for me than the second one, but I would highly recommend reading both parts. Read the story of Celestine North and maybe, maybe question how different do we stand in our views in our world.