Flawless

by Lara Chapman

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.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Teen, Realistic Fiction, Retellings

255 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2011

About the author

I admit it. I've always wanted to be flawless... you know what I'm talking about. That girl that always has it together - her clothes are perfect, jewelry just right, life perfectly organized and operating according to "the plan" she scribbled in her diary at the wise old age of 13. But the truth is, I'm most at home in jeans and a t-shirt. If I'm wearing jewelry, I can't promise it'll match or make any sense. Honestly, if I had a dime for every time I've walked out of the house with one earring on.... As for "the plan," I've realized life isn't as predictable as we want it to be. And I'll tell you a little secret... life's a lot more fun when you don't plan it down to the very last detail.

I grew up loving school. I loved school so much, in fact, I tried to make a career out of it. After eleven years in college (hey, I was busy!) Dad announced I couldn’t be a professional student, so I finally declared a major and graduated with my teaching certificate, reluctantly leaping into the scary waters of adulthood. Since then, I’ve taught everything from 2nd grade to high school juniors. I love my job and the kids I get to spend my days with! If you follow me on Twitter, you'll see some posts about how much I love my job. Guaranteed.

Wouldn’t it be cool if I was one of those people who said they’d always wanted to write and this was all I’d ever done? Yeah, well... that didn't happen. I’ve been an avid reader since I was in the third grade and discovered Judy Blume, but it wasn’t until I read Janet Evanovich’s “How I Write” that I actually considered writing. I surrounded myself with stellar writers and the rest, as they say, is history. After several years, I was offered representation by the one and only, 100% magnificent Holly Root with Waxman Literary Agency. To read the story on how I managed to secure such heavenly representation, check out my interview with fellow author and friend, Vicky Dreiling.

I have the very best big family EVER. I am so blessed by every single one of my many nieces and nephews. I love being their aunt. And my sisters are my lifeline. I couldn't make it through a day without either one of them.

I live with my family in Central Texas, where I read and write daily. I’m rarely – if ever – found without my laptop, iPhone, and iPad. I have a life-long love affair with animals, especially dachshunds, and always have an animal or two snuggled close when writing.

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t like this book. I really wanted to because I love the story of Cyrano de Bergerac. This book had a bit of a good message with the main character Sarah having an upbeat attitude about having a big nose but I just felt that Sarah was a bit inconsistent.

Enter Rock who is this smoldering hot guy who just transferred to Sarah’s school and catches the attention of not only Sarah but her best friend Kristen. Kristen is that stereotypical dumb blonde with the looks who ends up hooking up with Rock. Sarah is there to provide the ‘smarts’ for Kristen via email and facebook. If Rock was this smart intelligent guy wouldn’t he notice that Kristen in person and online Kristen are not the same? Oh wait he’s not really paying attention to that detail because he’s too busy making out with Kristen. What a guy.

Ok this is the point that was a bit disappointing to me. When this other guy, Jay, who’s had this crush on Sarah for awhile but is too shy to do anything about it was able to point out to Sarah that she purposely puts up a wall to others, except Rock. Jay seemed like a good guy and genuinely wanted a chance with Sarah. But apparently only totally hot guys like Rock only exist and all others are invisible because Jay is dismissed and disappears from the book. Yeah I get that Sarah and Rock share the same interests, I just didn’t see any chemistry there. The way Sarah dismisses what Jay points out and continues only with the ‘good looking’ guy, um, is that the moral of this story? Is it a bit of a double standard for what Sarah wants others to treat her and her big nose and how she treats others especially guys who are not in the 'total knockouts' column?
Overall I didn't care too much for this book. It’s barely two stars for me. Sorry.

[Christy Stewart · Rating 1 out of 5]

Amazon: Hey, Christy...You like Cyrano de Bergerac, right?
Christy: Ya, I love it.
Amazon: Then you'll love this book!

(a week later)

Book: HAHA, you wasted your money!
Christy: You guys tricked me!
Amazon: Your moms a whore and your dad holds the money.
Book: Nice one, dude.
Amazon: Thanks, man.

[Paula Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG , I loved this book so much . I didn't think that it would have the effect on me that it did , I wasn't sure what the book was going to be about but once I got started I was hooked and then with the last few chapters and by the time I had finished the book , I actually had tears in my eyes and I HARDLY ever cry in books , movies I do but never really books and especially not in Teen books lol. But Flawless brought tears to my eyes.
The book starts with two best friends Sarah and Kristen and of course a new hunky guy named Rockford aka Rock Conway. He is not only gorgeous and handsome but he is also smart and intelligent and of course the perfect gentleman. When Kristen sets her eyes on him , Sarah always the best friend takes a step back though she liked him too. The next part reminded me of the book "The Julian Game" by Adele Griffin when Kristen asks Sarah to write to Rock pretending to be her , as this goes on though Sarah is finding herself fall more in love with Rock as he is definitely more perfect for her than Kristen. Throughout the novel Flawless , we read as Sarah continually questions the factor of Loyalty and how far one can go to remain loyal and when has loyalty gone too far that one loses it's own morals and self-worth. The other issue in which the title stems from is the fact that we learn Sarah has a big nose - a nose that is out of place on her face, one that is so big -people stop and stare. In Flawless , we read as Sarah tosses and turns with the issue of her appearance and self-esteem. This part of the book reminded me of "The North of Beautiful" by Justina Chen Hedley in which the main character had a port wine birthmark over the side of her face. In the last chapter we read as Sarah reads out an essay she wrote on Loyalty and the consequences of what she did are revealed.
Flawless is one of those books that I highly recommend all to read and even if it isn't the type of book that you normally read - you must.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

2024

2020

2019
OMG

This book had so much potential for disaster! But EVERY WORD was 100% perfect! There were seriously about 20 times when I was sure that Sarah was going to end up with no friends, no boyfriend, no happy ending. I was 100% sure that there was no way the author could pull this off. That she could make everything work out perfectly!

Sarah was perfect in every way (even though she certainly didn't believe so, with her nose and all). I rooted for her the entire time. Even when she was making poor decisions (like writing to her best friend's boyfriend as her best friend about the feelings she had for him herself). As someone who once was a teenage girl with self-esteem issues, I loved that Sarah ended up tackling that little nugget of worry once and for all by the end of the novel (sorry about that spoiler, there, but I really am proud of my girl. She was so worried about being accepted and ridiculed and hurt by everyone based on her nose that I am so proud she finally decided that she didn't need to change anything at all).

Kristen was a bit clueless as a friend, but she, too, was loyal to a fault. She just couldn't see what was right in front of her the entire time: that her best friend had an immediate attraction to Rock. And that she completely destroyed any chance they had of getting together in a perfectly normal way. But the thing I loved that the author did for Sarah, is she gave Kristen her own set of faults. Her own set of worries. Her own self-doubt. I think that really made an impact with Sarah to see that everyone can worry that they aren't enough.

And Rock. *Swoon* Perfect boyfriend material. I would have definitely had a crush on Rock when I was in high school. He was sweet, smart, kind, funny, sexy. Perfect. And I'm so glad that he didn't ever make fun of Sarah (a lot of author's give their romantic lead a chance to be part of the "cool crowd" by having them poke fun at whatever the main character - Sarah - is insecure about. But then they turn around at the end of the novel and are all like, "geez I'm awfully sorry that I hurt your feelings. Want to live happily ever after with me?" And the girl is all like, "awww, deep down you are a sweet guy and I always knew I liked you, so sure." And EVERY TIME I am like that is so lame). So I loved that he always stood by her as her friend. And stood up for her whenever he saw someone who wasn't as nice as he was.

[Kristina Dostálová · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takže.. co právě dělám? Zavřela jsem knihu, utírám si slzy, chybí mi kapesník, posledních dvacet stránek jsem probrečela. Buďto byl konec impozantní nebo jsem prostě fakt "cíťa". Zřejmě obojí dohromady.
Hlavními postavami je (je to možný? Před pěti minutami jsem to dočetla a už nevím jméno?).. aha, Sarah, Kristen a Rock. Sarah trpí představou, že díky svému velkému nosu není pěkná a záměrně se před ostatními lidmi uzavírá do sebe. Je však nesmírně inteligentní, ale podle ní to nestačí. Kristen je přesně ten typ holky, co každého kluka uhrane. Nádherná holka s dolíčky, co staví nakupování na první místo nejdůležitějších věcí na světě. Obě jsou se svými životy spokojeny. Než se v posledním ročníku školy, kde obě studují, objeví Rock. Sarah se na první pohled zamiluje, ale oddaně vyklízí pole své nejlepší kamarádce, která Rocka musí mít.
Příběh se velmi slušně "vleče" asi do poloviny knihy. Klasické dívčí čtení, s kapkou humoru, ale zároveň nesnesitelného tématu (nejednou jsem proklínala autorku). Pak se však cosi zlomí, autorka - zdá se - změní i styl psaní a styl dopadu na city člověka. Najednou jsem si připadala, že už nadále nejsem čtenářkou pubertálního tématu, ale opravdových pocitů, které se v postavách odehrávají. Nelze říci, že jsem byla přímo unešena, ale spíše překvapena, jakým příjemným směrem se konec ubíral.
Závěr? Bylo to fajn!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are anything like me and are continually on the lookout for the next fabulous and realistic contemporary YA read, look no further as Lara Chapman’s Flawless is the book for you. Finally, here is a book that is not only repeatedly laugh-out-loud funny (sometimes several times per page!) but also presents such realistic and adorable main characters.

For high school senior Sarah Burke she’s never been flawless. Sure, she has clear blue eyes, blonde hair, and a dazzling future ahead of her, but she is also the girl with the big honker, the nose that nearly anyone notices within a five-mile radius. However, because of her best friend, the perfect and flawless Kristen, Sarah has always felt like the ordinary girl. That is until Rock Conway walks into their lives. Charming, smart, and witty, Rock is the guy Sarah has always been looking for. The thing is Kristen likes him, and she needs Sarah’s help in order to gain his attention. Always one to put friendship in front of guys, Sarah quickly comes to Kristen’s aide. Yet, what happens as Sarah quickly begins to fall for even more? Will she tell Kristen the truth and get Rock, or will she lose this perfect guy once and for all? Only time and more pages can tell in this sweet and charming coming-of-age tale of acceptance, love, and friendship.

My favorite part of this novel would have to be the characters, hands down. Richly developed and full of spunk and wit, it was hard not to love each one of them flaws and all. My favorite would have to be Sarah though. Sarah is a girl I had no trouble relating to, and I feel many other girls (and even boys) will agree. Everyone always has that one friend that’s seems to be perfect, and for Sarah that person is her best friend Kristen. The thing Kristen is awesome in her own way. Sure, she’s a bit dopey, but she’s loyal and a model-worthy friend, making the situation between Kate and her not only complicated to no end, but also well-done to say the least. I also adored Rock…the person everyone was after in this. Sometimes in YA, the leading males are a bit shallow and one-dimensional, but that was not at all the case with Rock. Full of heart, I could not help but love him. He nearly is the perfect guy if there is one….

Furthermore, I loved the plot of this. It was full of tension, drama, and more tension, and I loved every single moment of it. I constantly was flipping the pages, dying to know what would happen next. Would the sexual tension between Rock and Sarah ever lead to something more? Would Sarah ever tell Kristen how she felt about Rock? Would everything end happily or badly? These questions and more were constantly spinning in my head, and until the very last few pages, I barely knew what to expect. Better yet, I loved that strong representation of not only friendship in this one but self acceptance.

Finally yet importantly, Lara Chapman’s writing was fabulous in this one. For a debut novelist, she sure knows how to spin quite the exhilarating of reads- ones full of plenty of character and plot development.

Captivating, romantic, and full of fun, Flawless proves to be quite the debut novel. I cannot wait to suggest this one to readers come its release in May! Here to hoping Lara’s next book will be just as great…if not more.

Grade: A+

[Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flawless is a light, fun, quick read with strong message about self-respect, and being happy and confident with who are you, looks and all. It's also a story about loyalty, friendship, love and family. Maybe it's the book geek in me, but I love reading a story that pulls in the classics and I liked what Lara did with her retelling and modernizing of the classic Cyrano de Bergerac.

I really liked the story's main character, Sarah. She's a beautiful character both outside and in and her only outward flaw is her large nose. Something that she at one time was insecure about, but she's learned to love it. Lara did a wonderful job on her realistic portrayal of how Sarah feels that's the one thing that everyone looks at. Even though she's accepted that her nose is part of who she is, she still feels that's all people see about her, when in reality it's not. Then there's her best friend Kristin, you know the one who's got those flawless looks and has it all together? Yeah, that one. These two have more than their good looks, they have a genuine, trust worthy, loyal friendship that I loved. I really enjoyed getting to know both Kristen and Sarah who have been best friend for years, and know everything little thing about each other. Not to mention they are completely loyal and supportive of each other, even when they both of their sites set on the hot new guy, Rock.

I understood Sarah's actions and her motives for not going after Rock, even though it's clear the two of them have an instant connection. They're both intelligent, caring characters who have a love of literature. While she never tells her best friend Kristen that she likes Rock too, she puts her feelings aside so Kristen can date him. The only time I got annoyed with both characters was when Kristen wanted Sarah to help her write messages on facebook or emails to Rock for her, because she didn't feel she was intelligent enough to do so. I felt that both characters were mature enough to not do something so juvenile. In the end everything works out and both girls learn something more about themselves.

I enjoyed getting to know Lara's realistic characters. They're not in-depth, but written in a very relatable way, and I felt like I was able to connect with them. I loved that Sarah isn't just beautiful, but she's smart and she's has a level of self respect that lacks in a lot of YA books. Flawless is a great, clean cut read with a powerful message about learning to love and embrace your flaws. If you're looking for a book that's fun, has a sweet romance and a great story about friendship, than I recommend picking up Flawless.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book even though the cover and review weren't that special simply because when I flipped through it, I saw a character who shared my name. When I found she wasn't a big part of the book (nor was anything nice said about her) I was kind of disappointed.

That sums up my feelings about this book. It was kind of disappointing in every way. We start off with a character named Rockway who, thankfully, goes by the nickname of Rock. "Ew" my best friend shrieked when I told her about the book. "That's a really ugly name." Fortunately, Rock is not ugly. However, after the first few chapters of the book, Rock's 'attractiveness' seems to evaporate. There is no drama over why he is ONLY hanging out with big-nosed Sarah Burke and her gorgeous friend Kristen.

Now, the real mystery in this book are why the few characters it has are so one-dimensional, free of conflict, and boring. Kristen, despite her 'popularity', appears to have no other friends than Sarah. This would have been a great source for potential drama, as Sarah struggles to come to terms with the fact that there are other people in this world besides her Mom, Kristen, and Rock. Which by the way, are the only characters who seem to exist, except when they go to a 'party', or 'out', and people stare at Sarah. Also, I seriously doubt that many people are going to stare at Sarah's nose- it is not a significant facial defect nor is it rare. Especially the usher with a barbell through his eyebrow, who 'stands transfixed', staring at Sarah, and not allowing her to get to her seat. I'm sure he gets his own share of staring. Why would he be so dumbfounded by a simple abnormality? And for that matter, is he looking to lose his job? He's an usher. He should not be staring at people or blocking their way if he wants to keep his job. Are people really that vain in Texas?

Furthermore, what is with the relationship between Sarah and her Mom? This is really unrealistic. As close as I am to my mother, when I was 17, I was not sharing the most intimate details of my life with her willingly. When I did, it was rare. Sarah's relationship with her mother could have been more plausible. Also, her mother should have been a little more of a bitch. How could she survive ten years at the top of Houston television being so real? You need to be a little bit plastic at times. She should have pushed Sarah harder for the nose job. She should have hung out with co-workers and the frou-frou a liiiiittle bit more than just 'new-girl' Jen and her daughter.

Finally, why is Rock solely hanging out with the new girls? If he was so hot, wouldn't he have competition for his attention? Wouldn't he be nice, like he is supposed to be, and mingle with other people, and build a reputation for himself? The whole thing makes me wonder if Kristen and Sarah are less popular than they think, seeing as everyone leaves Rock alone (except for the party scene) other than to blatantly stare at him.

In summary, this book was really one-dimensional, cliched, and not at all realistic. The praise I will give it is that it is like every other cliche and trick in the teen fiction genre, which makes it readable and enjoyable. I also admire the messages the author was sending of grrl power, friendship, strength, and learning to love yourself.

So, overall, decent first book, and I look forward to Chapman's hopefully more enjoyable second book (should there be one).

[Chrissy♥Dev · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off I love how the cover of the book depicts the main character and her only flaw her nose.

When the most "perfect" guy arrives at school Sarah is in love, usually this doesn't happen, but when a guy is the whole package of brains and good looks everyone is going to notice including her BFF Kristen.
Sarah knows she can't compete with Kristen so instead decides to forget about her happiness and help her BFF even though she likes him. During this part I was like girl NOO! Dont do it, i personally know how to feels to do this thinking that you don't have a shot with someone based on your looks etc. So instead you give up because you think the other person has a better shot. Parts of this book made me cry (and I don't tear up that easy)because it reminded me off my high school experience with my friends and feeling like the ugly duckling.

I loved her essay about loyalty and learning that in order to be loyal to other you have to be loyal to yourself. This has become one of my favs, you just feel like rooting for Sarah and having a happily ever after as cheesy as that may sound.

[AtenRa]

Flawless is a very funny and sweet book. It's the modern retelling of Cyrano's story(we've all seen Roxanne). So this is a story of a girl, Sarah, who falls in love with a new hot transfer student, Rock. It so happens that Sarah's best and gorgeous friend Kristen, has also fallen in love with Rock and asks for Sarah's help to write him emails convincing her that if she wrote them herself they would sound childish and idiotic. At the end, Sarah ends up with Rock(duh)because they are both smart and like the same things, poetry for example.

Now, I don't have any problem whatsoever with the book and the way it has been written. The original story isn't Chapman's, who admittedly did a great job in modernizing it and re telling it from a girl's prospective. What I object to however is the core of the story and the absurd level of unrealistic romanticism in it.
I mean, come on. Let's be honest. When does a hot guy, a 10-9-8 if you want to talk numbers, ever dated an ugly 5-4-3 girl?
Let me think.
Once, twice…no. Zero times!That's how many times it's happened. At least from my personal and my social circle's experience . And when I say "ugly", I refer to the physical appearance only. Sarah in this case is a very bright and opinionated young woman(even though I found the emails she sent to Rock quite simple and easy to think up. I mean, it's not rocket science!) but is that all it takes? If it was so, people would be much happier and stripped of insecurities. I certainly don't blame the 10-9-8 guys or the 10-9-8 girls who look for someone equally hot, it's evolution, physics. They have every right to, it's their primal instinct after all. We see Sarah too looking for the 10, Rock, and practically drooling over him when she first saw him, regardless of his interests, behavior etc. She hadn't even talked to him at this point. He could have been a complete jerk and she would still be attracted to him physically, at least at first.
When she considers dating another guy, Jay, she hesitates thinking yeah, he's good looking enough but he's not Rock (what does that even mean?) Further down the line she says something about them being a potentially nice couple(her and Jay)because "We're both blond, attractive and have great smiles". 1. You're not convincing me of your wits, Sarah! 2.Criteria that someone immediately takes into consideration in order to find the best mate(evolution, hello! Sarah must have read a lot of Dawkins but doesn't swear by him for some reason.)
In other words, having a very handsome guy falling for a girl who repeatedly says that her nose is the size of America, makes me kinda angry because in my mind it's never gonna happen. It's utopian. I may be cynical and mean but I'd like to think myself more of a realist than cynical and pessimist.

What also really annoyed me was that Sarah's friend Kristen, she of the perfect hair, perfect smile, perfect body, is apparently not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Why? Is it like an innate thing, predetermined? Beauty comes with stupidity? What the hell? Enough with the stereotypes already!This is 2011! Personally i think that apart from treating Sarah like shit, Kristen was not stupid at all. I wanted to scream at Sarah when Kristen asked her what is she good at and Sarah couldn't think of anything. Oh yeah? Really? Why is she your best friend then? Like you're MIT genius because you read poetry. Geez! Sarah also had the indecency to think that Jay might best suit Kristen, a guy who she has not only rejected for not being good enough but was also said to be so dim that "the best thing he has to offer to a conversation is people impersonations". If you think so lowly of him why suggest he's right for your best friend? Ugh, whole thing makes me angry and I just don't get it.

Maybe I'm overreacting, maybe I should just relax and think it's just another story, a fictional story. I don't know. It just rubbed me the wrong way, in the sense that I feel it gets totally wrong messages out to teenagers and people who read it in general, regardless of age. I like Chapman's writing and I would maybe like to read her future works, but right now I cannot possibly rate Flawless. Good/bad rating, both seem unfair under the circumstances.

[Rida (Raindrop Reflections) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flawless was a mixed bag for me, really. Like, okay, Sarah has this ginormous nose, and she obsesses about it all the time, thinking that she’s like, totally ugly or whatever, and yet she ends up having two super-hot guys like her. Hmm.

I guess I should explain a bit of the story before going on. See, Sarah, like I said before, has a giant nose, while her best friend is perfect. They both end up liking the same guy (named Rock), but it turns out that he’s actually smart (!) about literature, which is totally not Kristen’s forte. So Kristen enlists Sarah’s help in feeling equal to Rock’s smartness.

I have one major problem with this. Not with the story, mind; just with the fact that Sarah is such a doormat. Kristen asks Sarah to reply to Rock’s super-smart Facebook messages, and she barely ever says please. It’s always something like “Facebook. Now.”

I don’t know about you, but I’d be pissed about being talked to like that, no matter how familiar you are with someone. Especially if you’re doing them a huge favour.

But it turns out that this is what Sarah needs to overcome, because honestly, all I saw Kristen as was a manipulator. And Rock was- well, I failed to see the appeal. He was one of those fictional love interests who’s like, complete wish fulfilment. A SUPER hot guy who’s read like, everything under the sun in his seventeen years?

Moving on to the good points. I actually liked Jay Thomas a lot more than Rock. He’s blond and funny and sweet and dedicated and what’s not to like? Unfortunately, Sarah fails to see the appeal and keeps lusting after Rock.

And then there was the whole journalism aspect of the story. I really liked that, because I’m very interested in journalism myself, whether it’s print/online or broadcast. It turns out that both were very prevalent in Flawless, so yay.

The ending was a little too cupcakes-and-forever for me, though. It almost gave me a cavity with all that sweet goodness. Eurgh.

Overall, this book was a lukewarm experience for me. I liked all the cool quotes on beauty at the beginning of every chapter, and some of the characters (like Jay Thomas!) but I felt a little cheated in the end.

Full review on my blog, Raindrop Reflections

[Kait · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good contemporary book and Flawless is my newest find. There isn't much buzz about Flawless yet but I know once people start reading it, there will be. Flawless is one of the cutest contemporary books that I have read and it will definitely top my list of recommendations.

Sarah Burke is gorgeous except she has one flaw; her huge nose. Sarah has lived with her nose for 17 years and never once did she desire to change it until she met Rock Conway. Rock is the perfect guy for Sarah but she knows he will never date her if she has her nose. Especially not when her gorgeous best friend Kristen goes after him too. When Kristen asks Sarah to help her get a date with Rock she is too nice to say no. But when will Sarah realize that sometimes she has to put herself first? And what if Rock really can see past her nose to how perfect they would be together?

I loved Sarah. She knew her nose wasn't attractive but she loved it anyway. She was unwilling to change that part of herself just to be prettier and get the attention of some guy. Instead she was true to herself and realized that if someone couldn't see past her nose they weren't worthy of her love. Kristen, on the other hand, I didn't love so much. There were times when she was an awesome best friend to Sarah but a lot of the time she seemed very selfish. The harebrained scheme she came up with to get Rock to like her was kind of comical though. Rock was a sweet, smart, funny guy but a lot of the time he seemed clueless. I did still like him though.

Overall, Flawless has its flaws but I definitely loved it all the same. If you are looking for a cute, fun, quick read, check this one out. I guarantee you will enjoy it!

[Syki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tohle je přesně ten typ knih, který mám ráda. Žádné fantasy, jen jeden příběh ze života. O dvou nejlepších kamarádkách, které mají rády jednoho kluka. Jedna hezká, druhá už tak moc ne (nejspíš). Jedna přátelská, druhá uzavřenější. Jedna by pro druhou udělala nemožné. A taky že ano...

Moderní variace na Cyrana se mi moc líbila. Postav v knize moc nebylo, ale to vůbec není na škodu, právě naopak. Sarah jsem si oblíbila hned na začátku. Ohromně se mi na ní líbila její povaha. Líbilo se mi, že odmítala jít na plastickou operaci, i když se svým nosem nebyla zase tak úplně spokojená. Přijala svůj nos a svůj oličej takový, jaký je. Obětovala se pro svou kamarádku a pomáhala jí, i když jí to uvnitř ničilo. Líbilo se mi její zapálení pro žurnalistiku, to jak se dokázala postavit za svou matku a nakonec i sama za sebe.

Tato kniha je jednou z těch, která má úplně obyčejný příběh, který nejspíš nikdy nebude bestsellerem, přesto když si knihu čtete, uvažujete o sobě, o svých přátelích a o svém životě. Jaký je a jaký by mohl být, kdybyste se třeba zkusili změnit. Takovéto knihy já mám opravdu moc ráda.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of modern retelling, for myself personally, and because I also feel like it makes those classic stories available to a whole new demographic of readers. I mean.... I've read a few of the classics... and those I treasure, but the rest I learned about on Wishbone... you remember that show right? The little jack-russell terrier going on adventures in literature. Anyway... back to the review.

This was a quick read, it was fun, cute... a little predictable and light, but it had a great message. Sarah was a great character, she was strong & smart, and although she was self conscious of her nose at times, she never let it define her. I wished that the characters and their relationships would have had more depth... especially between Sarah and her mother, I felt like there was a lot more going on there.

I loved the quotes before each chapter about beauty. It didn't really have much to do with the story itself, but it was a nice introduction to the upcoming chapter, and I always enjoy that little extra.

Flawless is a fun read, great for a summer day!

[Haley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sarah Burke is an annoying character, with no backbone at all. Kristen, her BFF sucks entirely and no matter how Lara Chapman tries to say otherwise, is a total player.

And Rock who is soooooo hot and smart makes me want to puke.

Sarah should have told Kristen that she liked him. Kristen should have wanted Rock to like her for who she is. And if Rock is as smart as Lara Chapman describes, than why doesn't he notice that Kristen acts completely different in e-mail and in real life? Huh?

The writing isn't all that bad itself but the characters are terrible and makes me lose all motive to finish the book. I don't get the characters at all and they're all pretty one-dimensional. Sarah annoys me to no end and her mother is pretty unrealistic.

Needless to say, this book sucks.

[Sharyn Flug · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but really didn't. The premise--retelling of cyrano with a female 21st century spin--sounded promising, but I felt the characters were wooden and the big conclusion didn't really ring true--I didn't see undying love from the hero--felt like he was too one dimensional to really have me care about him at all. And the subplot bordered on offensive--who cares about the sexual orientation of news anchor? Really, in this day and age THAT was a key plot point?!?!

[Sumayyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

omg this book is AMAZING!!!!! i love it!!!!!!

[Fazleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malas nak review! Senang cerita I like the book. Dah

[ALPHAreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Burke has heard it all – honker, big-nose, bird-beak . . . really, Sarah has heard every variation of the many biting remarks about her biggest physical attribute – her nose. She hears it in the school hallways, sees it in the passing eyes of strangers, heck even her mother (the beautiful Texan anchorman) is not-so-subtly urging her daughter to get rhinoplasty and correct her genetic misfortune.

Luckily Sarah has an iron will and a deep fear of hacking surgeons. And with her best friend, (and winner of the genetic lottery) Kristen at her back, most of the nasty comments don't touch her.

But then Rockford Conway comes to town. Rockford ‘Rock’ is beautiful – an Adonis come to life. And the cherry on top is that he’s wicked smart – even sharing Sarah’s love of literature. So it’s just a shame that Rock is quickly smitten with the beautiful Kristen, and Sarah is relegated to being her best friend’s shadow.

Unluckily for Kristen, she and Rock have nothing in common. He loves Charles Dickens, and she thinks ‘David Copperfield’ is about a magician. He adores impressionist paintings, and she loves comedic impersonators. It’s an ill-fated match . . . until Kristen convinces (okay, begs and hassles) Sarah to do some covert flirting via Facebook and text-messaging. But what starts as a romantic boost to help her best friend soon turns into an inner tug-of-war; as Sarah battles her growing infatuation with Rock and her needling frustration with her biggest enemy – her nose.

‘Flawless’ is the contemporary romance YA debut novel from Lara Chapman.

With ‘Flawless’, Chapman modernizes the 1897 classic French play of Cyrano de Bergerac. In the play, big-nosed Cyrano woos the lovely Roxane on behalf of his conventionally handsome but inarticulate friend. The play has been adapted to film, most notably in the form of Steve Martin’s 1987 movie ‘Roxanne’ and the 1996 Uma Thurman movie, ‘The Truth about Cats and Dogs’.

In ‘Flawless’ Chapman takes Cyrano to a Texan high school and puts his bothersome big nose on a seventeen-year-old girl . . . with funny and compassionate results.

The tale of Cyrano is brilliantly retold for the younger set. It’s a wonderfully quirky story about inner beauty and outward appearance and how love is more than skin-deep. And it’s a perfectly-pitched story for modern day . . . in today’s world when pop stars get nose jobs to correct their ‘deviated septum’ and air-brushing sets the standard for the average woman.

Sarah was just lovely. She’s a little bit geeky and wonderfully loyal to her best friend, Kristen. But most of all Sarah is brave . . . high school is hard enough, but when someone is forced to wear their difference on their face for the whole world to see, high school can be a real battlefield.

Let’s face it. I've had seventeen years to think about the way people see me. And how I see myself. Nine days out of ten, I’m happy to stay exactly the way I am. But on that tenth day . . .

Sarah tries to stop her nose from getting in her way. She is very aware of her big-nosed short-comings, but for the most part she takes her differences in stride . . . refusing to back down or drop her gaze when someone stops and stares at her biggest feature, and quick to snipe back when a cruel remark comes her way. She’s at once brilliantly fearless, while also hiding behind a lot of armour. Without realizing the extent of her shields, Sarah often cuts her nose off to spite her face (so to speak) – she’s quick to reject people before they can reject her, and she prefers to be a loner (save for Kristen) rather than face the cruelty of others;

Mom stops stroking my head and tweaks my nose, something she used to do when I was little. When I was five, I loved it. But I've long since forbade her – or anyone else for that matter – from touching IT.
I swat at her hand. “You know I hate that.”
“Lighten up, Sarah. There’s so much more to you than your nose. For someone who’s hell-bent on keeping her God-given nose, you sure do blame it for a lot of your problems.”

‘Flawless’ does have some flaws. The character of Rock is fairly one-dimensional, a cardboard cut-out heartthrob with no real personality beyond being every shy girl’s dream guy. Even his dialogue is out of step with his youthfulness, at one point calling a group of bikers ‘punks’ (seriously? Next he’ll be calling his fellow classmates ‘whipper snippers’ and complaining that the music is too loud).

I also thought there would be more tension and contention between Sarah and her mother. The opening scene of ‘Flawless’ has Sarah coming down for breakfast and finding a brochure on rhinoplasty where her napkin should be. I thought that was rather brutal . . . but what starts out as a promising conflict between an insecure mother and her valiant daughter quickly peters into a more lukewarm ‘Gilmore Girls’ relationship of female solidarity. It’s a shame that Chapman seems to have missed this opportunity to explore the ramifications of parental pressures of perfection on children. Because there was plenty of opportunity for mother-daughter drama; especially because Mother Burke is a Texan anchorwoman who underwent plastic surgery when she was Sarah’s age to correct the very same genetic monstrosity on her face.

I liked ‘Flawless’ for being a wonderful retelling of the Cyrano tale. There’s a lot of heart to this story, and Chapman beautifully communicated the message of acceptance via the plight of a high school girl grappling with her first real crush. Sure, the story could have been heightened by including some parental pressures, and the love interest could have been fleshed-out and given some flaws of his own. But ‘Flawless’ was still a lovely YA contemporary romance about how how hard it is ‘to thine own self be true’.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall Review: What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see all your flaws or are you happy with what you look like and who you are? When Sarah looks in the mirror, all she can see is her huge nose. As a matter of fact, her nose gets in the way of her seeing a LOT of things, and as I read this book, the saying “Can’t see past the nose on your face” kept coming to mind!

I really enjoyed many aspects of this modern retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac (with a much happier ending, I might add). The quotes about beauty proceeding each chapter are all lovely, and the many allusions to great literature keeps the novel itself from being too shallow (it is, after all, in a high school setting)! The message about the importance of being yourself is a much needed theme; Lara Chapman’s writing is fast paced and engrossing. She does a great job of mixing together a fairly heavy theme with classic literary elements and modern settings that make it very accessible to high schoolers.

Sarah is a beautiful character—flawed, yes, and because of that, she’s easy to identify with. Her best friend, Kristen, is also a lovely character. She’s blonde, beautiful, and absolutely clueless! There were times I wanted to shake her and knock some sense into her! How could she NOT see that her best friend was in love with her boyfriend…or that having her best friend pretend to be her was NOT a good idea?!? The two of them together were hilariously funny, and as they befriend Rock, the hot new guy in school, things just spiral out of control. All of the characters are very well developed, and it was fun to follow them around. It was lovely watching Sarah develop and learn that it’s really ok to say no—and also to watch Kristen realize that it’s ok to be told no! Through these two unlikely friends, we learn that perhaps there are more important things in life than having the hottest boyfriend or researching the latest rhinoplasty surgeon--and that there is no such thing as a flawless person! Overall rating is 3.5 Stars.

Content Review:

PROFANITY: Moderate throughout

VIOLENCE: None

SEXUAL CONTENT: Mild to Moderate throughout

MATURE THEMES: Moderate

RECOMMENDED AGE GROUP: 18+

There is quite a bit of profanity sprinkled throughout this book. I would say there is one word every other page on average. There is no violence, but there is quite a bit of mild to moderate sexual content. There are innuendoes, both in word and thought, throughout. There are many instances of girls ‘leaning in’ to show themselves off to better advantage. A character is accused of being a lesbian. There is some kissing, thoughts of kissing , and ‘kiss-n-tell’ instances. There are talks about virgins, bras, how clothes fit (or not), etc. A character discusses another’s choice of artificial insemination. There are mild themes, such as coming to accept yourself for who you are, focusing on looks vs what’s on the inside, the importance of friendship, making difficult decisions, and honesty (i.e. pretending to be someone you’re not to help someone else—is it honest? How far should it go?). There are also the more moderate themes of high school dating/relationships, the necessity (or not) of cosmetic surgery, hurting others in order to help yourself, and the ethics and ambiguity of friendship (what lengths we go to help a friend). Being set in high school, I’m sure it is much cleaner than a real high school hallway! This is definitely aimed toward the young adult age groups. Due to profanity and other mature content, Flawless is recommended for ages 18+.

This review was written by Emily
A Squeaky Clean Reads Book Reviewer
This book was sent to Squeaky Clean Reads by Bloomsbury for a review

To see more fantastic books reviewed with content in mind, visit us at Squeaky Clean Reads!!

[Jen Bigheart · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Sarah has a big nose, like uber big, and she will tell you she is who she is and is happy that way (nose and all). But the stares and snickers get to her from time to time. Sarah's mother urges her to undergo the knife and get that sucker fixed, but Sarah is set in her ways. When a hunky boy with a hunky name, Rock, moves to town, she starts to think that if the honker was gone, she might have a chance with him. The only problem is, her BFF Kristen falls head over heels for Rock, and with the help of Sarah's insight and master writing skills, it looks like Rock might fall for Kristen too.

If I wasn't told this was a retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, I never would have known. Yes, I've seen Roxanne (great movie!), but I just didn't know the original story came from 1900. I know I'm a librarian...don't judge. Plain and simple, this book is about being comfortable and accepting who are and what God gave you. What an important message to send to teens and young people! We preach it all day long, but then we glorify woman and men who have the perfect hair, teeth, and gosh knows what else, what message are we really sending?. When we dye our hair, bleach our teeth, and undergo plastic surgery to fix that tiny tummy, are we really telling our kids that God made them special just the way they are?

I love the heart of this story, and how the two girls deal with the gawking and finger pointing due to Sarah's oversized nose- "Everyone take cover. She's gonna blow!" *insert laughter* On a basic level, the scene demonstrates that it's okay to laugh at yourself, and in this situation, it took away the power of the teasing crowd. The scene was almost like a reset-button - yes, she has a big nose...can we move on now? I'm sure the two have many scenarios similar to that one up their sleeve. I love the relationship Sarah and Kristen had in the beginning of the story. Kristen basically abuses Sarah's friendship when she asks Sarah to pose as her online and snag Rock for a boyfriend. Who wouldn't help your best friend get the guy they love? Unfortunately for Sarah, it comes at a high price. She is miserable and soon enough, the entire facade falls apart. Another issue teens must deal with - what will I be willing to give up in order to make my friend happy? Will they still be my friend if I don't? Important stuff....

What the book needed, for me, was a little more umph. I thought the side story with Sarah's mother and one of her coworkers was going somewhere, but it fizzled out....fast. I thought that storyline could have solidified the acceptance theme, but it didn't happen. I was a little confused on why we were teased with that possible scenario. Also, I thought Rock sent a lot of mixed messages and he left me confused at times, but he is a boy and we all know how unpredictable they can be. I think Jay, the boy hot on Sarah's heels, was really a fun kid to read about. I would have loved more of him. Near the end, Jay basically drops an insightful bombshell on Sarah that provided the story arc. I loved this part and would have liked to see a little of this early on. Then again...it wouldn't have been a bomb. Either way, her resolution was quick. I would have liked to see Sarah struggle a bit with the information Jay gave her. The resolution in the end was good. Not too perfect, but filled with hope.

Quick read with an important message for every young person. Girls will fall for this cover. How snarky to put the title right where the nose should be!

3.5 Stars

[Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Firstly I'd like to apologize for all the whining about annoying characters... But I promise, I did enjoy the book, and I do recommend it! :D )

I enjoyed Flawless. It wasn't the best book in the world, but it was definitely an enjoyable, quick, fun read about friendship and relationships.
Sarah Burke has a big nose. She's learnt to deal with it though, and she keeps pushing away the plastic surgery leaflets her mother has 'hidden' around the house. That is, until she meets Rock. He's funny, he's nice, AND he's intelligent. So he's perfect for Sarah, isn't he? Well, yes, but nothing can ever happen between them because Sarah has promised her best friend Kristen that she will help her get Rock. So Sarah is forced to choose between what she thinks is the right thing to do, and what is best for her. Her loyalties are stretched to the limit, so who will she choose? Rock, or Kristen?
I liked Sarah, though at times she really annoyed me. She couldn't stand up for herself at all, and to be honest, I thought she needed to grow a backbone. I get that she was extremely loyal to Kristen, and that she didn't feel she could stand up to her, but if Kristen was truly an awesome friend, she would at least listen to what Sarah had to say, and maybe even realise how much Sarah liked Rock. I thought that Sarah writing emails to Rock as Kristen was more than a little weird, and it just made me wonder why she did it. I mean, if I had the hots for a guy, and my best friend wanted me to use my incredible writing skills to tease him into thinking she was clever, I would totally say no. Maybe I'm not that great a friend, but I just couldn't see myself doing it...
And Rock was weird. It was obvious that while he liked Kristen, he liked Sarah more, and I felt like he should have at least told Kristen his feelings about Sarah before they started dating. I think he should have been more involved in his and Kristen's relationship, I couldn't help but feel that their whole relationship was one-sided, and Rock wasn't putting much effort in. And lastly about Rock, I think he has an... odd, name. Honestly, I don't like it. And I understand that it's a retelling of a classic, but couldn't Lara have called him something else... :/
And my last complaint, is Kristen. I thought she was shallow and a bit of a rubbish friend. I don't know, maybe that was how I was meant to feel, but I don't think forcing her best friend by pulling the 'I'd do it for you...' card to get a boy to like you, is my idea of being a good friend. I'm sorry I'm so opinionated about this, but I've had a lot of friendship issues in the past and I've had time to contemplate what makes a good friend. And this book made me think about it even more.
However, as you probably can't tell from this review, I did enjoy the book. I enjoyed reading about the characters, even if I didn't like them, and I enjoyed the plot line. I couldn't see how Sarah was going to get out of helping Kristen; I knew it was going to happen, but I wasn't sure when or how. Once it was revealed though, it made perfect sense and I thought it made a great ending.
Flawless is a very good debut novel from Chapman, and I enjoyed the normal-ness of the story, and I could really imagine it taking place in a real American high school. I would recommend it to fans of the contemporary genre, and people who need a quick, fun read.

[Yan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sarah Burke is confident, but just not about her humongous nose. Everyone is always starring at it and she can feel the whispers behind her back. Luckily best friend Kristen is there to cheer her up. But when it comes to new transfer student Rock, Kristen is far from making Sarah happy: Kristen has her eyes set on Rock and is desperate for Sarah to help make her seem smarter in things art and literature. Too bad Sarah’s got a massive crush on Rock herself.

Conceptually Flawless would be a magnificent coming of age, take life by its horn, and just be you type of novel. There are aspects of the novel, however, that stopped it from reaching its full potential. That being said many people enjoyed Flawless and found it pretty near flawless. It’s all in the matter of taste.

I found Flawless to be a frustrating book to read. Sarah’s thoughts and actions seem to never connect. I was rooting for Sarah from the start, but as time went on I grew increasing anxious as to why Sarah continued to pretend she was Kristen when facebook messaging Rock or when writing letters. Sarah started to dig her own grave. And when things finally exploded, it was just very much to the extreme.

Kristen and Sarah’s friendship tips back and forth. Sometimes there was a balance. Other times I wanted to punch Kristen in the face for pressuring Sarah into doing something she obviously did not want to do. And being vocal about it. But Sarah seems to justify Kristen’s actions because she’s her best friend and one of her only friends.

Flawless does a wonderful on drawing out emotions from readers. Everyone has something about themselves that they hate. Readers can be empathic to Sarah when giggles and whispers start as she passed or readers can cheer when Sarah takes a stand for herself against a couple of tween boys. Sarah understands her flaws and accepts them. She focuses on the positive of her features. But I do appreciate when Chapman writes the scene when Sarah considered surgery especially with the added pressure by her mom who had undergone surgery. With the trend in surgery as the fixer upper, this is a very real possibility many people turn to.

One thing that made a little confused was the incorporation of Sarah’s mom’s job. The rivalry of old generation versus new generation and underhandedness is the business world was well done. But it felt out of place with the whole Sarah-Kristen-Rock scheme. The climax of the side plot when the intern claimed Sarah’s mom was a lesbian and her mom’s reaction was awkward. I wasn’t sure if Chapman would take it from there as a sob story or a ridiculous claim from a desperate intern.

Oh and the dude who had a huge crush on Sarah seemed to appear and disappear into thin air. Taught a great lesson to Sarah how she pushed people away without really realizing it, but then poof. Too bad, I kind of liked him.

Flawless had a really great concept in a time when people are always comparing themselves to models, actresses, actors—the people on magazines. But the awkwardness and unclear direction of the main character took it from being amazing to being okay.

[Jade Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original review at http://inkscratchers.blogspot.com/

I wasn't sure about this book when I received it, it seemed like the type of book I would get bored of easily, although I love romance, I like romance with a bit of something else in the story so I thought this might get old very easily. i was shocked to find that it didn't!


What really kept me going with Flawless was the way it read. I'm sure pretty much every female reading this knows what it's like to settle down after a long day with a mug of hot chocolate, a nice warm duvet and a good rom-com on the TV, it's just the perfect wind-down remedy! Flawless did the same to me, it read like a rom-com and had all of the conventions of a rom-com, the only difference being that it's a book, not a movie. I mean, the blurb even describes it as a rom-com!


The story is pretty simple and the book itself is short, making it a great relaxing read, a literary buff may know the story of Cyrano de Bergerac, Flawless basically follows the same story but moves it up to a modern time. The modernisation was fantastic and uses today's technology very well, with facebook and texting replacing traditional letter writing. The writing was also great, really modern and really convincing, it really gets into the head of a seventeen year old girl.


The story is very relatable as are the characters. Every person has something that they are really insecure about, in Sarah's case it's her nose and Sarah's thoughts really show how easy it is to let insecurities take over your every day life, as well as this there is Kirsten, everybody has a friend like Kirsten, one that's really confident and pretty and just standing beside them makes you feel inferior. Lara Chapman really writes these every day issues in a fantastic, true-to-life way. As well as this, the issues such as Sarah's loyalty to Kirsten despite her feelings for Rock are really well written.


The romance aspect wasn't as large as I expected it to be, despite the book basically being about the Sarah/Rock/Kirsten love triangle, Chapman wrote abou a lot of other issues as well, such as Sarah's insecurity and the moral of loving yourself no matter what as well as dealing with the issues of loyalty. However the relationship side is very well written, we see Rock's feelings for Sarah despite his relationship with Kirsten develop.


There are the good things, but there are a few small issues to be covered. I thought that it was ridiculous that Rock didn't figure out that Kirsten wasn't writing the letters from their conversations, I know it had to be played through as part of the plot but it seemed silly to me. I also felt like Sarah's character was inconsistent, with her being all insecure one minute and strong the next, which made me feel a little less attached to her. The plot is also very predictable, so I can't really say I was anticipating the next page or anything.
Finally, this book is more of an easy read and so doesn't have any WOW moments.


All in all, a great summer read, it's relaxing and cute but not an amazing WOW read.

Overall rating: B+

[TheBookAddictedGirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah has just met the perfect guy for her. Smart, articulate, gorgeous: he’s everything she’s ever wanted and more. But she’s agreed to help her best friend, Kristen, get him. Sarah wasn’t expecting the scheme to go so far. Is she willing to sacrifice everything – her own happiness, her future guy, her morals – for her best friend’s happiness? For loyalty?
I loved this book so much! The writing was incredible, funny yet clever. It tackled some tricky teen issues – accepting your faults, morals – but in a light way that was completely enjoyable. It was such a brilliant book of love, loyalty and mismatched relationships. It was touching, even as it made me grin. I just absolutely loved Flawless! I can’t wait to see what Lara Chapman writes next – I have a feeling it will be amazing!
Sarah Burke was wonderful, absolutely awesome. She had a big nose, but she tolerated it. And when other people made fun of her, she stood up for herself. Often in rather funny ways. She was also a geek in a great way, a loveable way. Plus she has just got to be the most loyal friend ever, in the whole wide world. Well, that or a bit of an idiot. I’m going with Option One.
Kristen was sweet and really protective of Sarah. I loved her – her sense of humour, her protectiveness, her love of life. She was just gorgeous – inside and out. And she was made even more real by her insecurities. Kristen was just drop-dead-brilliant.
The “perfect guy,” Rock, was gorgeous, smart, thoughtful, and family orientated. He was just a real sweetie, and super intelligent as well. And that was why I just could not figure out how he didn’t know who the writer was!
The bond between Sarah and Kristen was really strong. Sarah would do absolutely anything for her best friend – even give up the guy of her dreams, and suffer through watching the two of them flirt. And Kristin would do anything for Sarah, and was just constantly standing up for her. Their relationship was beautiful, special and an once-in-a-lifetime friendship.
Ok, so Flawless was simple and predictable. It was nothing like my usual vampire-filled reads. But, still, I adored this book. It was totally amazing. I was touched, amused, intrigued and always thinking. The writing was just so honest and beautiful, the characters and situations so relatable. I loved every word – devoured them, even – and truly think that everyone should read this. Accepting yourself is just so important, and Flawless highlights this perfectly. A wonderful, thought-provoking read, hidden inside an equally wonderful rom-com. It taught me was that we all have a few things we’re embarrassed about, insecurities. And that you can’t be happy if you don’t accept yourself. I know that, when I’m feeling insecure, quotes from this book will be what I think about.

[Katie Shiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited when Bloomsbury emailed me about reviewing Flawless that I literally jumped for joy! I'm a huge fan of re-tellings that have a modern and teenage twist to them. I was a little worried how Lara Chapman would bring Cyrano de Bergerac to the twenty-first century (were the characters going to be hiding in bushes while they professed their love to a guy standing on a balcony?) Luckily my worries were totally uncalled for, Flawless was absolutely incredible!

The main character Sarah is tough, witty and a little overly-organized. I connected with her insecurities about her looks immediately. I loved how she put a strong front on the outside, but was really battling herself on the inside. One of my favorite things about Sarah is how easily she touched my heart. Everything she would say or do was so her best friend Kristen would be happy. This left me wishing nothing more than wanting Sarah to stick up for her desires and know that she is beautiful.

I really enjoyed how Sarah's best friend, Kristen, wasn't portrayed as a bad friend or a jerk. She was honestly oblivious to Sarah's feelings and wasn't trying to hurt her friend in any way. Since Kristen was always looking out and wanting the best for Sarah it was super easy to love Kristen almost as much as Sarah.

I loved Rock! There is not many young adult books out there that have a guy that is intelligent, fiercely caring and witty. I liked how Rock didn't completely ignore Sarah or only drooled over Kristen. He thought of Sarah as a good friend and looked out for her feelings. But not only are Rock's personality traits amazing, but he's a super hunk too! Tall, dark and oh so handsome... yum!

The message of the story was flat out amazing. I loved how Lara Chapman didn't shove it in your face, but instead helped you get to the realization on your own through Sarah. So many times throughout the book I found myself yelling "Sarah, don't you dare change for anyone!" which obviously can be carried over into real life and ourselves. I loved how Flawless was both inspirational to love yourself, but also had me laughing out loud because of funny comments, definitely the perfect mixture.

The ending was absolutely perfect. I loved the build up to the end and I never felt like I was being rushed into it. It was so heart-warmingly sweet but definitely not cheesy.

Amazing Quote:
"Sarah, there are moments in life you can't plan. Moments you'll miss because it's not part of your perfectly organized life."

Characters: 5/5
Creativity: 5/5
Voice: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Impact: 5/5
Overall: 5/5


Lara Chapman's debut is flat out flawless and left me anxiously awaiting her second book. I loved having the opportunity to go on this self discovering journey with Sarah. Flawless is a must read for all ages. It'll help you love your flaws and teach you to fight for your own happiness.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe this is the first book by Lara Chapman, and I think she’s going to do okay. While this book is predictable and rather clichéd, I also think that she executed it in a way that made you forget you knew exactly what was going to happen.

Sarah learns a lot through the book. She learns to stand up for herself and not to lean and depend on her friend so much. While her friendship with Kristen is solid, she’s a push-over which causes her to agree to stupid things. Her transformation through the story is very fascinating. She’s let herself deny that she still hides behind her imperfection, so when her friends and mother gently tell her she’s still insecure, it comes as a shock. I really like this aspect of the old “gaining self-esteem” story because many times we tell ourselves that we’ve gotten over something or that we’ve accepted something when we really haven’t. It is nice in those situations to have friends who’ll just tell you that you’re in denial.

However, I never could picture her nose! Many times it was described as “a beak” or just simply as really big. I had a really hard time seeing this in my mind. Maybe people really do have noses like that and I just don’t pay attention to people’s noses?

Sarah and Kristen’s friendship was interesting. While I could understand the friendship, I was also mystified by it. Their personalities didn’t seem very compatible and yet they had been best friends forever. Kristen simultaneously annoyed me and caused me to feel sorry for her. Her attempts to be “better” than she was were funny and yet pitifully sad.

Rock was an interesting character. He was smart, loved literature/poetry, cute, and friendly. Pretty much the perfect guy to any literature-loving girl (not necessarily me…). The depth he conveyed through his words and actions proved him to not be just any old cute guy in a YA novel. He was rather oblivious to many things… but many guys are, so I’ll let him off the hook on that.

This theme of liking your best friends boyfriend seems to be very prevalent in YA books. It’s a hard quandary. Do you tell them that you like their man or do you wait and see what’ll happen? Sarah originally reluctantly helps Kristen get Rock, but then she realizes that: a) Kristen is miserable pretending to be intelligent for Rock and b) She needs to stop only caring about her friends, she needs to think of herself too (that doesn’t mean that she’s going to hurt Kristen to get what she wants, just that she doesn’t think about herself AT ALL, and needs to). So anyways, she uses poetry like any English-loving person. :)

I hope you understood through this desultory review, that I did enjoy the themes explored in this novel, although it was rather cheesy.

Content Warnings: Language

[Kai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review posted at Amaterasu Reads

Not even five pages into the story, I was already laughing my head off. The humor factor of this book is off the charts. Lara Chapman wrote Flawless in an easy to understand, conversational way that makes it easy for readers to breeze into the story.

Sarah is pretty. Almost. Sure she's got blond hair, blue eyes and a good brain. But even that wasn't enough for people to stop staring at her and her big nose. It doesn't help that she has a drop dead gorgeous best friend, but because of some cruel twist of fate, Kristen ended up liking the same guy Sarah likes. What's a friend like her to do? Step aside, help Kristen and hope for the best. But as Kristen and Rock's relationship progress, so is Sarah's misery and insecurities.

Let me just say, no matter how much I wanted to hate Kristen, I can't. She appreciates Sarah more than Sarah appreciates herself and despite Kristen being shallow and using Sarah's "abilities" to get the guy she likes, she's also the one person who believes that Sarah isn't defined just by the size of her nose, which I think was really sweet. I'd love to have a friend like her.

Sarah might just be waiting for that one guy who will appreciate her for all the things that she is and see past her nose. I'm glad that Sarah, despite her sky high insecurities, didn't want to change a part of herself even a bit. She's smart, devoted and loyal. And even though she fights with her mom, she's a great daughter. But she can be stupid too, and all her problems wouldn't have happened if she just decided to not help Kristen.

The male protagonist in this book, Rockford (or Rock, for short), is one of a kind. For one, he's nice. And he loves to read! Finally, an intellectual male protagonist. He's sensitive when it comes to Sarah and understanding of her feelings towards her nose. But in the end, him being a boy, for someone so smart, he was so dense and oblivious to Sarah's feelings. He keeps sending mixed signals to her. Boys just love confusing girls, don't they?

Flawless a great re-telling of Cyrano de Bergerac with a youthful twist and overflowing humor. It's also a great tale of friendship, and one that tells us that sometimes, beauty is skin deep. Filled with hilarious moments and scenes that will tug at our hearts, Flawless is a tale of accepting ourselves for what we are, giving ourselves a bit of self-respect and loving ourselves despite all the flaws that we have.

[Lili · Rating 4 out of 5]

A masterpiece that was indeed flawless.

With an attitude that takes no prisoners, you won't be prepared for the onslaught that Sarah Burke isn't afraid to dish out. Beautiful writer, studious student, killer looks are what frames Sarah's character but she can't get over the fact that what's in the center--of her face--is what grabs people's attention first. She can take the ridicule and even pay it back in kind but each time leaves an unavoidable scar that has constructed the wall Sarah keeps herself behind, in order to not get hurt.

However, because of her best friend in the world, she can withstand it with Kristen by her side. When a new boy comes to town, all the girls are crazy about his good looks but Sarah is interested in his fresh, intellectual presence as well. When Kristen decides she'd like to him hers, being the loyal friend and repaying her debt to her friend unwavering kindness, how can she say no when she asks for help in making her sound intellectual, too?

Opening with a thriving beginning, Flawless had no flaws that I can air out in this review. Honestly, not only was Sarah's writing something to behold but Chapman did an amazing job at creating each character's voice uniquely. Once you've started reading, you find yourself interested in how exactly Sarah is affected when she has a gorgeous mother that wants her to get a nose job--because she knows Sarah's pain--and a best friend she knows she can't compete with--and doesn't wish to--in the looks department. Her self-respect is admirable but as you continue reading, you ask yourself if it was all just words and rationalization in order to do what her best friend pleaded for. Reading through Kristen's constant nagging, of course she wasn't my favorite character--and I did ask myself how could she not see how Sarah felt--but she had a wholesome personality that was well thought-out and had a basis to stand on; in other words, there was more to her than her looks.

Rock was an interesting character to observe throughout the duration of the book. It was delightful to see his carefree mannerisms and free-spirit temperament when Sarah was going through so much turmoil. Chapman's rendition of Cyrano de Bergerac was beautifully written and tearfully read. Yes, I'm a mush when it comes to these things but only the skillful can squeeze some droplets of salt water out of me.

I highly recommend Flawless to those looking for a quick read that will spear your heart but have you sympathizing and hopeful along the way.

Grade: A-

[DJL · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Originally published on my blog: Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes)

When I first read the summary for Flawless, I immediately thought of a classic I read back in high school that I thoroughly enjoyed: Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac. How could I not make such a comparison when the narrator's main "flaw" is a large nose? When I started reading, it confirmed right away that's just what Chapman had intended only using a modernized and feminized formula.

First off, the book was written entirely in present tense, which you don't see very often in books. Or perhaps I've just not noticed it in many of the books I've read. Reading in this tense didn't really disrupt the flow of the story and perhaps it helped in speeding me through the pages. Chapman really does have a way of reaching out to her readers and completely immersing them into the book. I felt as though I was there with Sarah right when Rock first came into her Journalism class, to all the times when she was writing for Kristen, to the very end where I'm almost certain I felt a lump of anxiety in my stomach. Truth be told, I almost felt that Rock was unbelievable as a character, that he was too good to be true, but the romantic part of me squealed like a fangirl about his interests which included literature and poetry. But he also became a bit more real to me when he behaved in typical teenage boy fashion after Kristen gave him so much attention.

The main plot was slightly predictable, especially if you've read Cyrano de Bergerac, but there was also the side plot involving Sarah's mom and a new coworker that was a refreshing break from the main story. The end result of this plot helped show the closeness that Sarah had with her mother and the complete loyalty she felt for her. Despite it's predictability and semi-after-school-special feel, I really did enjoy reading Flawless. I whipped through the story because even though I knew what would happen, I really wanted to see when and how it would happen and the resulting consequences.

There was no serious 'bang' when everything came tumbling down, but I think in this kind of story, you don't need a massive climax. Sometimes, it is the more subtle climax that has readers on the edge of their seats, anxiously eager to turn the page. I believe Chapman pulled that off quite nicely here for the overall warm and light feel of her story, and I'll definitely be on the lookout for more books from Lara Chapman.