Young Adult Book Reading Challenges discussion

How does the term "perfect" define Parker both in the past and present?

I can't find it now in the book, but I liked that one of the characters stated that Parker had a perfect meltdown too.

Parker equated "perfect" with "good". She thought that if she could be perfect then she would be the good person she wanted to be. As she explains it on page 200:

...I never understood how I was supposed to work as a person or how I was supposed to work with other people. Something was really wrong with me...I longed for some kind of symmetry, a balance...perfection. Opposite of wrong. Right. Perfect. Good.

Unfortunately, her pursuit of perfection turned her into a completely mean and nasty person - hardly what anyone would consider a "good person".

Grace wrote: "Parker equated "perfect" with "good". She thought that if she could be perfect then she would be the good person she wanted to be. As she explains it on page 200:
...I never understood how I was su..."

Great analysis. I have to say that I was left wondering how Parker learned to be a perfectionist in the first place. Obviously, it was something that didn't develop overnight.

I wonder if her wanting to be perfect was some sort of mental illness? Not sure what mental illness that would be... I think sometimes people must be perfect at something because of some sort of failure in the past. Or maybe just her extreme need to be popular. Some people will go to any length.

I think maybe (this is only based off my own life) she always had anxiety and that will make you into a perfectionist. What I mean by this is some things have to be lined up perfectly for me or I am afraid a panic attack will come or something might trigger anxiety. While Parker's anxiety might not have been so bad before the incident perhaps the incident just brought it out even worse. Which is kinda what happened to me. A big unexpected bad event all of a sudden made my anxiety worse... even to the point of panic attack disorder.

Angie wrote: " I think sometimes people must be perfect at something because of some sort of failure in the past. "

I've known people who have tried to be perfect because they never got the approval they sought (or needed) from their parents. They tried to live up their parents' high expectations and could never quite meet them.

As Kim mentioned, Parker's desire to be perfect didn't develop overnight. The author really doesn't tell us how or why she became a perfectionist but we can infer that something or someone convinced her at an early age that she just wasn't "good" and she aimed for perfection to be "good". I'm betting it was her parents. Even her extreme need to be popular is a symptom of her feeling unable to meet some kind of standard set by others.

Grace wrote: "The author really doesn't tell us how or why she became a perfectionist but we can infer that something or someone convinced her at an early age that she just wasn't "good" and she aimed for perfection to be "good". I'm betting it was her parents."

I would agree that it's probably her parents, but not because they were abusive, but because they were loving. Of course, this complete conjecture because we know nothing of Parker's childhood, but her parents seem very caring in the book, so it's hard to believe that they were ever abusive. Praising a child excessively can also cause feelings of inadequacy because kids cannot please their parents and elders all of the time. I think it is more likely that this is the real cause of Parker's perfectionism than a tramatic event, but I somehow doubt even the author considered it.