Flawless by Lara Chapman

Flawless by Lara Chapman is about a girl named Sarah. Sarah is perfect. She's conventionally beautiful and the number 2 student in her class. There is one thing that isn't perfect, which is her nose. She's in her senior year, and despite her mother's constant nagging about going through a rhinoplasty (I learned by reading this book that it means a nose job lol), she has come to (mostly) accept her flaw. Her best friend Kristen has always been there to support her and defend her. They're best friends forever, and you just can't mess with their friendship! Then, the new guy Rock comes into the picture. He's perfect for Sarah, he's smart, talented, and actually cares about literature, not to mention he’s really hot! But then, Kristen falls in love with him too. She asks Sarah to help her win Rock over because Sarah shares his love for literature. Of course, Sarah agrees and ends up writing to Rock as Kristen over Facebook and emails.

Reading this story, I realized it was all too familiar. I can COMPLETELY relate with Sarah. I have fallen for a guy who one of my close friends liked. I never told her how I felt about him (just like Sarah) because I didn’t want to ruin our friendship or get in-between them, and I figured if he liked me, THEN I would do something about it. Let’s just say that ending to my story is bittersweet. The guy broke her heart, and then a month later he asked me out. I said yes, and my friend had said some unnecessarily mean things to me about it. Now, we aren’t friends anymore, but hey! I got the guy didn’t I? And now he’s my boyfriend of almost 8 months, so I guess there is a silver lining in the clouds. :) So I was entirely able to relate to the main character.

I really enjoyed this story from the beginning. It was very predictable, but cute and fun just the same. The ending was a little quick and a tad unrealistic (I mean, look at my story) but a good read all the same!

I loved how Flawless made me think of her nose and what it looked like. Something I must disagree on is how much of a big deal it is portrayed as. I’m guessing her nose must be TERRIFYING, and downright hideous, because people stare and point and whisper when she walks by. I honestly can’t imagine this happening in real life, because come on, people are so self-absorbed they don’t notice things like that about other people, or even care. Maybe if Sarah was the class president and she was giving a speech you would whisper something to your friend, but not if you were in a hallway passing by her. But then again, maybe I’m wrong and her nose is just that ugly :P haha

I found the cover a little odd, but I liked how her nose wasn’t there so you could see her perfection, without that one flaw.

**SPOILER HERE** Something that really made me angry was when Sarah's mom was accused of being a lesbian. Being a gay rights activist, I don't understand why it was necessary to put this part in. It is portrayed as a bad thing, something that would end Ms. Burkes career if this huge "secret" got out. Like really? It's not something to be ashamed of, and a true fan of hers wouldn't feel "lied to" if they found out she was. Just had to get that off my chest! haha

One thing I would like to comment on is how Sarah says that “It’s [loyalty] considered the core foundation of all successful relationships, both personal and professional.” I disagree, because I think love is the foundation of successful relationships. I’m big on love, maybe that’s why haha. But considering the characters were doing a whole unit on love in their English class, I think she should have wrote about love. Because in my opinion, love is everything.

At the top of each chapter, there were quotes about beauty. One that caught my eye was on page 12: “The absence of flaw in beauty is itself a flaw.” – Havelock Ellis

I like the moral of this story, and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in a quick story about being true to yourself and your friends. :) Even with her one flaw, Sarah learns that an imperfection can be flawless in its own way.  4 out of 5 solid gold stars for me!