Goodbye, Perfect is exactly what it says in the title: perfect. It has everything that I have grown to love about Barnard’s writing: delicate, swoony romance, complex family relationships, layered and flawed characters, not to mention the brilliant way in which she writes friendship. Match that with a tricky, rather taboo subject matter and you come out with this brilliantly crafted novel. “People talk about friendship like it’s only about shared loves, but it’s not. It’s also about finding the same things annoying and getting excited about the same silly, irrelevant things. It’s the person you can share a joke with, sure. But it’s also the person you can subtly roll your eyes at when someone else is talking too loudly. The person who makes the fun things better and the boring things more bearable.” I knew this would be a book I would love due to the nature of its content. A YA book that isn’t shying away from the damaging effects of a teacher/pupil relationship that also brings into question friendship and just how far Eden is willing to go to protect her friend, even when she discovers the truth behind Bonnie’s disappearance. There were definitely times where Eden’s choices frustrated me but I could also easily see why she decided to keep quiet on so many occasions. I work with teenagers daily and long ago I was obviously one myself, it takes something significant to break the loyal bond of the teenage friendship and this book certainly puts Eden to the test. I read this book in one sitting and that in itself is testament to just how gripping this novel is. The tension builds steadily throughout and then comes to a head in a pretty big climax and even right up until the end you’re unsure how it will turn out. I’m saying no more related to the plot of this novel as I don’t want to spoil a thing but I implore you to pick this up and not find it completely captivating! “My teachers call me ‘spirited’ when they’re trying to be nice, and ‘disruptive’ when they’re not.” Ah, the characters. Eden is my perfectly flawed new favourite character. I loved that one second she was full of sass, then we would see her vulnerable side and I she is such a fiercely loyal person. She is definitely my favourite out of Barnard’s characters so far! She is not a perfect straight A student and she makes a lot of mistakes along the way and I think this is why so many teen readers will relate to Eden. Aside from Eden, we have the reckless Bonnie, the adorable Daisy and definitely not forgetting the swoon worthy Connor. Major heart eyes were going on throughout this book – they are a match made in heaven! I loved the dynamics between Eden and the other characters and I felt like I caught a different side of her character depending on who she was communicating with. She is fiercely protective over Daisy and their bond as sisters was something I could totally relate to. It was also incredibly interesting to see the way in which Barnard portrayed the difference between ‘blood’ sisters (aka Eden and Daisy) and ‘adoptive’ sisters (Eden and Valerie). Bob and Carolyn, Eden and Daisy’s adoptive parents, are absolute darlings but it was nice to see that there were moments where Eden reflected on their birth mother and how she wasn’t a ‘bad’ person, but a person who had made a mistake and couldn’t cope. The relationship between Connor and Eden still has my heart swooning and I read this book a few months ago. They fit together so wonderfully and I love how our headstrong Eden can also be vulnerable in front of Connor. There are some really touching scenes between them throughout the book and I love how supportive Connor is. Once again, Barnard doesn’t shy away from the taboo of losing virginity so be prepared for some definite swooning!! Most importantly for me, neither Eden nor Connor get everything right every time but their love for one another out shines everything else. “Sometimes it just takes that one person to see beyond what everyone tells them they’re meant to see.” The structure of this book also caught my eye. As well as the usual narrative/dialogue, the book includes cute character profiles where Eden is giving us a quick overview of a person. I loved reading these and thought it was a really fun way to quickly give the reader a glimpse at each character. There were also the text messages that were scattered throughout the book. I love a book that includes things like social media because a contemporary YA without such features wouldn’t feel very real at all. Goodbye, Perfect has become an instant favourite of mine as are all of Sara Barnard’s other books – she really can do no wrong in my eyes. This book is full of flawed and perfectly layered characters, complex but realistic relationships and friendships, soft and meaningful romance as well as dealing with a heavy topic. It is a book I will read over and over again and will recommend forever and a day. Goodbye, Perfect is, indeed, perfect.

It was obvious that I was going to love this book. If you're not familiar with Sara Barnard, let me assure you that she is a powerhouse of UKYA. Barnard's contemporary novels rank as my favourites up with Non Pratt and Alice Oseman, and I'm always blown away by her characterisation. Goodbye Perfect is no exception to the successful streak started by her previous books Beautiful Broken Things and A Quiet Kind of Thunder, confirming that Barnard is firmly cemented as one of the UK's greatest YA authors. Goodbye Perfect follows Eden McKinley, the "troubled" girl with average grades and a bit of a reputation. Eden and Bonnie are best friends who tell each other all their secrets, or so Eden thought. When the police suddenly appear at her house after Bonnie's jokey messages that she's run away, Eden starts to realise that Bonnie is gone... and she's left with her secret boyfriend Jack. When Eden discovers Jack's real identity as her former teacher, she struggles with what to do next -- keep the secrets or betray Bonnie to the police. Eden is another great narrator, and probably my favourite so far of Barnard's creations. A little rough around the edges but calmed by gardening, Eden feels refreshingly different from your standard middle-class bookish narrator. I completely fell in love with her -- her fears and worries feel so real. I loved the portrayal of her relationship with long-term boyfriend Connor, a carer to his mum and a steadying influence. Barnard's writing on sex has always been brilliantly frank, and I really like how it is discussed once again here, showing that the right time to have sex is when it feels right to the both of you. Unlike so many other stories about student-teacher affairs, Goodbye Perfect presents the power imbalances and danger of such "romances". It is exceptionally frank and refreshing in a world where Pretty Little Liars, for instance, romanticised such an abuse of power. I read the book in a single sitting, as I've done with all her other books. The world she creates is so immersive and believable, and her strong pacing makes it easy to devour it completely, without feeling like you've rushed through. Goodbye Perfect is a compelling story about secrets, lies and dangerous relationships, a gripping and timely contemporary YA.

I knew that I was going to love this book for a few reasons; it's about a teacher/pupil relationship and they're always set to be a decent contemporary novel (they're just a bit grittier than a fluffy romance!), it's about friendship and it's by Sara Barnard. Her second book A Quiet Kind of Thunder was my top YA book in 2017, Beautiful Broken Things was one of my favourite reads the year before, and Goodbye, Perfect is set to be one of my top reads of 2018. The book progresses at a decent pace as Bonnie goes missing with her teacher, leaving her confused best friend Eden behind. The story then deals with the strain upon their friendship that this relationship causes, as well as tackling the difficult subject of first love and forbidden love. It's a very thought provoking book, naturally. Overall, I really recommend this book - I couldn't put it down and it really got me out of a reading slump! It's got just enough drama in it to keep it exciting whilst still being believable and you really get absorbed into the lives of the characters who are very well developed and interesting in their own rights. I can't wait to see what Barnard has in store for us next!

I have just finished reading this book, i really thought it had a good story line. It did take me up to the 4th chapter before i properly got into it. I think this book is very good, it shows the strained relationship between Eden and Bonnie. The book was so good, it made me feel sorry for what Eden was going through, all the secrets she had to keep. There was a few times , when i would get quite frustrated, as i could see how much Bonnie's attitude, how much she had been brainwashed. Overall, i think this book had a really good story line, and i completely understand the perspective it was written from. I have to admit i thought it was going to be more about the story from Bonnie's perspective, a detailed account of her relationship with the teacher Jack. Or the story told from both Eden and Bonnie's side of things, i wonder if Sara Barnard would think about possibly realising a prequel, about the relationship between her and Jack from her side of things.

‪• Eden’s best friend runs off with their teacher, leaving their friendship in question‬ ‪• A realistic look at teacher-student relationships ‬ ‪• Deals with topics not seen in YA‬ ‪• Open and honest‬ ‪• A true teen voice‬