A Place Called Perfect: 1

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Then Violet met Boy, a little lad from a place called, No-Man’s Land, whom she could only hear when she didn’t have her glasses on, and only see with a pair of gold rimmed glasses that she found. Boy agreed with Violet that something was not right in Perfect. The two set off on an adventure to locate Violet’s dad and find out just what it was that Perfect was hiding. Right from the bat I knew something was up with Perfect, but what? Well, the writer slowly builds up and shows us hints, little secrets, little twitches in the characters, mysterious events. It was never a slow or dull moment, instead I just hungrily ate it all, I wanted to know more. I wanted to figure out everything there was about this town, about its residents, about the Archers.

When she meets Boy she realizes that her dad is not the only person to have vanished… and that the mysterious Watchers are guarding a perfectly creepy secret!” But when her optician father has been offered an almost perfect job in this new location and despite her unwillingness, Violet must do as she is told, so she moves to Perfect. Violet never wanted to move to Perfect. Who wants to live in a town where everyone has to wear glasses to stop them going blind? And who wants to be neat and tidy and perfectly behaved all the time? Violet was a wonderful character, though at times a bit too impulsive, and also a bit selfish (though I do get why she acted like that, I would probably have done the same if I was her age + it was my dad). But most of the time I just liked her a whole lot. She had a giant imagination, and she was also the one with the biggest plans. She never gave up, even when everything seemed hopeless. I cried along with her when her mom totally changed.Violet and Boy form a beautiful friendship even-though they have been brought up very differently. They learn to get along together, although there are a few moments where they are not so nice to one another. They are very likeable characters. Violet goes from this little girl who is scared of everything, to one that is brave, resilient and determined. I am still a bit emotional as this was a terrific book, so bear with me while I try to write a review. I loved the interaction between Boy and Violet. They made a good duo. Bouncing off ideas, helping and saving each other. Plus their jokes and snark had me in stitches. :P When Violet starts in her new school, something seems odd to her. A lot of things acutally. Because everything and everyone in Perfect is, well, perfect. Soon enough, mysteries start piling up and one day she meets Boy, who lives in quite a different part of town. The series is a bestselling series has sold over 230,000 copies in the UK and counting and is published in 13 languages to date. Perfect has also been optioned for an animated TV series by Jellyfish Productions.

Helena Duggan is a graphic designer based in Kilkenny and this is her debut novel aimed at readers age 9+ although it would be equally enjoyed by adults who enjoy magical tales. A Place Called Perfect is an engaging, exciting and fun book for readers aged around 9 years plus, though it would be a great book for a parent/guardian to read with their child. Ms. Duggan’s style of writing actually reminded me of Roald Dahls. The chapters are short, the plot is filled with mystery, adventure and strange occurrences, and the heroes are just normal little children.A Place Called Perfect is an impressive debut. Looking forward to sharing this with my own children and to reading more from Helena Duggan.