kav (xreadingsolacex)'s Reviews > You Asked for Perfect

Disclaimer: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

hey so who gave Laura Silverman the right to write about all of our lives???

You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman is a young-adult contemporary novel that follows the story of Ariel Stone, our Jewish, bisexual protagonist, who feels immense pressure to be the best because the best is what will give him access to the future he wants. While trying to balance the unimaginable workload he has taken upon himself, Ariel is also trying to be there for his best friends Sook and Malka and participate in their band, balance his friendly, yet competitive relationship with his friend Pari, and deal with his feelings for his new calculus tutor, Amir, the Pakistani Muslim love interest.

You Asked for Perfect is one of the most immersive reads I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Silverman's writing of this novel executed the story perfectly, to the point where I read this entire novel in about two hours. I honestly cannot pinpoint exactly what method she used to capture the reader in such a way, but what I can say is that it worked, and once you start reading this novel, you will not be able to stop.

Silverman writes a story that deals with a major problem in our society that we do not discuss often enough: the pressures of school. Ariel's character is more than a character - he is the friends and enemies and acquaintances I have seen throughout my years of school, he is a version of me from when I have striven to achieve unreasonable goals. Ariel is the perfect representation of the effects on school pressure on so many teens nowadays.

Something breaks within me.
It shouldn't be like this. It shouldn't be this hard.

And I think that that is the true power of this novel: how absolutely and unbelievably relatable it is. Ariel is such a well-fleshed-out and thought-out character that he truly is three-dimensional. He has flaws and strengths, and he has personality quirks and traits that were so enjoyable to read out. But the center of this novel, beyond Ariel's story, is commentary on the flaws within our school system. The flawed system that leads children to put themselves in danger from the amount of stress they are battling, from the pressure that comes their parents, teachers, society, and worst of all, themselves.

As someone who has gone to high pressure, academically rigorous private schools all my life, I could see Ariel in every peer I've encountered thus far, including myself. The desire to be perfect, to be the best, and the fear of failure - that is the reality for teens today.

But Silverman balances out the stress of school with Ariel and Amir's beautiful romance. From the first chapter, I could tell that this was the perfect romance. Ariel and Amir are two high school boys who fell together in a way so beautiful that words cannot even begin to describe how wonderful it was seeing their relationship flourish.

"Hey, don't knock it. What's so bad about seeing magic everywhere?"
"You're right," I agree, leaning against him again, my body at total ease. "Nothing wrong with a little magic."

Their chemistry seeped through the pages, their budding love for one another was almost tangible. Whereas perfection may very well be overrated, this romance teetered on the brink of it.

You Asked for Perfect is, in its own way, a perfect novel about a teenage boy falling in love, a teenage boy balancing unimaginable pressures, a teenage boy discovering himself.

You Asked for Perfect is, well, pretty damn-near perfect itself.