Goodbye Perfect by Sara Barnard

When I was wild, you were steady . . .
Now you are wild – what am I?

Eden McKinley knows she can’t count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So it’s a bit of a surprise when Bonnie runs away with the boyfriend Eden knows nothing about five days before the start of their GCSEs. Especially when the police arrive on her doorstep and Eden finds out that the boyfriend is actually their music teacher, Mr Cohn.

Sworn to secrecy and bound by loyalty, only Eden knows Bonnie’s location, and that’s the way it has to stay. There’s no way she’s betraying her best friend. Not even when she’s faced with police questioning, suspicious parents and her own growing doubts.

As the days pass and things begin to unravel, Eden is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world, her best friend and herself.

3/5 Stars

Goodbye Perfect is a great YA for younger teens in my opinion and I would recommend it even if I wouldn’t re-read it myself. Sara is a fantastic author and it was a quick and easy contemporary read with great family relationships.

Eden and her family stood out the most for me, I was just as conflicted as Eden was about snitching on her friend or doing what was right. Eden’s Mum and Dad were great supportive characters and I loved their relationship.

It may seem strange but I liked the side plots more than the main plot. Seeing how being a foster child can impact relationships, how it can impact the children in the family and how a support system can make all the difference. I especially loved the Sister relationships, they saved the entire book for me and really made it end well.

Overall some of the scenes were a little cheesy but the characters felt real and the story of grooming and student teacher relationships wasn’t one I had read before. The comparison of Edens romance was stark and realistic adding to how unhealthy the age gap is in a student teacher affair.