Review: Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

Goodreads Summary:

Perfection comes at a price.

As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury.

Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows…and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating.

But when Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurking beneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice. Because the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is leaving…and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse than death.

For fans of Keira Cass’s Selection series and Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden series, Perfected is a chilling look at what it means to be human, and a stunning celebration of the power of love to set us free, wrapped in a glamorous—and dangerous—bow.(

Publication Date: July 1, 2014

I have complicated feelings about this author. On one hand, I love her stories and characters. On the other hand, her endings kill me! Perfected had a very similar ending to her other book Deliver Me and the open-endedness of both books drove me crazy.

However, the endings should not dissuade readers from picking up either books because the author’s talent is undeniable. Perfected takes place in a horrifying alternate world where humans are bred to be “pets” and owned by the uber-rich. Since the book is told from the point of view of one of the pets named Ella, there isn’t a whole lot of world building and explanation on how this society came about.

I liked Ella and I felt for her plight. She is confused over the way her new “family” treats her. She has been taught to be a showpiece, but begins to question her teachings after starting to fall for the congressman’s son Penn. Penn was adorable and I loved the sweet moments between him and Ella. I wished at times he stood up to his father more (especially when the congressman used reprehensible discipline methods on Ella) but he later redeemed himself in my eyes.

The thing I love about the author’s books is they are so thought provoking. I absolutely adore the feminist themes she interweaves into her tales and how her oppressed narrators find their inner strength and learn how to fight back against the establishments.

The ending destroyed me! I don’t need things wrapped up neatly with a nice little bow, but there were too many questions left unanswered. I’m really hoping this is a series starter and there will be more of Penn and Ella to come. Overall, despite my issues with the ending, I’d still highly recommend Perfected to YA readers.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of Perfected for review!