‘You Asked for Perfect’ by Laura Silverman was the first book I started and finished on the same day in a long time because it was so refreshing. The book highlights the life of a bisexual, Jewish teen named Ariel Stone and how he’s navigating his senior year of high school. Ariel has strived his entire life to be the perfect student, taking AP classes, volunteering at a local dog shelter, and being the first chair violinist in his school’s orchestra. That is until he fails a calculus quiz. This then results in him inquiring the help of his classmate, and family friend, Amir. As they spend more time together, an unexpected romance begins to bloom. We then see Ariel becoming more and more overwhelmed, struggling to maintain the relationships in his life and his intense drive to be perfect. We’re able to witness high school burn out first hand and see the effects that it has on Ariel and his life. 

I began reading the book at the beginning of the school year and it was exactly the book I was searching for. The setting and the overall environment that the author created matched the back to school and end of summer feel that I had. It was extremely relatable and accurately displayed the pressures of high school.

 I enjoyed the book so much because I felt like I related to Ariel in the sense of constantly feeling the need to please others. Another thing that I related to in the book was how burn out really affected straight A, honor roll students. We’re able to see Ariel go from being this smart, well-rounded student to a struggling, exhausted burn out.

One of my favorite quotes from the book said, “I’ve been so busy racing to the finish line, I haven’t thought much about what happens when I cross it.” I feel like that’s something that many students are able to relate to. They’re so worried about graduating and making sure they’re getting perfect grades, that they don’t even know what they’ll do once they graduate. Everyone’s just in a rush. 

Kody Crisman, a senior, who recommended the book to me and has also read it stated, “My favorite thing about the book was the love story that the main characters had together.” Which was another thing I loved about the book. I loved to see the romance between Amir and Ariel grow, especially because of how unexpected it was, not only for the readers, but also for the characters.

This book falls under the young adult fiction genre. When asked about this specific genre, senior Claudia Hernandez said, “One of my favorite things about this genre is that it has some relatability to it,” which perfectly sums up this genre. Teens love it because they’re able to relate to many of the scenarios that happen and it makes them feel less alone. Similar books to this as well as in this genre would be, ‘One of Us is Lying’ by Karen M. McManus as well as ‘Looking for Alaska’ by John Green. 

Overall, I loved the easy going and moderate pace of the book and I would highly recommend it to anyone, especially those who are stressing out about college applications and graduation. It was a quick and easy read and was packed with humor, love, and painful relatability.