Lara Chapman

Highly recommended.

FROM PUBLISHER: Sarah Burke is just about perfect. She's got killer blue eyes, gorgeous blond hair, and impeccable grades. There's just one tiny-all right, enormous-flaw: her nose. But even that's not so bad. Sarah's got the best best friend and big goals for print journalism fame.
On the first day of senior year, Rock Conway walks into her journalism class and, well, rocks her world. Problem is, her best friend, Kristen, falls for him too. And when Rock and Kristen stand together, it's like Barbie and Ken come to life. So when Kristen begs Sarah to help her nab Rock, Sarah does the only thing a best friend can do-she agrees. For someone so smart, what was she thinking?
This hip retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac is filled with hilariously misguided matchmaking, sweet romance, and a gentle reminder that we should all embrace our flaws.… (lisätietoja)

I don’t read many contemporary books, every once in a while a cover will make me pick one up. Perfect example of a cover that caught my eye The word flawless right over the area of where the nose should be on a stunning face.
Yep, that made me pick it up and wonder why no nose? So as you can guess somehow a nose is involved with this book and a young girls nose to be exact. The book is a story of being comfortable in your own skin even if you have others trying to change your appearance. I enjoyed the book but there were a couple of characters introduced that weren’t really necessary to the book and the point that it was trying to make could have been explained in other ways.
Nice easy read, not a book to think about and try to figure the who done it, this kind of book is sometimes the best kind of book to clear your mind for the upcoming crazy book you have up next on your list.
… (lisätietoja)

I liked this one. I believe it's a debut novel and I enjoyed the plot and the revelations about the protagonist's power. It sets it up nicely for a sequel. Some of the character's thoughts weren't in keeping for a girl her age - at one point, she mentally refers to some other girls as being like Thelma and Louise...I don't think young girls know who they are! And there were other things like that, the reflected the author's age and viewpoint more than the character's. While those things were jarring, I enjoyed the book very much.… (lisätietoja)

When I first read the summary for Flawless, I immediately thought of a classic that I thoroughly enjoyed: Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac. How could I not make such a comparison when the narrator's main "flaw" is a large nose? When I started reading, it confirmed right away that's just what Chapman had intended only using a modernized and feminized formula.

First off, the book was written entirely in present tense, which you don't see very often in books. Or perhaps I've just not noticed it in many of the books I've read. Reading in this tense didn't really disrupt the flow of the story and perhaps it helped in speeding me through the pages. Chapman really does have a way of reaching out to her readers and completely immersing them into the book. I felt as though I was there with Sarah right when Rock first came into her Journalism class, to all the times when she was writing for Kristen, to the very end where I'm almost certain I felt a lump of anxiety in my stomach. Truth be told, I almost felt that Rock was unbelievable as a character, that he was too good to be true, but the romantic part of me squealed like a fangirl about his interests which included literature and poetry. But he also became a bit more real to me when he behaved in typical teenage boy fashion after Kristen gave him so much attention.

The main plot was slightly predictable, especially if you've read Cyrano de Bergerac, but there was also the side plot involving Sarah's mom and a new coworker that was a refreshing break from the main story. The end result of this plot helped show the closeness that Sarah had with her mother and the complete loyalty she felt for her. Despite it's predictability and semi-after-school-special feel, I really did enjoy reading Flawless. I whipped through the story because even though I thought I knew what would happen, I really wanted to see when and how it would happen and the resulting consequences.

There was no serious 'bang' when everything came tumbling down, but I think in this kind of story, you don't need a massive climax. Sometimes, it is the more subtle climax that has readers on the edge of their seats, anxiously eager to turn the page. I believe Chapman pulled that off quite nicely here for the overall warm and light feel of her story, and I'll definitely be on the lookout for more books from Lara Chapman.… (lisätietoja)