A Place Called Perfect: 1

Product Information

All of these thoughts mashed together, produced Perfect...its streets and people, No Mans Land and its oddities, The Ghost Estate and it's dark corners, Violet and Boy, Edward and George Archer and their estranged and rebellious brother William, Iris and Macula and their inner strength, The Watchers, The Reimaginator, The Tea, The Orphans, The Eyes, The Graveyard and all the things in between... All in all, I'd say A Place Called Perfect is the perfect choice if you're looking for a brilliantly spooky, wildly imaginative story this Halloween season- or any time of the year, really. You'd no doubt appreciate the wonderfully creepy world and the fantastically crafted characters, and if you, like me, like your horror in mild doses, this book is for you! Recommended to fans of Coraline, Tim Burton, and the Wizard of Oz. A theme that runs through many of my stories and books is conformity and people not standing up for what they believe, instead choosing the mass opinion. I also love the difference in people and find it fascinating how we label a person as odd if they are not following the "rules" of life, perhaps they are just being themselves? Then we have Boy. The second really important character. A boy without parents. A boy who lives in the No-Man's-Land part next to Perfect. At times he was a bit too much, at times he didn't feel like a kid, but then again, I guess that happens when one has lived in the No-Man's-Land for all their life. You just can't be a kid there, only sometimes. I am from Kilkenny, a medieval, haunted city in the south of Ireland, which was the inspiration for the town in A Place Called Perfect. I write stories full of adventure because I get bored really easily.

This is not all. There is dark magic and some creepy macabre elements. There are scary plotting villains. So all in all, this book has everything that makes a magical story and I sort of loved it. This book is perfect for Children, young adults and even adults. It's just too alluring and tempting with an enticing storyline. And then strange things begin to happen. Her mom is acting a little too weird. Her dad is just disappearing on mysterious business trips. And everyone is wearing unique tinted glasses including herself. And then she is getting in trouble in school for every little thing. And apart from all this she is hearing strange noises. Nothing just makes sense. The series is a bestselling series has sold over 230,000 copies in the UK and counting and is published in 13 languages to date. Perfect has also been optioned for an animated TV series by Jellyfish Productions. Violet and Boy form a beautiful friendship even-though they have been brought up very differently. They learn to get along together, although there are a few moments where they are not so nice to one another. They are very likeable characters. Violet goes from this little girl who is scared of everything, to one that is brave, resilient and determined. A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan, published by Usborne, is a fabulous, inventive read. It is as if the phrase ‘rose-tinted glasses’ has been created just for this book which, if you loved Beetle Boy, you will enjoy immensely.A Place Called Perfect is Helena Duggan's debut novel and is the book #1 in this new series. The book is aimed at young adults, but is also suitable for adults who enjoy reading fantasy. A thoroughly enjoyable read. I do want to read about what happens next, so hopefully the wait for book #2 will not be long. A Place Called Perfect was my first book. It was published in August 2017 and was a Waterstones Book of the Month. It won numerous awards including Crimefest Children's Book of the Year and was nominated for the Irish Book Awards and Waterstones Children's Prize. Violet und ihre Eltern ziehen nach Perfect und hier scheint wirklich alles perfekt zu sein. Alles ist sauber, die Menschen freundlich, alle tragen rosarote Brillen und sind begeisterte Teetrinker. Doch warum darf man nachts das Haus nicht verlassen und warum patrouillieren Hüter durch die Straßen und achten darauf, dass die Regeln eingehalten werden?Violet hat das starke Gefühl, dass hier etwas nicht mit rechten Dingen zugeht. Until she meets a boy called Boy!! Yess, that is his name, Boy and she immediately befriends him and together they go on their journey to discover the secrets behind the magical town. The book has a dystopian feel to it, with those people that conform to Perfects society being allowed to stay in Perfect and those that don’t being cast aside to No-Man’s Land.

The only thing that would have made the book even more gorgeous is illustrations. A bit in the style of the chapter headings. Edward and George Archer have built this perfect town, but not all the citizens conform and do not become perfect citizens. Violet is one of those citizens and very soon Mrs Moody, the school teacher diagnoses Violet as having IDDCS (Irritable Dysfunctional Disobedient Child Syndrome) and Violet is placed on medication. However, Violet only pretends to swallow the pills because she does not want to be perfect. Violet never wanted to move to Perfect. Who wants to live in a town where everyone has to wear glasses to stop them going blind? And who wants to be perfectly behaved all the time? Right from the bat I knew something was up with Perfect, but what? Well, the writer slowly builds up and shows us hints, little secrets, little twitches in the characters, mysterious events. It was never a slow or dull moment, instead I just hungrily ate it all, I wanted to know more. I wanted to figure out everything there was about this town, about its residents, about the Archers. The synopsis was said to be a book fans of Roald Dahl would like. I’m happy to report that this pitch is quite accurate! However, it did miss the mark for me in some places.But when her optician father has been offered an almost perfect job in this new location and despite her unwillingness, Violet must do as she is told, so she moves to Perfect. It’s a fun book with a dark side and a rather frightening premise that we can all see things through a different lens and lose our own power of thought – alarming similarities to our media driven world that sways public opinion on a single tweet. As we are following Violet through moving into her new home in Perfect with her parents, we gradually find out more about the town along with her. Her dad got a great job there. The founders of an important business in the town, comes to greet Violet and her family. They even serve them their favorite tea. Apparently, everyone in the town needs to wear glasses, due to something in the air. So they all get fitted for special glasses in town.

Helena has weaved a vivid tale about Violet, a new girl in a town call Perfect. Everyone wears rose-tinted glasses to stop going blind and promptly lose themselves in being perfect – including Violet’s mum. Her father, an opthalmologist (eye surgeon) is employed by the controlling Archer brothers who run Perfect and manufacture a rather intoxicating tea that perfectionists drink like water. When Violet’s father disappears, she uncovers the truth about Perfect with Boy, who comes from No-Man’s-Land where the rejects of Perfect live.Then Violet met Boy, a little lad from a place called, No-Man’s Land, whom she could only hear when she didn’t have her glasses on, and only see with a pair of gold rimmed glasses that she found. Boy agreed with Violet that something was not right in Perfect. The two set off on an adventure to locate Violet’s dad and find out just what it was that Perfect was hiding. A Place Called Perfect is an engaging, exciting and fun book for readers aged around 9 years plus, though it would be a great book for a parent/guardian to read with their child. On a better note, the writing was deliciously eerie and gripping. It definitely reads like a thriller-mystery. The book is also quite easy to read, which is a plus since the target audience is under thirteen. My only complaint is that the pacing felt off at times. It went from 0 to 100 far too many times, and the transitions weren’t very smooth. Nevertheless, Helena Duggan still delivers a great story!

I first starting thinking about this story when I bought a pair of old bifocal glasses in an antique shop in Australia. I loved them, and still carry them everywhere with me. I had contemplated taking out the glass and replacing it with my own prescription...That notion started me on the train of thought for this book... There may be a few things I missed, but I think I got most of the things I wanted to say in my review. When she meets Boy she realizes that her dad is not the only person to have vanished… and that the mysterious Watchers are guarding a perfectly creepy secret!”Helena Duggan is from Kilkenny, a medieval, haunted city in the south of Ireland. She’s pretty old, like 31 or something but her friends say she’s never grown up, so like she’s probably really only 13 in brain years. It is a lovely, enjoyable book that is just as good on the inside as the front cover looks. I also hear that there is going to be a sequel too.