Perfect Girl - Hardcover

Hogan, Mary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060841087 ISBN 13: 9780060841089

Publisher: HarperTeen, 2007

Synopsis

Ruthie Bayer is stuck. Her mom is totally overprotective, her dad is nonexistent, and her best friends can't help her now when she needs them most: Out of the blue, Ruthie has fallen in love with the boy next door, Perry. Perry has suddenly grown up and made her heart go thwang, and Ruthie has no idea what to do about it.

Then a new girl shows up at school, and Ruthie realizes she has to do something, and fast. Jenna is perfect, from her perfectly straight hair to her perfectly manicured toes. Perry's noticed her, too, and worse, Jenna has noticed him right back. Ruthie knows she has to call her aunt, New York's "Goddess of Love." If Aunt Marty, romance columnist and woman of the world, can't turn Ruthie into a perfect girl, no one can . . . but she might also turn Ruthie's entire world upside down.

About this title

About the Author:

Mary Hogan grew up near the beaches of Southern California (Bikinis! Aargh!), but currently lives in New York City with her husband, Bob, and their dog, Axel. She is the author of Perfect Girl, The Serious Kiss, Susanna Sees Stars, and Susanna Hits Hollywood.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6–9—This story walks the line between being funny and serious, and not always successfully. Fourteen-year-old Ruthie lives in tiny Odessa, DE, with her neurotic single mother. When she was 11, they visited her wealthy aunt in New York City but left after one night and Ruthie was forbidden to contact her again. Three years later, a new girl, whom she calls the Perfect Girl, attracts her friend Perry's attention just as Ruthie realizes that she is interested in him. The teen calls her aunt for advice, and she decides to come and help. She learns that Aunt Marty's husband left her for another woman and that she needed to get away. After she admits this to her sister, their relationship begins to thaw, and readers learn the reason for the grudge. Both adults' actions seem over-the-top. Thankfully, other than buying silk underwear at Victoria's Secret and getting endless pedicures, Aunt Marty's advice is mostly solid. Ruthie takes Perry, an astrology buff, to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. But, even though they have a terrific time and he calls Ruthie "a perfect girl," there's no when they kiss. It's a letdown after she has spent most of the book pining for him. In the end, while giving her eulogy at their elderly tenant's funeral, Ruthie realizes that it's the little details that define a relationship and that perfection is irrelevant. Aunt Marty moves out, but she's become part of Ruthie's life—and her mom's—for good.—Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA
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About this edition

• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0060841087
• ISBN 13: 9780060841089
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208