The Perfectionists by Sara Shephard

Authors: Sara Shephard
Publisher: Harper Teen
Date of publication: October 2014

In Beacon Heights, Washington, five girls—Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker—know that you don’t have to be good to be perfect. At first the girls think they have nothing in common, until they realize that they all hate Nolan Hotchkiss, who’s done terrible things to each of them. They come up with the perfect way to kill him—a hypothetical murder, of course. It’s just a joke...until Nolan turns up dead, in exactly the way they planned. Only, they didn’t do it. And unless they find the real killer, their perfect lives will come crashing down around them. 

This is a new series by the author of Pretty Little Liars.  I actually was pleasantly surprised by the book.  The book definitely has shadows of PLLs, but I thought the author came up with a good and fresh story line.  The five girls have all been wronged by the same boy in some way.  they plot to give him a taste of his own medicine.  But he shows up dead the next day.  The girls know it wasn't them, but all of the evidence puts doubts in the minds of the police.  

I felt like this book was less about the mystery and more about setting up the characters.   I was able to really get a sense of who each girl was and where she was coming from.  They may be in a school that demands perfection, but they are all less than perfect. I didn't really get the snob vibe from any of them.  In fact, I liked them all.   The book ends in a cliffhanger much like the end of a season cliffhanger would on a television show.  That was a little frustrating.  I am hoping that in the next book, there will be more mystery and sleuthing.  

I would probably keep this to the over 15 crowd. I did feel like there were some sensitive subjects that wouldn't be appropriate for tweens.  I look forward to the next book, The Good Girls, which comes out in June.