PERFECT ON PAPER is a story of finding oneself, making tough choices, and undeniable, effervescent teenage queerness.

However, as a fan of ONLY MOSTLY DEVASTATED and Sophie Gonzales in general, this book was a bit of a letdown coming off of OMD.

Things I enjoyed about POP:
The REP! - Holy crap this book is a queer GOLD MINE! I felt understood by this book. It's a love song written for queer youth. The main character is bi but struggles with that identity and feels as if she isn't "queer enough," which is a very real struggle for many bi/pan/queer people, including myself. These heavy topics and difficult conversations were beautifully tackled, making this a must-read IMO.
Banter - I loved the banter and dialogue in this book, and at certain points I was laughing out loud. The conversations felt natural and seemed very authentically "teenagery."
The concept - I enjoyed the idea of "Locker 89" and thought it added a unique element to this story!

Things I didn't enjoy:
Darcy (main character) - I'm all for imperfect characters, in fact I LOVE them, but Darcy really got on my nerves. I found her actions selfish, self-serving, and generally annoying. She had a semblance of a redemption arc near the end, but it felt very disingenuous, and she suffered no real consequences for her actions.
Pacing - The plot for this book dragged out for what seemed like an eternity. I'm a sucker for slow burn romance and didn't mind the speed of that plot, but I really didn't engage with the story as a whole until about 40% through the book, which is far too late IMO.
Language - I was under the impression this book took place in Australia until the characters took a trip to Anaheim, California/Disneyland. The only Aussie character is Brougham, yet everyone spoke like Aussies. Darcy was the worst offender and often times sounded more Aussie that Brougham. She also used huge words that I found inconsistent with teenage speech.

Overall, this book is a good read. I think PERFECT ON PAPER has the potential to become a safe haven for queer youth, and that there will be many people who feel seen by Sophie's message of "you are queer," no matter what.

Review from my 12-year-old daughter:
Although I was excited for this book, I wasn't completely sure what to expect, since I hadn't read any of this author's other work. "Only Mostly Devastated" was on my to-read list, and after this book I want to read it even more! I loved this book, and it was made even better due to the fact that I read it after a book I really disliked.

In the summary, it is described as "Leah on the Offbeat" meets "To All the Boys I've Loved Before." I do agree with this, but I would also compare it to the book "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda," and the movies "The Half of It" and "Mean Girls." In this story, all you have to do to get advice on your relationship is write down the troubles your having in a letter and slip it into locker 89, with a ten dollar bill. Soon after, you will get an email from an anonymous account with the advice you paid for. If it doesn't work out, you get a refund. But although everyone knows about locker 89, no one knows that Darcy Phillips is the one who runs it. And because of something she did in the past involving her best friend/secret crush Brooke, she'd like to keep it that way. So when she is caught removing the letters from the locker by Alexander Brougham, she is forced to try and help him win his ex-girlfriend back so that the entire school doesn't find out it's her.

There were only a few things that I disliked about this book, and they're minor enough that they didn't change my reading experience, but I'm still going to mention them. The first thing is that in some of Darcy's email responses, it seemed a like the author was trying a bit too hard to sound like a teenager, and ended up sounding a bit off. And the other thing that I disliked was that the inciting incident was just a bit too early for my taste. But other than that, I absolutely loved this book!

Although I loved almost everything in this book, there were a few things that stood out. First, I liked how it basically had Darcy giving advice in a scientific kind of way, based more on actual research than emotion. Second, I loved all of the representation in this book, from Darcy to her best friend to her older sister to her enemy. I also loved the plot of this book. It reminded me quite a bit of "The Half of It," with the main character who had a secret letter writing business and began to coach a boy on his romantic life. Not just that, but I loved the main character's voice, and how she always tried to do what she thought was right (even if it wasn't). I also loved her older sister, who was my second favorite character. Plus, I thought it was interesting to start each chapter with a letter and her response, so we got to see what her business was like. And lastly, I liked how this book did a sort of love triangle. I usually dislike love triangles, since it's usually obvious to me who the person will end up with, but in this book it was more of her having a crush on Brooke, while realizing her mutual feelings for Brougham.

Overall, I absolutely adored this book and entirely recommend it

Darcy is the self-appointed relationship guru at her high school, secretly running "Locker 89" where kids can drop in anonymous letters and get advice on everything from asking someone out to moving on after break-ups. But then Alexander Brougham, the hottest guy in school (with an Australian accent no less), catches her in the act of collecting the locker letters one day. The jig is up. Or so Darcy thinks, until Brougham promises to keep her identity a secret in exchange for advice on how to get his ex-girlfriend back. He's going to pay her the big bucks, too. So even though Darcy is pretty sure she really doesn't like this guy, she goes along with his plan. Maybe in the process she'll figure out how to finally tell her best friend, Brooke, how she really feels about her. But as her letter-writing gets more complicated when she recognizes one of the authors, Darcy begins to question everything she thought she knew about giving relationship advice. And when her feelings for Brougham start to change, Darcy questions her own identity as well. Will she be able to unweave the tangled web she's created without losing everyone she loves in the process?

Sophie Gonzales has a sharp, witty voice that is so strong and has so much attitude (in a good way). I really love it. The way the characters talk to each other is the way Dawson/Pacey/Joey did on Dawson's Creek but without the existential angst. They're SMART, and believably so. Even better, the representation in this book (as well as in her first one) is beautiful and real. Darcy helps run the Q&Q club for queer and questioning students, and her sister is trans. Darcy herself is bisexual, and her fears about suddenly having a crush on a guy were authentic and handled so well when she brings the concern to her friends in the club. All the characters are dealing with their own issues, but the connections and occasional miscommunications between them feel so relatable. They're all trying and screwing up and trying some more.

I'm so glad this world has a couple more books coming because Darcy's friend group has so many more stories to tell. This was a great second book by Gonzales, and I'm already looking forward to seeing more from her.

**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!**

3.5/5 Stars

This YA novel was a cute and also entertaining read. Darcy is a sixteen-year-old bisexual girl who's been giving relationship advice to her classmates for two years. But nobody knows that she's the relationship counselor behind the mysterious locker eighty-nine where lots of students put in their letters looking for advice. That is until Brougham sees her at the locker and realizes who she is. He badly needs her expertise and she decides to help him get his girlfriend back. But is it easy as it seems?

I enjoyed how the different relationship were depicted in this novel. There's a solid sibling relationship between Darcy and her sister Ainsley and I was glad we could get some good glimpses of that. Then we have an interesting friendship between Brooke and Darcy, it felt realistic and I liked how it was portrayed. And then we also have Brougham and Darcy, I enjoyed their banter and their duo dynamics and everything that happened with these two felt very organic to me.

Also, the flow of the narrative was good, I feel like there weren't any real dull moments and the pace had a good rhythm.
In terms of plot it wasn't the most original book and it was a bit predictable, but still it was a very enjoyable read.

This was my first Sophie Gonzales' book, but it definitely left me wanting to discover more books by her.

I received an arc of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this book was amazing! It was a great story about a girl who is trying to figure out her romantic interests while also helping others. I really enjoyed this book and did not want to put it down!

The storyline of this book was very good and I never got bored. There are lots of events to keep you interested and invested. The characters were also great. I loved the main character and her sister. There was a lot of character development with Darcy and I liked that. Even when she was upset and felt bad, she never really acted helpless which is a nice change from other stories. Her relationship with the love interest was very fun and I just loved them together.

Overall, I definitely recommend this to contemporary and young adult romance lovers. It’s a great and loveable book that is easy to read!

*Thank you Wednesday Books at St. Martin’s Press for the eARC from Netgalley.

4.25 / 5 stars

Need advice? Go see Darcy. Darcy Phillips is the advice expert behind the famed Locker 89. All students know that Locker 89 is here to give you the advice you think you need just for a simple fee. No one knows who locker 89 belongs to, except for Darcy. However, all of this changes when Brougham sees her removing a new batch of requests from the locker. Darcy realizes that she will have to help Brougham win back his ex if she wants her secret to remain hidden. Darcy has her reasons for never wanting her secret revealed to everyone.

The idea of an advice locker is very interesting. High school can be a troubling time for a lot of individuals. I liked the idea of reading about a girl who tries to help others through their problems and potential struggles. The reader soon learns that Darcy is not perfect herself and she has not done all of the best things to get where she is at. I also appreciate how Darcy has her own consequences for her actions at times as well.

This book includes a lot of great messages. I like how communication, consent, friendship, accountability, change, and consequence are all brought up. This book discusses some great points and makes them feel real with these situations.

Darcy was a good main character to focus on. I enjoyed being able to follow her as she learns more about how to better her own life as well. I also enjoyed Brougham as a character. Darcy kind of sees her own perception of him in the beginning but soon learns what we assume is not always correct. We really see that too soon to judge element in this book.

Overall this was an enjoyable read for me and I hope others enjoy it as well.

This was such a breath of fresh air. I could not put down the book and loved all of it. The characters are wonderful and you feel like you are one of them.

Thank you to the publishers for providing an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Darcy Phillips can give relationship advice to anyone, anonymously and for a fee, but can she take her own advice?

When Brougham catches Darcy in the act of collecting the anonymous letters from locker 89, the locker where she is collecting and answering letters about relationship problems, Brougham provides her with an ultimatum: either help him win back his girlfriend or he will tell everyone she is behind the locker.

Darcy wants to keep her identity a secret; needs to keep her identity a secret because of the "advice" she has written. Even her closes friends do not know she is behind the locker, so she decides to help Brougham.

This book is beautifully written and creative. While a bit slow in the beginning, the inclusion of bisexual characters is done very well. The main pairing is m/f, but the book is absolutely queer. All of those things can happen at once, and Darcy struggles with this identity as well which is written beautifully and inclusively.

A *light* rom-com with some heavy subtopics, but a super enjoyable, quick read, perfect for a high school classroom library.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales follows Darcy, a teenage girl who anonymously answers relationship questions submitted by her fellow high school students. Anything she doesn't already know, she researches in order to help everyone as best she can. One day, Brougham catches her checking the locker where students submit their questions, and the plot takes off from there.

First off, I really enjoyed the characters in this book. They were charming, but still felt like real people. While some of the dialogue was a bit on the nose, it never got so over-the-top as to be off-putting. There's conflict, tension, romance, and it all feels pretty well lived in.

The plot of this book was a fun romp with serious elements, without being too heavy. What a joy.

This was a fun read - probably meant for a much younger audience than me, but I still enjoyed it. Darcy is operating an anonymous relationship counseling service out of an unused locker at school. People drop an envelope in with some money, and she responds with her recommendation for handling whatever relationship issue the writer is dealing with (excellent advice by the way - this kid would be going places in life for sure!). Darcy is bisexual and is a member of a group at school called Queer and Questioning, which has members who are bisexual, gay, lesbian, and trans. Many of her friends are in this group. Things begin to get rather interesting when a hot guy, Broughham, catches Darcy removing letters from the locker and then blackmails her into helping him get his ex-girlfriend back.

Terrific book for middle and high school age. Full of teenage angst, relationship crises, and gender identity.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I enjoyed the advice that Darcy gave to people, and reading each letter and her response was an interesting emotional journey. It was very refreshing for Darcy to have to accept that she made a mistake, apologize for that mistake, and then also make amends. Darcy had the best of intentions (well, MOST of the time) but it is still important to note that there were flaws in her process.

Brougham, ahhhh, where do I start? His grumpy and standoffish demeanor gradually peels away to reveal much more. His relationships with his friends, the growth of his and Darcy's friendship, all of it is just wonderful! All of the warm fuzzy feels with a hearty dose of ACCOUNTABILITY for one's actions...aka they don't let each other get away with doing things they shouldn't.

I like that the characters in this book are flawed and have real and intense feelings that sometimes lead to dumb decisions, it makes me like this book even more!

TRIGGER WARNING: Bullying, abuse, biphobia

ARC kindly given by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

After reading Only Mostly Devastated, I was absolutely over the moon to have received an ARC of Perfect on Paper. I loved the first book I read from Sophie Gonzales and had extremely high hopes for this one especially after reading a blurb that encompasses everything I could've wanted from a romance/contemporary.

Perfect on Paper follows Darcy Phillips, a sixteen year old girl who in her spare time gives the student body helpful relationship advice through her anonymous identity as "Locker 89."

She's bisexual and she has a major crush on her best friend, Brooke who does not know about Darcy's "extracurricular activity." If word gets out about it, some unfortunate events would come out and Brooke may never talk to Darcy ever again. Not only jeopardising their friendship but also Darcy's chances at turning it into something more. Luckily, Darcy's got everything under control and so far in the years that the anonymous locker has been run, nobody had ever uncovered her identity.

That is until one afternoon where she gets spotted taking letters out of Locker 89 by none other than Alexander Brougham, an annoyingly hot swimmer who blackmails Darcy for her privacy in exchange for her help in getting his ex girlfriend back. What could possibly go wrong with that plan?

A lot apparently and this book encompassed it all whilst still giving me relationship advice and an educative lesson on biphobia and what it truly means to be queer.

I genuinely enjoyed how this book explored different relationship types and styles and I loved how this book showed me that there were so many different ways to love another person. This was mainly done through the letter format where we got to see the kind of advice Darcy was giving to other students. Most authors would steer away from showing that kind of relationship advice but I think that for this book it really worked since it gave another dimension to Darcy's characterisation. She was a flawed character and that was made so by the character revelations made along the way. My only issue with her was that I never could pick up on her personal issues until she pointed them out. Although she was at times an afraid and anxious character, I followed through with her but didn't understand why she did some of the things she did until she explained them. I would've liked for it to have been a bit more clear and obvious but it didn't take too much away from the story so I still enjoyed it overall.

What made me super happy though were the many Aussie references. We almost never get represented in books apart from maybe #LoveOzYA which is often set in Australia anyway. To see a character that was not only an Aussie but from my own home town too was so heartening to see. We also got so much information about Australian dialects even I learnt something about my own that I didn't know before. Just for someone to reference the Australian-British accents in the Southern parts of Australia made me jump for joy. Oh, and let's not forget the Jimmy Barnes, Midnight Oil and Cold Chisel references and the multiple mentions of fairy bread. My Aussie soul was 100% satisfied.

But my Aussie fangirling aside, it was definitely the characters who made this book. I already mentioned Darcy but this book was so layered with the character development it's not even funny. It dealt with so many hard topics like abuse, biphobia and bullying whilst still being light-hearted. I really loved reading about them all especially Brougham who was so patient and caring yet so held together in a world where, behind closed doors, was falling apart around him. I felt so sympathetic towards him and just wanted to give him a big hug. In fact, I think all the characters deserved a big hug.

Raina was the only character I wanted more of since we barely got anything from her end. I wanted her to have more of a presence but her short page-time didn't bother me too much. I think the book made up for it with Ainsley who, after Brougham, was my second favourite character for her bubbliness and for her crazy ideas and imagination. I was never bored reading about her and I loved reading about hers and Darcy's sisterly connection and how they always had each other's backs. It was really awe-inspiring to read.

All in all, I genuinely enjoyed this book. Compared to Only Mostly Devastated I think I liked the other one more but I definitely wasn't disappointed with this one.

ACTUAL RATING: 4.3 STARS

This was a fast paced and delightful read. The representation in the book was amazing too. Will definitely recommend.

My thanks to NetGalley for an advance chance to take in another fun, entertaining read. This is one of those romcoms where you can't help mentally casting a potential movie version. while you're reading.
It's a funny, sweet story and fully delves into the romantic ups and and downs of the LGBTQ+ high school community.
Loved the fact that this book takes "the heart wants what the heart wants" and more realistically turns that trope on its head......into more like "the bisexual heart has no frickin' idea what it wants until it figures out a whole lot of conflicting stuff."
Darcy Phillips, a bisexual girl with no real love life of her own, offers anonymous love advice to her peers using a locker as a secret letter drop......and doing this while nursing a definite 'thing' for her best friend Brooke.
Her hated nemesis, Alexander Brougham catches her retrieving her letter requests.........and rather than risk him revealing her to everyone as the romance guru (which might jeopardize her chances with Brooke) she agrees to use her 'expertise' to help him win back his ex girlfriend.
Surprise, surprise.....there might be something more than active dislike brewing between Darcy and that guy she can't tolerate.
If you've read the Becky Albertalli books, you know there's mucho predictable romantic complications for everyone involved here, but that doesn't make them any less heartfelt and so much fun to read.
I did find the story a little slow getting off the ground and maybe a little too long overall, but after awhile, you tend to warm up to all of these characters (and even a fall in love with a few of them...)
.. And if you're as much of a sucker for romcoms as I am, you'll be hoping it won't be long before Netflix of Hulu or somebody turns this into a movie. Definitely give it a read.

Meet Darcy Phillips, a queer high school junior who runs an anonymous relationship advice business. On school grounds. Using an abandoned locker. (Gah! Why didn't I think of that!) She has an unrequited crush on her best friend Brooke Nguyen and was happily pinning over her until one Alexander Brougham barges in her life with a soaked t-shirt and an exorbitant amount of swagger and rudeness. Now see, a glorious 95 percent success rate of her 'business' surely means that her own love life is a little less messed up than us mortals.

Right?

'Perfect on Paper' is a meet cute, high school drama which I immensely enjoyed. The discussions on biphobia was an added bonus. I would have liked the backstory and the personal lives of Alexander and Ainsley a bit more detailed. Especially Ainsley's. She appeared in the story only to assist Darcy whenever she needed her which seemed like an injustice to a well deserved character. This light hearted, fast paced read is expected to be out on 9th March, 2021!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this e-ARC.

Perfect on Paper is one of those books that grows on you so subtly, you don’t realize until you’re half-way through the book just how much you love all the characters and want to root for them despite their flaws. I was enjoying it just fine when I started and figured it would be a three star read, but somewhere along the line, I *really* started enjoying it especially when all the secrets started unravelling and I realized who was going to end up with who.

I loved the casual queerness in the novel. Darcy’s sister, Ainsley transitioned and it's just a part of the story. It's not something that's emphasized or explained and it doesn’t need to be because that’s just who she is. I also loved the Queer and Questioning Club. When I was in high school, there was a lot of discussion about changing the name for the Gay Straight Alliance so it would be more inclusive. Queer Straight Alliance was one of the suggestions, but I really like the Queer and Questioning Club. It just really puts the focus on where it needs to be, which is supporting queer and questioning students at the school. The bisexual representation was also so good, especially the way the author tackled the internalized biphobia.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! The characters made mistakes, but they learned from them and tried to right their wrongs. The relationships were all really nuanced and different, including the familial and platonic relationships. The ending was also super satisfying and I was really happy with everyone that ended up together.

I enjoyed this so much! Darcy is such a relatable and likable character. Alexander a bit less so, but it did set up that typical misunderstanding/animosity turns to affection structure. It managed to feel true to the teenage world while still being fun for an adult to read, and with enough of 'real' life/rougher moments to keep it from being overly sweet or sappy.

~Perfect On Paper~
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5/5 stars
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This had me at “Leah on the Offbeat meets To All The Boys Ive Loved Before”!! Name a more perfect plot than “Bi sexual girl gives anonymous love advice but who’s own love life is a MESS”. That’s right you can’t. A huge thanks to netgalley for approving my request to read this!
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Pros:
+I can already tell I’m going to love this whole book just from the opening chapter and that’s when you know the book is good
+Also there’s a character named Oriella which is basically my name so obviously this book already wins
+As a huge psychology nerd my heart did a little happy dance when she explained the different attachment styles!! Yay for psychology!!
+Okay i’m LIVING for the effortless and natural inclusion of diversity. Like YES!!! The representation!! Literally everything to do with the q&q club was amazing!
+This book is so chaotic and dramatic i love it
+Let’s talk about how Bi-phobia is addressed!!! Such an important topic that is not talked about nearly enough!! YA NEEDS MORE DISCUSSIONS LIKE THIS!! Every school should have a q&q club
+Ainsley!! What an amazing character and sister! She reminded me of my sister which made me really happy
+I feel like there was a good balance between serious discussions and teenage shenanigans in this one! There were some really low lows and some fluffy and cutesy moments and I loved every moment of it
+Also the whole concept of a teenage girl starting an anonymous relationship advice business and succeeding at it is GOLDEN and I can’t express how much I enjoyed watching it play out
+To end it off I’d like to say that this book does an amazing job of promoting healthy relationships in teenagers. Let’s just say the growth of Brougham and Darcy’s relationship makes me happy
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Cons:
-This isn’t like a serious con (it’s that good) but I DIED of second hand embarrassment any time unrequited feelings were brought up. It gave me very similar vibes to watching “Never Have I Ever” on Netflix (love that show)
-Honestly I feel like I need to bring it up because I usually put it as a con but in this book it was more funny than annoying. This definitely has a lot of the classic miscommunication trope. Usually I hate it but it just made me laugh in this one
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I can honestly say this has become a new favorite of mine and I can’t wait to read more work by this author! Everything about this book from its cover to the writing to the concept is so fun and I wouldn’t change anything about it

A variety of characters and a variety of genders. Could have gone horribly wrong but this one is delightfully, deliciously right.

5 resounding stars for Perfect on Paper. Thanks to Netgalley, Sophie Gonzales, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. The views are my own.

P.S. Loved the cover.

Loved it! The representation on this book is fantastic. I loved all the characters and specially Brougham, he is the kind of character I like reading about. I loved the letters and the relationship advice. Also this book didn't feel like I was reading a YA even if they are teen because although there was obviously teen drama (it was needed) it was good drama. I felt like all the characters were always very mature when dealing with whatever they needed to deal with. The friendships in this book were awesome in my opinion and I specially liked Darcy and Brougham's friendship. Ainsley was a super awesome sister which is always a plus for me, I like when siblings are friends and aren't always fighting in books. We got a sweet HEA and I feel like we had the right amount of romance. Definitely recommend this book.