This is the first book I have read by this author and definitely won’t be the last. As an educator I am always looking for the next YA book to hook my readers. I feel as though the depth of the main character Darcy and how the author incorporated many relevant conversations that are happening today made it a hit. I love how the author discussed the main character being bisexual, the q and q club and even the divorce of her parents. I feel like many students can see themselves in these characters from Brooke to Darcy.. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and this will be definitely be added to my classroom library when it comes out. Thank you Net galley and publisher for the early read.

I LOVED this book. I loved the dating advice system, and I thought Darcy was pretty good at giving advice! (I would recommend her to my students, for sure, lol) Darcy was an entertaining main character. I liked how the author handled Darcy's sexuality, as well as her friends, in a way that is very real and relevant to teenagers as they are finding themselves. Love, love, love.

4.5 stars
things i loved:
- the bisexual rep!! and discussions of biphobia throughout the book!!
if you want to see me talk more in depth about that, here is an instagram post i made discussing that aspect of the book: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJWXtyAAT...
- the portrayal of the different family dynamics! they're not necessarily at the forefront of the book, but I thought they were really well fleshed-out and added another layer to the story
- the Q&Q club (essentially, their school's queer club)! it sounded like a really nice environment, and some of the discussions that happened in their meetings were really really important & interesting
- to some extent, Darcy's dating advice? i'll explain - i expected to find those parts of the book pretty cheesy, and while I guess some are a little bit, there was also honestly some actually good analysis of attachment styles and different behaviours people have in relationships that I could for sure link to things I've experienced or seen other people experience in real life, so I thought some of those parts were really interesting!

the one slightly negative thing i have to say is about something the main character Darcy has done to one of her friends, that is eventually revealed to that friend sometime in the story. Essentially, I feel like what Darcy did was brushed over a little too quickly for the sake of having a nice happy ending where the friend in question has now forgiven her. It's not the biggest thing to be mad about in a book, and ofc this is just my personal opinion, but it threw me off a little to have that whole thing forgiven that quickly.

This is a cute little YA story. I’m so many ways, you know where it’s going, but it takes awhile to get there in a less predictable way. The main character has depth and grows - really, all the characters do. I do feel like in many ways the author tried a little bit too hard to be inclusive which led me to be confused about some of the side characters.

This was one of my most highly anticipated reads for 2021 but I just couldn’t wait!

Perfect on Paper has solidified the notion that I will read ANYTHING Sophie Gonzales writes. I fell in love with Only Mostly Devastated and now, with this book, I am just obsessed!

What we have here is a fun and compelling YA contemporary read that reads part like a social experiment and part like a teenage romance. Darcy is a high school junior in love with her best friend, Brooke. You would think that the girl who (anonymously) gives incredible romantic advice to just about the whole student body would be able to take her own advice and make her unrequited love a possibility. But, not so much...

Darcy has comandeered locker 89 and uses it as her base to collect the letters from students who seek her empowering relationship advice. But she doesn’t expect Alexander Brougham to catch her in the process. She doesn’t much like him, with his accent, his cockiness and his annoyingly handsome face, but in order to keep her identity a secret from the rest of the school she agrees to help him get his ex girlfriend back... for a much higher pay rate than she usually charges. While they grate on each other at first, she soon sees deeper than his facade he dons. And she likes more and more of what she sees.

But, if Brooke found out she was the one giving out the advice; if she learned of the shameful secret Darcy is keeping about the advice she secretly gave TO HER, she knows Brooke would never speak to her again.

Darcy’s openly transitioned sister Ainsley is possibly one of the funnest characters I have read in a long time. The idea of sexuality and acceptance in this book was top notch. It bravely deals with the confusing and self deprecating notions of bisexual people fearing their queerness if they happen to fall for someone of the opposite sex. The fear that they will not be accepted as queer or bisexual unless they are with the same sex.

This book was simply AMAZING!! I loved Darcy and I loved Brougham. This story was touching and funny and poignant. Great job Sophie Gonzales!!!

This was a funny, enjoyable read that will appeal to folks who liked JACK OF HEARTS AND OTHER PARTS and anyone who loves Cyrano retellings. It deals with relationships, friendships, biphobia, and a whole bunch of teenager mistakes that felt real. I was invested in all the characters even when they were making mistakes and you wanted to say "no don't do that!"

Darcy runs a secret romantic advice service out of a locker at a high school when she's caught by a fellow student, Alexander. He hires her to help her win back his ex-girlfriend.

This book was full of surprises! I was particularly moved by the LGBTQ representation and complete lack of any homophobia. These characters are accepted and loved, and they are given the space to make mistakes and figure out who they are. And make mistakes they do!

This story rocks, and I can't rate to dive into another Sophie Gonzales book.

Sophie Gonzales hit this one way out of the park. I was so excited to read this book that as soon as I saw it I requested it. Thankfully, I was approved. I just want to say this book has everything that you would expect a 5+ stars book to have. I laughed, I cried, I even stayed up way past my bedtime just to finish it. I love how the characters were developed as individuals who were messy and normal at the same time. The queer parts are pleasing and well told without having to question motives. Certainly trying to not be found out Darcy is running a dating site out of her locker when she is caught by the one boy she can’t stand. However, now he wants her help to get his ex back and is willing to black mail Darcy to help him. Can Darcy help Alexander without getting caught? Or will Darcy find a secret crush instead. This is one book that will cross age boundaries and is very relatable to most in many ways. This very cute YA romance of sorts is one that I highly recommend.


Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

4 unexpected stars.
Well, I am shocked. I didn’t care for this book in the beginning. I wasn’t sure where we were going, you know? And I’m a reader that needs a map. We can have shocks and twists, but I like a general idea of the point of the book.
Next, this is my second Gonzales. And she does enjoy some messy, sort of icky, main characters. When I realized we were headed in they direction again, I blanched. But, as much as I don’t always like Gonzales’ characters, I do like her writing. So onward and upward.
And, at some point - after I realized literally every character in the book had done some truly cringeworthy things - after we’d headed down a couple of awkward tangents - I realized I was invested. I didn’t want to put the book down. I needed resolution. And I sorta liked these...very teenage teenagers.
So even though I face-palmed and scrunched my nose, I loved the writing and was thrilled by the representation. And unlike the other book of hers I read, this one made unlikable likable.
I think you should read this. Go in with a wide open mind and lots of patience. I hope you have just as good a time as I did.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to offer by unbiased opinion.

Darcy is all about love and relationships. She watches YouTube videos about types of attachment styles, how to communicate your needs, everything to do with relationships. All of this research to help her with her own secret service: Locker 89. In an abandoned locker at school, Darcy operates a love life advice service to the other students. Ten dollar money back guarantee and Locker 89 will read your letter and reply with her advice. No one knows at school knows it’s her, not even her best friend Brooke. The only person in on it is her sister Ainsley. Until one day when someone finds her going through the locker and wants to hire her as a relationship coach. Brougham is one of the most attractive senior boys and in desperate need of getting back together with his ex Winona. Darcy agrees to help him so that he won’t tell everyone her secret.

This was such a fun, realistic, and relatable story. Obviously the love advice plot line is not something everyone has experienced, but the relationship questions, the searching for advice, that’s all too real! The things people wrote in were actual things kids (and adults!) worry about. The way they spoke was so realistic. They swore! They drank! They got high! These are all real things teenagers do so I’m glad to see that in this story. I really loved the relationships with all the characters and the realistic way they moved and shifted throughout the story. There’s the fact that Darcy is in love with Brooke and how that colors her actions and words, her weirdly budding friendship with Brougham, her relationship with her sister and mom. All of them were unique and true to at least what I’ve experienced.

On top of all that, the love story in this book is fantastic!! Not me smiling like a goof ball and laughing with delight. The chemistry and how slow it developed and what it was based on just made the relationship more real and solid than some other YA romances. Not only that, this book was mad queer. So many different and diverse queer characters that had genuine conversations about the queerness including a whole part about biphobia. We love to see it.

I loved this story and the characters and I’m honestly so pumped to read whatever Sophie Gonzales publishes next.

I received a complimentary copy of Perfect on Paper from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I loved this book! Very cute from beginning to end... I love the slow burn of teenage romance and the perceptive relationship insight provided by Locker 89. Fantastic friendship and relationship what to do and not to do novel!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I'll be honest i skimmed the last 30% because i just couldn't keep forcing myself to read and honestly it was putting me in a slump.

I loved what the author was doing with this story but in my opinion i just didn't like the writing style but i am going to rate this 3 stars because it was a wonderful story.

Darcy is really good is fixing everyone else’s love life. Only problem is they don’t know she is the one behind Locker 89 where they drop their letters asking for advice. When Brougham catches her emptying the locker, Darcy agrees to help him get his ex back so he won’t tell her secret. It has to stay secret, especially from Brooke.

What an amazing LGBTQ novel. I loved how that was such a large part of the book, but it was done in a way where it didn’t feel like the only thing the book was about…if that makes sense? It discussed a lot of issues that LGBTQ face, and did it so well. I absolutely adored the budding friendship between Broughman (I still have trouble pronouncing this name) and Darcy, their banter and snark just made me want to be their friend and hang out with them! There were so many other important topics covered in this read as well, I think it’s a perfect read for young adults as they find themselves, especially those that may be struggling with their identity.

While the book started off a bit slow (and was a bit predictable), overall I thought it was very cute and loved the bi representation.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is the type of book that makes you so interested in the plot that you read the whole book in one sitting. I absolutely adored this book, and I think it did a marvelous job handling issues such as biphobia, family issues, and more. If you enjoyed high school drama related realistic fiction or Tweet Cute, you would enjoy this book a lot.

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales was a cute live story about Darcy, a bisexual teen who has a secret. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Darcy learns the hard way about how important telling the truth is. #netgalley #bowkerbooks

Locker 89 is the place to go if you need love advice from an anonymous person. Until Darcy Phillips is discovered taking letters out of the locker by Alexander Brougham. In exchange to keep her secret he needs couching on getting back his ex-girlfriend. Darcy doesn't like being blackmailed but she can't have it come it out that she is the one behind the locker as she has done some things to her best friend who she has a major crush on that she is not happy about. So she agrees to help Brougham. What could go wrong? Will what she did to her best friend come out? Will she be able to get Brougham and his ex together? So many questions and you know what to do, read the book!

I enjoyed reading this story. LGBTQ representation in this book. It presented challenges faced by being bi and about learning to feel loved and dealing with emotional fears. It was thought provoking and I wanted to know how it ended. I highly recommend reading this book. So do yourself a favor and pick it up.

It's been a long time since I read a YA book that was so fresh and delightful. A wonderful high school romance without all the extra "sexy scenes". A free perspective on high school relationships now. There are so many kids navigating new waters of friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, bestfriends and everything in the middle.

Having had yet to tread Only Mostly Devastated, but hearing wonderful things about it, I was especially excited to be given the opportunity to receive an ARC for Sophie Gonzales's following work "Perfect on Paper." This novel follows Darcy (she/her), a bisexual student facing her Junior year of high school with two secrets, 1. She's the anonymous relationship consultant running a business out of Locker 89 at her high school. And 2. She is not only in love with her best friend, but might have used her side business to meddle her prior relationships.

Darcy was an exceptional character and one that I could easily find myself rooting for. Despite her flaws, of which there are many, she has an extraordinary amount of self awareness that influences and makes rational sense for many of her decisions. All side characters were equally lovable, with not a single one following a caricature which can often happen to non-MCs.

The story was also exceptional and one where you think you might think you have figured out, but surprises you in the subtlest of ways. There were a few lulls in the pacing but not enough to be dragged out of the story and I genuinely appreciated the more character focused arcs in this coming of age story.

Last but not least, I want to speak on the rep, which was truly exceptional. Even some of the more forgotten identities like Asexuality and Aromanticism were beautifully described and illustrated in this novel. There is one particular moment that comes to mind where Darcy is explained the difference between sexual, sensual, and romantic attraction in one of her letters and I swear my heart just soared.

All in all I loved this world, I loved these characters, and I would highly recommend this story to everyone. Having read this Only Mostly Devastated might have just jumped to the top of my TBR!

Oh my goodness I love how queer rep is getting more visibility it makes my heart sing!

The main character was the perfect amount of flawed and relatable and human in all ways. This book was definitely not lacking in moments that make you want to curl up and tuck the book away because of how terrible certain decisions could be.

But also the development of her relationship was so fluffy and wonderful in how the small misunderstandings reworked themselves and how <i>cute</i> they were. Tons of chemistry and high school drama but also so much meaning (albeit cheesy and perhaps dramatic) with the main character and her complex struggle with her bisexuality. Like damn. Sophie Gonzales spitting straight facts.

The couple was super cute like their dynamics and banter were delightful, and while I hated the jealousy/sabotage plotline I understand it and I feel for the main character and her friends despite it all. Resolution-wise, I think it went too smoothly, but generally no large complaints.

Hugest of thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this work of art!! Highly highly recommend.