My anxiety could never. I can't imagine the amount of pressure she could have been under to do something like this. But this was so good and I really enjoyed reading it. I was biting my nails the whole time while waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it was amazing!

Perla Perez only knows what it’s like to grow up in the pressure cooker of the exclusive California town of Monte Verde. The high school is ultracompetitive and is known for its graduates going to excellent universities. Perla herself not only works hard and does well, but she actually skipped two grades when she was young, so she’s only 16 as she graduates. (Hence her nickname of Perfect Perlie.) Her parents are successful (one a lawyer and one a dermatologist), and they expect her to be equally successful. The plan (really her parents’ plan) has always been for her to attend the top-notch Delmont University and then go to medical school. Not that she’s really enthused about that, but she doesn’t have much of a say in her future.

When her letter from Delmont arrives and it is a rejection, Perla is not just crushed but panicky. In a bid to put off sharing the bad news with her parents, she fakes an acceptance letter. And things snowball from there. Since she didn’t apply to any backup colleges, only “reach” schools, Perla has nowhere to go. So she decides to fix things. She’ll go to Delmont, pretend she’s a student, and gather intel on-site as she works on a new application for the spring semester.

The plan is a terrible/almost impossible one, obviously, and it made me feel either/both that the story really stretched credulity and/or that Perla had some serious problems. She faces a lot of challenges trying to find places to live temporarily and just to eat without letting her parents know the truth. And it goes on for several months. Her parents’ expectations border are appalling. It begins to make some sense why this character thinks she can attempt an outrageous, potentially dangerous and even ruinous, plan.

I had thought the book was going to be more lighthearted, so I was not prepared for its sobering tone. The story explores what it’s like to face intense pressure to be perfect and live up to others’ expectations. The Perezes are Filipinos (her father is second generation and her mother a longtime immigrant), and their ethnicity plays an important role in the story. Perla’s parents faced their own pressures to succeed in America and to prove themselves as “brown people.” My husband is Filipino, and he has talked about the same message shared here: if you’re a person of color, you have to work a lot harder than white people to get anywhere. The immigrant/BIPOC viewpoint is a valuable one for readers. It’s valuable as well for young people to learn through Perla that it’s OK to make mistakes and to find something they enjoy as they attend college or work toward a career.

For the above-mentioned insights, I recommend This Is Not a Personal Statement. Just don’t have the expectation of lightheartedness/wackiness that I did going in. Either I didn’t pay close enough attention to the book’s summary or I read into it what seemed a more likely possibility of what the tone would be.

In a third person POV book, if it’s bad, it’s just the writing. But in a first person POV, there are other questions to be had. Do I hate the narrator? Or is the book just poorly written? The answer to both questions here is yes. Yikes. I’ve complained about YA in the past. I have mostly stopped requesting it, but my backlog is insane.

If I hear the words Perfect Perlie one more time, I will riot. Perla Perez skipped a couple of grades. She applied to her dream school and several reaches. She has no safety schools. This goes about as well as you’re assuming. Instead of taking some time to reflect on this, she lies to everyone around her, sneaks onto campus, and pretends to attend. I cannot even fathom the audacity of this character. Is she young? Yes. Does she need to be this woe is me? Hell no.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

This was such a fun book. Considering it's been over 15 years since I've been in college, this book definitely took me back to the pressures of college and expectations from parents. As a second-generation Filipino-American, I definitely understand the concept of "utang na loob" that Perla talks about. The feeling of being indebted to our parents because of the sacrifices they made for us so that we can have opportunities for success that they didn't have has been ingrained in us at an early age. I found Perla to be relatable in that aspect - but of course, being a work of fiction, she took it to a whole 'nother level by faking her acceptance and sneaking into a school she doesn't attend! I would definitely recommend this to high school students (especially FilAms and POCs).

Parents oftentimes, even when coming from a good place, may have different visions and dreams for how their children will turn out than the child in question has in regards to themselves. I believe this is one of those stories in a way and I applaud Tracy Badua for writing such a timely story for all of us to enjoy, no matter our age. The world we live in seems to still hold stock in this belief that the only way to find true success for oneself is to pursue a 4 year undergrad degree at the least! I believe, as the author expresses in the prologue, that this is not the case and college, though great and needed for some, is not the choice every single person ought to make for themselves. This story is emotional yet humorous and I found it worth reading right now as I only begin raising my young children because it will serve as a reminder as they grow up that there are several paths their life can take in order to lead a worthwhile life.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise of someone faking an acceptance to a college to the point of impersonating being a student there is such a fun, unhinged idea. And I really thought it could share an important message about the pressures the college application process can put on teenagers. However, the execution of it is so poor, I couldn't enjoy it.

This book is chock full of cliches and stereotypes without any nuance to it. The secondary characters are one-dimensional and forgettable, and Perlie's relationships with them are just as surface-level. She doesn't grow any believable meaningful connections. Perlie's growth is just as unbelievable, thrown in at any given point because it needs to happen and not because it organically flows within the story.

My biggest qualm, however, is how Perlie's parents' abusive behavior is never addressed as such, especially things just thrown in there for whatever reason. For the entirety of the book, I was wondering if how Perlie's mother controlling her diet so she would be the "perfect size" would ever be addressed again and unsurprisingly it wasn't.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, especially any young kid struggling with the pressures of college applications. 1.5 stars.

I did enjoy this book. I thought it did a great job of showcasing the ways in which families can unintentionally harm teens through expectations and pressure. However, I knew from very early on in the book how it was going to end.

Perla is an overachieving 16 year old, pushed by her parents to be a doctor. After getting rejected from her dream college, she fakes her own acceptance and commits to living the lie of getting in - up to and including moving into a vacant dorm room and attending classes at the school. Then the lies just keep coming!
This book frustrated me a lot while reading it, probably due in large part to my job working as a high school teacher (my school is pictured here after the gorgeous snow we got earlier this week!). Plot-wise, there were some big stretches, and I tried my hardest to suspend my disbelief. However, the author did a fantastic job of showing how anxiety affects high school students, especially students who are young for their grade with perhaps unreasonable expectations from home. I did enjoy how the book ended, and I am glad that the final message is to NOT do what Perla did - or what her parents did. However, if someone were to only read part of the book, the first 3/4 of the book glorifies negative behaviors like falsifying documents, misleading parents, lying to everyone you know, and sneaking around in potentially unsafe areas. Because I know how rare it is for my students to finish a book in a timely manner to get the actual message, I don’t think I will recommend it to them.
I received an advanced electronic copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. It published in January, but I held this review until the end of the HarperCollins Union strike. It is available now everywhere if it sounds like your kind of read!

Anxiety-inducing, but realistic and. heartbreaking depiction of how the external pressure to succeed can affect teens (especially younger ones!)

This was a quick easy read that had me rooting for Perla. Despite what could be an unbelievable premise, I bought into it and enjoyed the ride (despite the anxiety!). It brought back memories of the college application process and excelling and parental expectations and how absolutely stressful it is. A read I'd definitely recommend.

This review contains some spoilers, as I felt it impossible to review without a couple of them!

I think this is a book I would have loved as a teen. There are so many good qualities to this story, so im going to start there! First off, I really enjoyed the fact that Perla was acting completely irrational about 98% of the time. I think it was such a great testament to a) how young she was and b) just how much value she placed on her parent’s opinion of her. I love how Badua pushed the limits of what this sixteen year old was willing to lie about and subject herself to, all to avoid the embarrassment of admitting she hadn’t done the one thing she was expected to do.

I think it’s important to be able to suspend disbelief in order to enjoy the book. I had a hard time believing Perla’s parents wouldn’t just pop up for a visit (and honestly wouldn’t that have been fun? What if the walked into her job and she had to hide?) I also felt conflicted about Camilla being… nice? After she was built up to be Perla’s mortal enemy.

I did love that the ending allowed us to sort of draw our own conclusions. I wanted there to be more explanation of why her parents behaved the way they did. It was touched on, but like… a conversation between her and one of them that really hit on their own insecurities would have been great. I also wanted to know if Perla had made any friends at the end and how her social life was going.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tracy Badua, and Quill Tree Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I feel like the beginning of the book could've been done a bit better. As an audience, we were thrown into the conflict too quickly; as a result, I didn't really care much for the main character. I DNFed the book at 20%.

Such a fun and sweet read. Perfect for a day at the beach or reading by the pool. I laughed, I teared up and I couldn't put it down!

High achieving Perlie, who skipped two grades, is getting ready to graduate from high school at the age of 16. She and her Filipino parents, who demand academic success, expect Perlie to get into prestigious Delmont University and then go on on medical school. So when Perlie isn't accepted at Delmont (or any of the other schools she applied to), she can't bring herself to tell her mom and dad. Instead, she fakes a letter of acceptance and lets her parents drop her off at Delmont at the beginning of the school year. Her plan is to spend time on campus, figure out why she didn't get in, and use that information to submit a better application for the spring semester.

Perlie is determined and resourceful. Despite numerous obstacles, she manages to move into an unused dorm room, attend a few classes, and fit in -- for a while. She even makes a few friends, even though she's determined not to get too close to anyone (too risky). But how long can her charade last? How serious will the consequences be when her deception is uncovered?

Badua compassionately tells a story featuring a young, intelligent, emotionally fragile teen who, in attempt to please her parents, has lost herself. Though the plot sounds far fetched, Badua manages to provide plausible explanations for how Perlie gets away with her masquerade, leaving the reader to conclude the protagonist is extremely lucky. Along the way, Perlie questions all she's ever believed as she gains important insights into herself, her parents, and the world around her. An enjoyable read many teens will enjoy.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. Perla has a lot of pressure on her to get the best grades and get into her dream college, but she needs to change the path before her when she does not get in. She creates an acceptance letter and goes off to school. I have to say I am not sure that this would have worked completely this way in the real world. I am sure someone would have noticed her doing all the things that she did. Don't want to give too much away.

Perla is getting ready to go to college. She skipped some grades and is now only 16 years old but trying to get into some of the most prestigious schools in the country. She slowly starts getting rejected or waitlisted from most of the schools she has applied to. The biggest one was getting rejected by Delmont, her dream school. But Perlie decides to fake her acceptance. Through some rigorous deception, Perla pretends to go to Delmont and succeeds at the fakery for a few months before she gets caught. Eventually it all goes downhill but along the way she learns various lessons along with that the pressure her parents put on her to be the best should not have defined her as a person. It was a good coming of age story.

4/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and Tracy Badua for allowing me to read and review this book.

This book is wonderful at portraying how much pressure parents, schools, and fellow students can put on someone while in highschool. The pressure to get into good colleges and follow certain career paths, while keeping up "perfect" appearances can be detrimental to health and relationships.

It also shows what lengths some people will go to to accomplish these things, and what might happen if they do not succeed.

I would definitely recommend this book to any person who is feeling this pressure to be "perfect," to get into prestigious colleges, and/or follow a career path that does not suit you.
I would also recommend this book to any parents/guardians that push their kids to accomplish these things. Even if you do not believe you are pushing them too hard, or you believe you are just doing what is best for them. This book is a great way to see their possible perspective of these things.

This one was good! You might have to suspend disbelief a bit to fully enjoy it because I doubt it is entirely possible to just go unnoticed on a college campus for that long, especially with all the hijinks this girl was doing like climbing trees and shit but maybe I'm completely wrong and people would fail to pay attention to that!

This is just a fun escapism read. While it does get more heavier at the end, it's just a fun wild ride during the first half or so. I was thinking her ass was gonna be caught so many times.
One of the big takeaways of this is how unimportant it is which college you attend because really they are all the same!
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy!

This was such an unique novel! I loved the premise so much, especially because of the academic theme. Perla was a really fascinating but unlikable character (her character was written intentionally that wag ofcourse, so that the story becomes relatable) and I really enjoyed the thrilling ride that the author took us on about her life. I was literally always on the edge of my seat while reading This is Not A Personal Statement, because I was SO worried about Perla getting caught by the university administrators 😭 The tension, the drama, my God.

I liked how the book showcased the dark side of academia, and the extreme level of pressure that the world puts on the younger generation to succeed, especially on POC. An eye-opening novel for sure..

My only complaint is the ending. The last few chapters could have been fleshed out more properly ~ it just felt like everything major was happening all at once. But overall, TINAPS was an enjoyable read!

What a book! We meet Perla as she is patiently awaiting college acceptance letters but most importantly THE college acceptance letter from Delmont University. It’s her dream school… well, it’s her parents’ dream school. Her parents’ dream path. But when that acceptance letter turns out to be a rejection letter, Perla hatches a wild plan to “attend” the college without anyone catching on that she’s not supposed to be there. I really did enjoy this book even with the need to suspend reality a bit to buy into the plot but I thought this was a creative way to tell a story about the challenges of the pressure adults put on their children to succeed, especially in immigrant families. I felt anxious the entire book but I think that is the point: Perla is barely holding it together at all times and at any moment her plan and she herself can fall apart - in that sense, Tracy Badua was very successful. I think another success, even if it’s not a personal preference for me, is that the ending isn’t wrapped up in a neat little bow. I think the my one pause with the book is we don’t get more of the ending - more growth of Perla’s parents. But it also felt realistic to the characters

I recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a digital arc of this book in exchange of an honest review!