This book was terrible. From the out of touch portrayal of gay characters to the horrid sibling relationship, everything about this book was maddening. The book is written in a diary style, so the reader truly gets to understand how selfish and annoying Piper is. There are no redeeming characters in this book, except maybe just the art teacher. The parents who cater to their adults daughter’s tantrums, the best friend who just disappears when things get hard, and the random nothing emails from Piper’s assigned school mentor do nothing for the narrative.

This book was just bad, and I feel worse for having read it. Yes, this book was published in 2017, and it has taken me this long to read it. But I should’ve just told NetGalley I’d pass on this one. But alas here we are. I now know the story of Piper Perish and how even though she’s selfish and immature, she’s talented and special and opportunities fall out of the sky for her. Good for Piper, I guess.

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced ebook. I’m sorry it took me so long.

The writing was good and so were the characters I’m just not a huge fan of the genre so it was hard to fully immerse my self in the world

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

Throughout all of the ups and downs, Piper is a fighter and keeps going after her passion. Cagan wrote a beautiful and fun story about a young artist and her fight to make her dreams come true. There are always pros and cons to a book, but in this case the pros most definitely outweighed the cons. I would highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy contemporary young adult novels.

I marked this book as "did not finish" withing 70 pages. The main character felt too immature and everything felt a little too over the top to be believable.

I requested this book because it sounded different, interesting. Those two things were sadly not something that I found with this book. I did end up not finishing it. I got to about 80% and decided it just wasn't worth finishing. I will try the authors next book, if she writes one, but I just think this character and her story just didn't mesh well with me.

Such an interesting concept. Totally something I'd recommend to my students.

3 1/2 stars

I’ve got to admit that I am all over the place regarding Kayla Cagan’s Piper Perish. For the most part, I enjoyed the story of Piper who aspires to be the next Andy Warhol. She sounds like a typical high school student, although a very talented one, dreaming of a perfect future.

The novel is written in diary form, but breaks that at times to include emails, etc. As such, the style is very conversational.

Probably my biggest hangup was with the character of Piper. For the most part she seemed like a typical teen, but then she could be a brat and horribly spoiled and self-involved. (Hopefully these aren’t the current trends for typical teens.) She seemed oblivious to her own behavior. Likewise, her sister, Marli, has issues, extreme anger management issues, which grow worse. At points I thought: the parents really, really spoiled these two.

I have little enjoyment in reading about whiny, self-absorbed, spoiled teens so I was always happy when the scene would change and those nail-on-chalkboard traits disappeared.

Cagan does, however, do a good job of showing the confusion of being a teen.

The last quarter of the novel unleashes a bit of a fairy tale, which almost seemed like it might pave the way for an Act II. If there is one, I hope the characters are a bit more fully realized. Also, I hope to see a lot of Silas who seemed like a good guy despite having “judgy” parents.

So, where does that leave us? Piper Perish held my interest throughout, even when I was grinding my teeth over Piper’s behavior. The writing shows an authentic style. While it didn’t live up to my original expectations, I still think it’s a pretty good novel probably of more interest to the readers of ya fiction who like books with an artsy-fartsy feel.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A unique coming-of-age novel documenting the trajectory of three high school senior art students trying to plot their future paths and discover who they really are.

Piper Perish is an imaginative YA debut from page one - I couldn't put it down! At times, to be honest, I wasn't really fond of Piper because I wanted her to widen her horizons and see a bit more from some of the other characters' perspectives, but she changed and grew as a person throughout the novel. That's one of the things I loved about Kayla Cagan's writing - she really made me believe that Piper Perish was a real teenage girl, and I was truly pulled in so much that I felt like I was part of the story. Piper Perish has a real coming of age feel to it as Piper makes decisions about what path she wants to be on and comes to realizations about herself, and her family. My only complaint is that the ending felt so abrupt, not in a bad way - I enjoyed it - I just wish that it hadn't ended because Piper's story is only just beginning. I would LOVE to read more of her adventures, and I look forward to whatever Kayla Cagan's sophomore novel might be!

While I tend to enjoy YA, there was entirely too much over-the-top melodrama to be relatable for me. All the characters felt flat and underdeveloped. A little more depth could have gone a long way.

“Piper Perish” is the perfect book for the kids who are creative and ponder life’s big questions. It’s also great for the adults who once were those kids and probably are still the same as adults. I really wish there would have been a book like this when I was in middle and high school. Highly recommended!

I'm no longer interested in reading this book at this time. Thank you for the opportunity!

I do think some of my students will like this story, especially seniors as they are awaiting college decisions. I personally struggled with the characters and their whinny voices and actions. I read about 50% through and then skimmed t o the end to finish.

Piper Perish has one goal. Piper is going to go to New York to study art with her best friend and her boyfriend. However, Piper's goal may be slipping away. Her boyfriend dumps and her best friend may not get into school. Adding to Piper's stress is her family issue...especially her older sister Marli.

This book has a very distinct voice. It's told through Piper's journal entries voicing her thoughts. My problem with this is that I didn't quite connect with Piper's voice. Her thoughts are often long and rambling but quite get to the point. Piper is experiencing many things that should make her grow as a person instead I felt like the character never actually experienced any growth. This is an interesting book with an different format and well done illustrations but it just didn't work for me.

Absolutely lovely!! Thank you to the Publisher for the review copy!

his was different but I liked it. I could understand that it would not work for some readers -- it is very stream of consciousness and told completely in diary entries so if you need a clear plot, it may need be for you-- but I liked it a lot. Piper Perish was a great character and I thought she seemed very genuine. I wasn't expecting so much family, and particularly sibling, tumult but it felt real. This book raises and addresses some very important issues and I like that nothing was black and white but that it allowed for shades of gray, which felt much more authentic to me. The illustrations lost a bit in the e-ARC but I bet that a hardcover version of this book would be beautiful!

Piper Perish came out earlier this month on March 8, 2017 and you can purchase HERE. I definitely recommend this one if you like quirky contemporary YA that is told in a bit of a unconventional manner.

I dragged all the way home, knowing nobody could possibly understand an inch of my pain. Nobody. I no longer belonged to Enzo. He no longer belonged to me. And something about dating me had made him choose a boy. It didn't matter if I was pretty or talented or that we had been friends forever. We were ruined. We couldn't even be real friends anymore, which killed the most. He'd lied to me about Philip being at his house. He'd lied to me about being . . . himself. How much more lying was I supposed to take? Real friends were supposed to be honest.

Piper Perish – Challenge One

The new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Gene Luen Yang, has issued three challenges for readers. He calls the gauntlet he has thrown down “Reading Without Walls.” I had just begun the debut novel Piper Perish by Kayla Cagan and was considering leaving it and moving on to another book when I read about his list in The Horn Book Magazine.

His first challenge was to read a book about a character unlike yourself. I realized this first challenge was the reason I was thinking about putting the book down. I had little in common with Piper. (1) In this coming-of-age story, Piper looks to finish high school and pursue an art education. You could put all my art ability in a thimble and still have room for my finger. (2) She lives in the city of Houston, with the ambition of moving on to New York City to pursue her art. I’m stretching my urban comfort zone to live just outside the city limits of Hattiesburg, MS (population – less than 50,000). (3) Her teen years are filled with risky behaviors and coarse language. My teenage environment as the daughter of a rural pastor was sheltered.

Piper’s intensity as she and her two friends work toward making it to New York together hits pitfalls as each of them encounters obstacles. Piper’s close-knit family deals with her sister’s pregnancy that intensifies the rivalry between them and with the reality that the art school she wants to attend is beyond their budget.

I soon found myself pulling for Piper, turning pages to see how she and her friends would handle their difficulties, and enjoying the quotes that kept her inspired. (“As soon as you stop wanting something, you get it.” – Andy Warhol)

I’m glad I accepted this first challenge from Gene. I’ll be doing the others as well, and reporting here before his year is up. If you’d like to join the fun, you can find his challenge at: http://geneyang.com/the-reading-without-walls-challenge. Piper Perish makes a good place to start.