Perfect On Paper
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-11 11:16:13
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Sophie Gonzales
- ISBN：1444959271
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Everyone in school knows about Locker 89。 If you slip a letter in outlining your relationship woes， along with a fiver， an anonymous source will email you with the best advice you've ever gotten。
Darcy Phillips， a quiet， sweet junior， is safe in the knowledge no one knows she's the genius behind locker 89。 Until Brougham， a senior， catches her。
The deal Brougham offers is tempting: in exchange for his silence--and a generous coach's fee to sweeten the deal--Darcy can become Brougham's personal dating coach to help him get his ex-girlfriend back。
And as for Darcy， well， she has a fairly good reason to want to keep her anonymity。 Because she has another secret。 Not too long ago， she abused locker 89 to sabotage the budding romance of her best friend， Brooke。 Brooke， who Darcy's been in love with for a year now。
Yeah。 Brooke can't find out about that。 No matter what。
Darcy Phillips， a quiet， sweet junior， is safe in the knowledge no one knows she's the genius behind locker 89。 Until Brougham， a senior， catches her。
The deal Brougham offers is tempting: in exchange for his silence--and a generous coach's fee to sweeten the deal--Darcy can become Brougham's personal dating coach to help him get his ex-girlfriend back。
And as for Darcy， well， she has a fairly good reason to want to keep her anonymity。 Because she has another secret。 Not too long ago， she abused locker 89 to sabotage the budding romance of her best friend， Brooke。 Brooke， who Darcy's been in love with for a year now。
Yeah。 Brooke can't find out about that。 No matter what。
Reviews
Papillon
，
The bisexual YA novel I always wanted！ It is perfect on paper indeed。 :）
Kayla Patel
，
I think I cycle through romance books every once in a while， and when I’m in the midst of a cycle I REALLY get into it。 Day 2 of the current cycle: Perfect on Paper！I adore the concept of a “Dear Abby” book， and Sophie Gonzales’s take on it was different than others I’ve read before。 This isn’t a radio show or a podcast or a newspaper column， but personalized advice directly sent to askers via a locker and an email。 Darcy has my dream side hustle， but her process is a lot more thoughtful than I I think I cycle through romance books every once in a while， and when I’m in the midst of a cycle I REALLY get into it。 Day 2 of the current cycle: Perfect on Paper！I adore the concept of a “Dear Abby” book， and Sophie Gonzales’s take on it was different than others I’ve read before。 This isn’t a radio show or a podcast or a newspaper column， but personalized advice directly sent to askers via a locker and an email。 Darcy has my dream side hustle， but her process is a lot more thoughtful than I would imagine it to be。 Normally I’d say that people who haven’t had that much relationship experience may not be the BEST people to give relationship advice， but Darcy actually did her research: on attachment styles， what to do in certain situations， and expert advice， to name a few aspects she references in responses to “clients”。 I appreciate the inclusion of a variety of LGBTQ+ characters but wanted to see more of those meetings and a deeper dive into bi-erasure and internalized biphobia that Darcy experiences and recognizes in herself and others。 The Q&Q club was mentioned in detail about two or three times and I wanted MORE！ And Ainsley！ Not much was explained about her or about the Phillips family in general - a few mentions about traumatic nights of How I Met Your Mother and Ainsley’s transition but nothing concrete。 I wanted both sisters to explore their childhood and the effects it had on them as well as their current dynamic among their family unit。 Oh， but I loved Alexander Brougham。 Cold exterior， soft interior。 Basically Australian Mr。 Darcy。 His relationship with Darcy really did evolve from hatred to a business deal to acquaintances to friends to more and all over the place。 I so desperately want a foreign boyfriend with a cute accent。 Overall， a pleasant read！ 。。。more
Caitlin
，
Yes please gimme all the good queer rom com fluff ♥️ I appreciated that the author reached over the page and very nearly through the fourth wall to proclaim that YES， my queer character is still queer if her happy ending is with a guy。 But what pushed me to “round down” from 4 to 3 stars was that I found myself wanting more of。。。 so many things。 I wanted more rounded， meaningful interactions between Darcy & her crush/best-friend Brooke， who seemed relatively flat & thus the heartache felt shallo Yes please gimme all the good queer rom com fluff ♥️ I appreciated that the author reached over the page and very nearly through the fourth wall to proclaim that YES， my queer character is still queer if her happy ending is with a guy。 But what pushed me to “round down” from 4 to 3 stars was that I found myself wanting more of。。。 so many things。 I wanted more rounded， meaningful interactions between Darcy & her crush/best-friend Brooke， who seemed relatively flat & thus the heartache felt shallow even before we arrived at later “love life analysis” that happens after the climax。 The conceit of the locker was doomed from the start—we’ve seen so many “burn books” thrown into the open to expect anything else—but I wanted more regular conflicts & consequences happening throughout。 & ok Alexander Brougham is a cutie but。。。 yeah he’s a cutie & he cares？ There seemed to be so much packed into this story & yet not enough， like I needed it to be longer in order to dig deeper。 （Yes， I want deep fluff， a girl can DREAM。） 。。。more
Laëtitia L。
，
I。 COULDN'T。 PUT。 IT DOWN。 （Well， I had to sometimes but。。。）。 It was a real surprise when I started this book because I didn't think I was going to like it that much。 I ended up really liking it！ It's a really good book， and I love reading books with bi representation！ I。 COULDN'T。 PUT。 IT DOWN。 （Well， I had to sometimes but。。。）。 It was a real surprise when I started this book because I didn't think I was going to like it that much。 I ended up really liking it！ It's a really good book， and I love reading books with bi representation！ 。。。more
Ashley
，
The storyline was pretty good but I found I did not like the main characters at all。
-ˏˋ zozo ˊˎ-
，
I LOVED this。 No words can described my satisfaction towards it。 First of all，The whole topic of the book is amazing， and it somewhat happens to help bring the main two lovebirds together。 Literally PERFECT。Second of all， Um， you could FEEL their romantic tension gathering together as they hung out。 （srry， slight spoiler！）Like， how they connected during the sessions， and how they clearly never noticed them clicking together， really somewhat angered me。 But it was nice to know that the author dec I LOVED this。 No words can described my satisfaction towards it。 First of all，The whole topic of the book is amazing， and it somewhat happens to help bring the main two lovebirds together。 Literally PERFECT。Second of all， Um， you could FEEL their romantic tension gathering together as they hung out。 （srry， slight spoiler！）Like， how they connected during the sessions， and how they clearly never noticed them clicking together， really somewhat angered me。 But it was nice to know that the author decided not to add that disgusting hand touch。 Literally， GROSS。 Ew。 But overall， I really enjoyed this book。 Seriously。 The author made it perfect， adding their struggles and amazing moments。 The kiss， awkward as HELL though。 But it was really good， and I def。 recommend。 。。。more
Erin Farmer
，
Book 113 towards my goal of 290！ 4/5 stats for this YA coming of age story。 Great for fans of Miss Meteor！ Darcy thinks she's great at giving anonymous advice， she's got a 95% success rate with Locker 89 after all。。。。。or does she？ Can she help her own relationships？ Great representation。 Fun characters。 Sweet story。 Highly recommend！ Book 113 towards my goal of 290！ 4/5 stats for this YA coming of age story。 Great for fans of Miss Meteor！ Darcy thinks she's great at giving anonymous advice， she's got a 95% success rate with Locker 89 after all。。。。。or does she？ Can she help her own relationships？ Great representation。 Fun characters。 Sweet story。 Highly recommend！ 。。。more
Tamara Paier
，
I swore to myself that I'd stop reading highschool centered romances this year。。。 And yet， I am really glad I picked this one up。 Perfect on Paper is definitely a 'read in a day' and 'leaves you with a smile' kind of book， that manages to avoid most of the typical cringy stereotypes of the genre。 It talks about a lot of LGBTQ topics with surprising finesse and care， which I was pleasantly surprised by。 Would definitely recommend :） I swore to myself that I'd stop reading highschool centered romances this year。。。 And yet， I am really glad I picked this one up。 Perfect on Paper is definitely a 'read in a day' and 'leaves you with a smile' kind of book， that manages to avoid most of the typical cringy stereotypes of the genre。 It talks about a lot of LGBTQ topics with surprising finesse and care， which I was pleasantly surprised by。 Would definitely recommend :） 。。。more
citrus
，
Where do I even start with this？？ The book was amazing。 A fantastic mix of casual representation， the queer experience， and mental health。 Sophie Gonzales is a wonderful writer and I cannot wait to see what she puts out next。
Sara Grossaint
，
This was super heckin' cute！I actually don't have a whole lot else to say other than that。 The last contemporary I read before this was May the Best Man Win by Z。R。 Ellor， which was another queer high school romance and， in comparison to the angsty trash fire that book was， this was an utterly wonderful breath of fresh air。I also am a big fan of the plotline following Darcy's struggle with the validity of her sexuality。 I think it's really nice and cool to focus on a bisexual character who is af This was super heckin' cute！I actually don't have a whole lot else to say other than that。 The last contemporary I read before this was May the Best Man Win by Z。R。 Ellor， which was another queer high school romance and， in comparison to the angsty trash fire that book was， this was an utterly wonderful breath of fresh air。I also am a big fan of the plotline following Darcy's struggle with the validity of her sexuality。 I think it's really nice and cool to focus on a bisexual character who is afraid to date someone of the opposite gender because she thinks she won't be "queer enough。"This was wonderful and I recommend it to anyone looking for a really cute， fun high school romance！ 。。。more
Anjalee
，
This book surprised me， I didn't think it would be this good。 So the things that I loved about this book : How the main character talks about her bisexuality。 She doesn't invalidate feeling attracted to men， but at the same time she still has internalized biphobia about not being "queer enough" which is very relatable， and I'm so glad to see it written in a book。 It was also cool to see a character who intellectualizes things instead of feeling them because that's something that I do without rea This book surprised me， I didn't think it would be this good。 So the things that I loved about this book : How the main character talks about her bisexuality。 She doesn't invalidate feeling attracted to men， but at the same time she still has internalized biphobia about not being "queer enough" which is very relatable， and I'm so glad to see it written in a book。 It was also cool to see a character who intellectualizes things instead of feeling them because that's something that I do without realizing。 That characteristic made it special to see her perspective on people around her， and it gave so much insight into her relationships with people， which I loved。 All the talk about attachment styles was amazing since I've never seen it mentioned in a book， and I've thought it would make for a unique plot。 Darcy's letters provided such unique advice， and it was cool to see how Darcy knew what to do in every situation。I loved the diverse cast of characters and how respectful people were with each other。 The typical jock/nerd ect thing didn't apply。 And even with an LGBTQ club， it wasn't seen as a weirdos thing。 The only thing missing from this book for me was just a feeling。 I'm not sure how to explain it， but something was missing， hence why it's not 5 stars。 。。。more
Riley Goetz
，
I was able to predict how the story was going to go within the first few chapters but with that being said I still enjoyed it a lot。 It touched on the topic of biphobia and struggling with feeling accepted in the queer community which I thought was nice。
smalltownbookmom
，
A really smart look at teen relationships and navigating gender and sexual identities。 The story follows Darcy， a bisexual teen girl who runs an anonymous dating advice service through a high school locker。 The premise is very similar to the Netflix show Sex education。 When Australian swimmer Brougham catches her retrieving the letters he strikes a deal for her help getting his ex-girlfriend back in exchange for his silence。 Darcy meanwhile has a serious crush on her best friend and has been tak A really smart look at teen relationships and navigating gender and sexual identities。 The story follows Darcy， a bisexual teen girl who runs an anonymous dating advice service through a high school locker。 The premise is very similar to the Netflix show Sex education。 When Australian swimmer Brougham catches her retrieving the letters he strikes a deal for her help getting his ex-girlfriend back in exchange for his silence。 Darcy meanwhile has a serious crush on her best friend and has been taking advantage of the secrets students share with her to further her own ends。 Lies and love triangles abound but it's an entertaining ride。 My one criticism was finding it a little hard to believe any teenager would have such great psychological insights into relationships - that part was a bit far-fetched。 The advice was great though so it's a perfect book to share with young adults in that regard。 Very LGBTQ+ friendly too and I thought Gonzales really touched on the struggles bisexual/queer people face feeling like they have to prove they're "queer enough" depending on the gender of their sexual partner。Favorite quotes:"No proof needed。。。we just belonged because we belonged。""My relationship status did not change me。" 。。。more
Jules
，
This was the kind of YA book I really enjoy and have been missing lately。 Well-written。 Interesting story。 Angst and cute and well-built relationships。 It was inclusive and open and honest。 I recommend it。
aliyah
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oh， wow。 i’m 95% certain that this book was written with me personally in mind， because it’s currently 4。35am and i definitely needed that。 perfect on paper contains maybe the best bi rep i’ve seen anywhere， to the point where i felt like i was digging up and laying out hidden parts of my own brain。 scratch that - it wasn’t just the representation that made me feel that way， it was everything。 the way that the characters are written to be human in that awfully rare way， the way that we get to se oh， wow。 i’m 95% certain that this book was written with me personally in mind， because it’s currently 4。35am and i definitely needed that。 perfect on paper contains maybe the best bi rep i’ve seen anywhere， to the point where i felt like i was digging up and laying out hidden parts of my own brain。 scratch that - it wasn’t just the representation that made me feel that way， it was everything。 the way that the characters are written to be human in that awfully rare way， the way that we get to see a straight male character with an anxious attachment style that’s written in a way that isn’t exaggerated or presumptuous。 just。。。 everything。i very rarely finish reading something and want to dive right into it again， but i feel like i could just ride the ferris wheel of this book forever。 if i could subscribe to some sort of reminder system that forced me to read perfect on paper once a month for the rest of my life just to remind me to sort out some of the stuff going on inside of my head， i probably would。honestly， truly， could not recommend this book any more。 please take the time to buy it， and scribble incomprehensible notes in the margins， and fall in and out of love with each of the characters five times over。 。。。more
Sarah
，
Perfect on Paper is a great book for high schoolers。 This covers a wide scope of sexuality - a topic that is so important now。 The main character is bisexual， but she's in love with her lesbian best friend。 She offers advice on relationships anonymously to people who submit letters into an abandoned locker。 Her brother transitioned to be her sister and she is in a club with other kids questioning their sexuality （asexual， non-binary and aromantic are all mentioned）。Darcy， the main character， wor Perfect on Paper is a great book for high schoolers。 This covers a wide scope of sexuality - a topic that is so important now。 The main character is bisexual， but she's in love with her lesbian best friend。 She offers advice on relationships anonymously to people who submit letters into an abandoned locker。 Her brother transitioned to be her sister and she is in a club with other kids questioning their sexuality （asexual， non-binary and aromantic are all mentioned）。Darcy， the main character， works with a straight guy to help him get back together with his ex-girlfriend and an interesting love triange emerges。 There are the usual "if only they communicate！" issues in this book， but the over-arching messages are great。 I love the amount of relationship information that is included （different types of attachment styles， for example）。 I'd highly recommend this YA book， especially because of the topics it covers。 。。。more
Ishmeen
，
3。5 / 5
LisaPage
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Great book。 A type I have not tried before with a couple of Bi characters。 Would recommend for a good read。
Frances
，
Quick read。
Zarah Larsson
，
wow。 i have so many feelings about this book。 i definitely want to talk about the biphobia part that was brought up in this book since im bi myself。 honestly， that hit home so hard for me and it definitely made me realize that i totally have some of the same fears as darcy， i've been telling myself i have no worries about it at all and im so happy in my sexuality and all， which i am， but it would definitely be a lie if i said i didnt have any internalized biphobia at all。 anyway i just really lo wow。 i have so many feelings about this book。 i definitely want to talk about the biphobia part that was brought up in this book since im bi myself。 honestly， that hit home so hard for me and it definitely made me realize that i totally have some of the same fears as darcy， i've been telling myself i have no worries about it at all and im so happy in my sexuality and all， which i am， but it would definitely be a lie if i said i didnt have any internalized biphobia at all。 anyway i just really loved reading about that part。 and aside from that the book itself was fantastic too， i loved darcy as a character and oh my god alexander was fantastic， i think i fell in love with him too just like darcy did。 i had a great time reading this book， would definitely recommend it。 。。。more
Yashaswini Malik
，
Rtc
Lena B
，
this was nice！ Sophie Gonzales' writing style was engaging and pleasant to read -- as expected -- and I think that the message of the book was really nice and done well。 I do， however， have to admit that I found the plot itself to be kind of。。。 lacking。 The beginning and ending of the book had me hooked， but the entire middle of the book felt a bit thin and I had to push myself to keep reading。 Also， while I'm not against trope-heavy stories， I did find the story and its characters to be too cli this was nice！ Sophie Gonzales' writing style was engaging and pleasant to read -- as expected -- and I think that the message of the book was really nice and done well。 I do， however， have to admit that I found the plot itself to be kind of。。。 lacking。 The beginning and ending of the book had me hooked， but the entire middle of the book felt a bit thin and I had to push myself to keep reading。 Also， while I'm not against trope-heavy stories， I did find the story and its characters to be too clichéd at times。 Most characters only started to feel fully fleshed out by the end of the story -- so by the time I got attached to the characters the book was already ending lol。 I do definitely think that it speaks for Gonzales' writing style that I liked it enough for it to still carry the book for me。 Ultimately， I think this book could've benefited from some tighter edits to feel more well-rounded and less rushed。 。。。more
Aidriahna
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4。5 stars
Vale
，
It was a really good read， it got me out a reading slump。 I kinda related sometimes with the character， and even though I´m not part of the LGBTQ+ community， I felt like it had a good representation。 And completely love the male character。 Anyways I FREACKING LOVE IT。
Carrie-Anne
，
This book has solidly put Sophie Gonzales in auto buy author territory for me！ I absolutely loved the characters， everyone had different layers and no one was perfect。 Flaws exist and it was wonderful to see that every character had them， but was also trying their best。Darcy and Brougham's friendship was gradual and realistic。 I normally hate miscommunication in books， but both of these characters said and did things that were interpreted in the wrong way and it just felt realistic for the most This book has solidly put Sophie Gonzales in auto buy author territory for me！ I absolutely loved the characters， everyone had different layers and no one was perfect。 Flaws exist and it was wonderful to see that every character had them， but was also trying their best。Darcy and Brougham's friendship was gradual and realistic。 I normally hate miscommunication in books， but both of these characters said and did things that were interpreted in the wrong way and it just felt realistic for the most part。 It was also nice to see an Australian character - Brougham - in here， giving Sophie Gonzales the space to shine a light on her own Aussie ways。 British humour is very similar to that of the Aussies so it was fun to read such a deadpan character next to a dramatic American who doesn't know the difference between accents， and can't fathom us using the C word in gest and every day conversation！Her friendship with Brooke is extremely important to Darcy in many ways - albeit sometimes not the most healthy ways。 Even so， it's a big part of the book and was explored wonderfully。 Having a crush on a friend is something most of us can relate to， so I definitely felt for Darcy and all her pining ways。I liked the agony aunt type plot - Darcy had a lot of interesting things to say， and probably taught me a thing or two about types of people and how different people handle relationships in different ways！ Darcy deals with a lot of internalised biphobia， which was really important to explore and express， as it's a very common thought to not be 'enough' when in a straight passing relationship。 Sophie Gonzales going into this a bit deeper in her own 'review' of this book on here， so it's definitely worth checking that out。I loved the inclusion of Darcy's sister Ainsley being trans。 It's mentioned once， then maybe a few times throughout it's referenced （once about forgetting her hormones at one parents house， another about not having the princess treatment as a kid） and then she's just - Ainsley。 This 'normalisation' for a lack of a better word， is so refreshing。 Let trans characters just ~exist~ without their transness needing to be the main part of the story。 Ainsley is a youtuber， she's a college student， she loves fashion and design， she's Darcy's closest confidant and almost a bit of a surrogate mother， as their own is often busy with work。 （side note - she's not a terrible mum in any sense of the word， she's just trying her best but is a bit oblivious to her daughters needs）All in all this was a great read， definitely looking forward to reading whatever Sophie Gonzales puts out in the future （starting with If This Gets Out in the not too distant future！） 。。。more
Kaylee
，
SO CUTE
Kristin Cipolla
，
3。5 - So cute！ Loved the inclusivity。
morita。
，
3，5* en realidad。
Mandie
，
3。75 stars
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Perfect On Paper
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Perfect On Paper&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Perfect On Paper&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0