Partial review for Flawed by Cecelia Ahern (Young Adult, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

 March 2016, HarperCollins Children's Books, 334 pages, Ebook, Review copy 

Content: prejudice, cruelty, physical harm, 

Summary from HarperCollins

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.

But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found FLAWED.

In this stunning novel, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society in which perfection is paramount and mistakes are punished. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.

Nayu's thoughts 

Perhaps it's odd to give full marks for a book I couldn't finish, but Flawless totally deserves this. Celestine isn't my most favourite character ever, but it's admirable that  she stands up to what is right despite knowing what may happen, and fights for justice. 

I may be in the minority but essentially I don't think the concept of being Flawed was wrong for society. It clearly reduced the numbers in prison, which is good. There are some things which while not criminially illegal are morally wrong, and it feels right people should be punished for it. I don't agree with the physical punishment of the Flawed, that is barbaric and people need a chance to show they repent. I feel that the segregation of the Flawed was a bit too much, reminded me of the past when non-caucasians were deprived of equality. The concept of Flawed being stripped of privileges, having restricted luxuries and basic necessities did make sense, as it would deter people from being immoral. It's clear from the 22 chapters I read and my peek of the end that the system is flawed and those in charge of judging whether a person is flawed is corrupt and they can have their own agenda which is separate to huge justice.

 I reached the start of Celestine's punishment, and after a few pages as she recovers (not that she ever can from all she endures) emotionally I'd had enough. I know books get more intense close to the end, and I simply couldn't bear to watch Celestine suffer any more. It's not just because her name reminds me of the top princess in My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, Princess Celestia

Princess Celestia left, Princess Twilight Sparkle right & her dragon Spike from My Little Pony Friendship is Magice (I think it's season 4...)

I take things very personally, and am good at extrapolating what happens in books and applying it to the world we live in. I will probably stick with reading other reviews of Flawed to get the full story - I know another book blogger who is reading it, so will try to link back to her review when it's up. The writing is incredible, I was totally captured by the story and was reluctant to eat lunch as I wanted to know what happened next. I think I will avoid all dystopians for the time being, no matter what they sound like as they are prone to being too hard for me to cope with. 

It's bad enough knowing the injuries Celestine suffers. I cried for her and hope she somehow has a happy ending. I loved her mouthy sister, and her mum's inner strength which cruumbled sometimes but she was there for Celestine when she needed to be. I really like Tina, who made Celestine feel she wasn't alone. Her boyfriend's father reacted as I expected to what Celestine chooses to do under the guidance of both her dad and grandfather. Family plays a big role for her. If you've read this book please feel free to drop me an email explaining what happens, and definitely chat about it in the comments here without spoilers! 

Find out more on Cecelia's website.