Flawed: A Novel (Flawed, 1)

Totally not what I expected. Set in a dystopian society were following the rules and social norms strictly enforced and perfection is the goal, Celestine North is the model citizen: beautiful, straight-A student who is logical and is the girlfriend of the son of the most powerful judge in the country. Normally the rule-follower, she is shaken and confused by the recent rulings of the court. The first is her neighbor who took her dying mother outside the country to be euthanized, following her dying mother's wish to end her pain and suffering. Her neighbor is branded and declared "Flawed" since she stole a life even though she did not break any laws inside the country. The second is a famous sports player who cheated on his wife but is found not guilty or not "Flawed" even though there is plenty of evidence that he did commit the crime. The fact that the judge in the case owns a significant part of the sports league that this famous player is a part of and being declared "Flawed" would prevent him from traveling internationally with the team and severely restrict his life has the public and Celestine questioning the fairnesss of this "Flawless" court. When Celestine speaks up and tries to save a Flawed man life on a bus, she is arrested for aiding a Flawed and is put on public trial. Celestine's life will be forever changed no matter what the outcome but can she live with herself if she lies and tries to save herself from the fate of being "Flawed"?I could have read this book in 1 day if I could have kept my eyes open last night to finish it. It was deeply moving to me and showed me what bullying is like when taken to the extreme in a society, to the point where some people in society are seen a less-than-human and have their rights taken away and their lives severely restricted over lapse of judgment or thought different from the accepted norm. I felt the anger and the frustration of the Flawed and those who questioned the morality of the society but were afraid to speak up in fear of being declared "Flawed." A great dystopian novel that O would highly recommend to all especially young adults and dystopian readers.I gave this a 4 out of 5 on Goodreads.

Flawed is set in a society where perfection rules, any anything outside of being perfect is unacceptable. The main character, Celestine, is a straight-A student who is dating a powerful Judge's son, and is an all around rule following good-girl. That is, until she breaks a society rule in an act of compassion. This results in her arrest and subsequent trial. The trial will determine what her punishment will be, and most of all, will determine if she is found to be Flawed. Being Flawed means your skin is branded, you wear an armband that marks you as Flawed (think Scarlett Letter), and you follow a different set of rules. No luxuries, bland food, curfews, and ultimately being shunned form society. As the trial results are announced, Celestine finds there are a large number of people who support her choice and are ready to make their own play at overthrowing the government. Flawed follows Celestine as she works to find out who she can trust, and what actions she needs to take next.I really enjoyed this book! I'm a big fan of books set in dystopian societies, and while this one wasn't overtly dystopian, it still fits the bill. I liked watching the characters progress through the book in terms of beliefs - in the beginning of the book, so much of what they believe was black and white, and by the end there are definitely shades of grey. The book ends on a cliffhanger (noooooo!) so I'm really excited for it's sequel, Perfect, which comes out in April 2017. I can't wait to read it!I will say, that if you read To All the Boys I've loved Before by Jenny Han and didn't care for Lara Jean, you will likely not like Celestine. She's much in the same vain in regards to being incredibly eager to be perfect and follow the rules, without stepping a toe out of line. They remind me a lot of each other, so if you don't like one, you probably won't like the other. For me, it wasn't a problem, I liked both characters, even though there were definitely a few times I wanted to slap Celestine for being so naive and innocent. I don't remember being that naive in High School, but who knows! Maybe I was!Anyway, I definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys young adult dystopian novels, and I will absolutely be reading Perfect when it comes out next year!

First of all, some gushing...Oh My God! I don't know where to start with this one. I'm determined that this will be the subject of my first post but I'm scared I won't be able to do it justice, in fact I know I won't be able to do it justice but I have to try, and I hope it won't all come tumbling out as even more gushing, no matter how much I want to.Secondly, read this book. No matter what you're into, no matter what you expect, it is going to be better.I was lucky enough to win a copy on twitter but I would have bought it anyway, as I love Cecilia Ahern's books. As I also love Young Adult, I knew this was going to be good, what I did not know was that this was way harder to read than any of the adult books she has written.So, I read this and then made my mum read it. Then we both made my sister read it, she read it twice in one week! Gave it to a friend who stayed up all night to finish it and then gave it to her sister. We all have different tastes in books but none of us could put the book down. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever get it back! Next I think I'll try it on my dad who never reads anything but the paper.'Never trust anyone who walks into your house and sits at the head of the table' this is a great quote from the book and tells you a lot. Celestine lives in a world where everything is perfect.She has a wonderful family and the perfect boyfriend. Anyone who is less than perfect is branded so that the rest of the world knows exactly what you've done wrong. In a split second decision, Celestine does something that changes her life forever. Now she will have to decide, admit to being flawed or save herself by doing something that will truly prove she is flawed.As you read the book you learn more and more about all the characters, even those who seem 2 dimensional soon prove they have more to them than you first thought, and some of them are really not as you think.

Having seen Flawed here and there during my virtual book-browsing sessions, I would always mentally shelve it as a 'not-for-me- book' purely because of its cover. It's just too girly for me. I know, I know - first rule of Bookdom: do not judge a book by its cover. But I will admit I have been guilty of this time and time again...and will probably be guilty of it until the end of time.Anyway, this time I couldn't escape it and so I bought it. I took it home. I let it stew for a few days: spent some time in my bag, got to know its contents, didn't get along with Mr Kindle...Long story short - I think I had it for almost a week before I finally got round to reading and in some ways...I wish I hadn't.Why?Because I finished it within a day. And I HATE that about good books. It takes you forever to find them but a moment to consume them. Alas, such is life.Flawed is a Perfect (pun not intended) example of good quality YA. Excellent quality YA. Beautiful plot, crafted almost flawlessly (really not intended, it’s just the truth).Celestine is every bit soft as Katniss is tough...but she doesn't come across weak and whiny as can sometimes happen. She owns her traits, recognises them and learns to abandon them when called for. And it is this aspect of Ms Ahern's writing that I adore: we are not given the perfect package with Celestine, however she is always relatable: before and after the difficulties she faces. she is REALISTIC and I love this about the book. The premise is realistic. The characters are realistic. Yes, you might come across a few quirky ones but even they come across authentic.But what I love most about Flawed is the ability to build suspense without an awful lot of action. This book is not about a characters ability to get out of sticky situations using paranormal-level methods of deduction and amazing fighting skills they 'didn't know they possessed'. In fact, it is the complete opposite: it is about people and what makes us good and how we all have an innate tendency towards good no matter what we may be told. It is about Celestine learning to read people, do what is right for her and everyone around her.I personally will read this book again, but this time with a highlighter because I want to highlight the many passages within it that made me stop and think.

A world (or a country or simply a town - it is never explained) where a perceived flaw in your character results in you being branded on parts of your body. The main character attracts attention to the flaw in her own character when she helps a sick old man in a bus when the other passengers, including her sister, were just ignoring him. In this society, failing to help a dying man is not a flaw - helping he is. As a result this young woman branded in the most horrific way, but she seems to recover. Towards the end of the book, she is beaten up, locked in a shed, breaks some of her ribs escaping, yet still manages to climb a wall and run away. It is all completely implausible and disturbing to read.

I started reading this and could not put it down. I loved the main character and found myself wishing her well! The whole story was excellent. Lots of ups and downs and characters so realistic. As this is the first of two I am going to start the second one now I cannot wait!

I was not expecting the levels of emotions I felt when reading the book. The main character's own sense of betrayal, diemma in choosing to doing the 'right thing', physical pain, mental distress, was so profound that at times I even felt sickened myself when reading the trauma she endured.Whilst there was a sense that you knew Celestine would do something against the grain of the government, I did not expect the physical torture of her punsihment and how disturbed it made me feel. Very unlike many of Cecelia Ahern's previous books, but yet still had me captivated as to what would happen next.It took me a while to understand the location of the story - even now I could not attest it to any place known to me. It was slightly atherial which gave its mystery and which is something Ahern does excel at. But there was something very medieval about the punishments used yet set in a modern setting it felt out of place. It leaves you guessing what kind of government punishes people in this way for flaws and makes you wonder what their actual criminal justice system is like.The romantic element of the book was not the main plot, although it played a role in Celestine's journey. But rather, a girl who, having perceived as perfect by herself and everyone around her, faces a human dilemma which goes against the rules of the government and she is ostracised for helping someone who themselves was seen as ostracised by that society.I found the lack of focus on romance quite refreshing but, as already said, the element of the book describing the torture/punishment was really quite vivid and totally unexpected having previously tread other books by Ahern.I would recommend it however if suspense is something you crave for in a book.