Kirkus Reviews

An unconventional coming-of-age story.Filipina American Perla has earned the unwanted nickname Perfect Perlie Perez. At the tender age of 16 she is a senior at Monte Verde, a top-notch California public high school. Her ambitious professional parents, who come from modest backgrounds and are conscious of the obstacles of racism, constantly demand excellence in academics as well as physical appearance. The next steps mapped out for her are attending prestigious Delmont University, followed by medical school. So when Perla is rejected by Delmont, she has no idea how to cope. Unwilling to disappoint everyone who has supported her, she fakes an acceptance letter and reapplies for the spring semester. Armed with a meticulous spreadsheet, Perla claims she got a full-ride scholarship, draws on her personal savings, and sneaks into an unused dorm room. Making a calculated plan to get to know Delmont students and figure out how they were admitted, she befriends freshman Tessa Rivera. Perla didn't anticipate the guilt and stress of struggling with lies and dwindling funds. It doesn't help that she is pulled toward an interactive entertainment major. While Perla's ability to successfully maintain the subterfuge and trespass on campus for a month may strain credulity, her well-paced personal growth, during which she questions her competitiveness and explores her real interests, makes for a compelling read that will speak to the many readers who will understand her motivations all too well.An intense and heartfelt romp. (Fiction. 12-17)

ALA Booklist (Tue Feb 28 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Filipino American Perla has her future all figured out until her dream college rejects her. Determined not to disappoint her parents or get off track, Perla heads to the Delmont campus anyway, scheming to pose as a student so she can collect data on how to create the perfect application for the spring. But before long, her lies are piling up and evading campus security is like a full-time job. Told with heart and humility, Badua's debut reflects on the self-determined life and Perla's self-reliance as she dodges the truth in pursuit of what is, ultimately, her own truth. Readers seeking a taste of life on campus will enjoy the social experiences Perla leads them through while she reckons with the conflict between her desires and what her parents want. Fans of Crystal Maldonado's No Filter and Other Lies (2022) will enjoy this contemporary coming-of-age story where a protagonist turns to deceit to achieve her goals, despite what it costs her.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Sixteen-year-old high school senior Perla Perez has lived her life according to the high expectations of her immigrant Filipino parents and her competitive high school. When she isn’t accepted into her dream university, Delmont, or any other school she applied to, her carefully curated plan for college and her reputation as “Perfect Perlie Perez” seem doomed to fall apart. But Perla prides herself in always having a plan. After successfully faking her acceptance, she heads off to Delmont anyway, determined to cover her tracks by draining her savings and secretly living on campus in an unused dorm room, and planning to reapply for Delmont’s spring semester. At Delmont, she experiences a sense of freedom previously unknown, but as her lies begin to snowball, threatening to undo all of Perla’s increasingly intricate double life, she finds that even her unconventional first semester at college is plagued by her family’s constant pressure and her seemingly inescapable feelings of loneliness. Attentively examining themes of guilt and outside pressures with cultural nuance and plenty of good-humored scheming, Badua (Freddie vs. the Family Curse) cultivates a high-stakes narrative of self-discovery and the dangers in pursuing perfection. Ages 13–up. Agent: Natalie Lakosil, Irene Goodman Literary. (Jan.)