Finding Perfect - Elly Swartz
To Molly Nathans, perfect is: • The number four • The tip of a newly sharpened number two pencil • A crisp, white pad of paper • Her neatly aligned glass animal figurines What’s not perfect is Molly’s mother leaving the family to take a faraway job with the promise to return in one year. Molly knows that promises are often broken, so she hatches a plan to bring her mother home: Win the Lakeville Middle School Slam Poetry Contest. The winner is honored at a fancy banquet with table cloths. Molly’s sure her mother would never miss that. Right…? But as time goes on, writing and reciting slam poetry become harder. Actually, everything becomes harder as new habits appear, and counting, cleaning, and organizing are not enough to keep Molly’s world from spinning out of control. There is so much to love here. An endearing protagonist who is trying so hard to control everything, even though we know she won't be able to, and yet we cheer for her and despair with her every step of the w...