This is a really sweet story of redemption and self-discovery. Darcy is the best at giving relationship advice through her school's 89th locker, but it's a whole other story when it comes to her own love life. Then Brougham, this Australian dude at school, discovers Darcy's secret "business" and asks her to help him with his relationship, which puts both Darcy's secrets and Brougham's relationship on the line.

Just from the description, I knew I would like this book. The plot is very fast-paced and Darcy faces many conflicts that can endanger her friendships, family, and locker #89. Will Darcy's long-time crush on her best friend be revealed? Will Darcy and Brougham find a way to work in peace? Will people find out that Darcy is behind the locker?

Although I rated this book 3.5 stars, it is still amazing! The writing is engaging and I just know that so many people will love this book, just like with Only Mostly Devastated. Also–the representation! There is so much LGBTQIA+ representation in this book, and I love it. More books should be like this!

We follow Darcy Phillips, who gives anonymous love advice through a locker at school. First off, amazing way to make money in my opinion. Secondly, I loved how much effort Darcy put into her advice. She actually did a lot of research and knew a lot about relationships and human behaviour. I really enjoyed how this was incorporated. The anonymous part of course was also fun to read about haha.

While Darcy is great at giving relationship advice, she’s not that great with her own relationships. She has a long standing crush on her best friend Brooke but doesn’t act on it. Darcy is also pretty certain Brooke has a crush on someone else. I thought it was very realistic that Darcy wasn’t perfect in regards to her own relationships, she made some big mistakes but she’s also just a girl in high school. And in the end she really owns up to all she did and tries to make it right. I appreciated that so much.

Pretty early on in the book Darcy gets caught by Alexander Brougham while she empties the advice locker. And he blackmails her into being his dating coach so he can get his ex-girlfriend back. I adored Brougham so so much! Darcy and Brougham don’t have the best start to their (work-)relationship but I laughed out loud reading their banter. It was my favourite part of the book. I also loved how their relationship evolved from there on out.

Yes, this book was pretty predictable but I didn’t mind that. It was all about the journey to where we all knew we were going and I loved the journey. The characters are well written and I loved all the representation. Darcy is bisexual, Brooke is a lesbian and they are both in the LGTBQIA+ group in their school so you meet a lot more queer people. And Darcy’s sister is trans and I loved her so much. One of my favourite characters in this book!

Sophie Gonzalez said this book was a subtweet to people saying this about her previous book: “a bi person who is in a relationship with a different gender is not correct queer rep”. Biphobia is unfortunately still a thing and this book talks about that as well. The main relationship is a bi girl with a straight boy, there is also a f|f romance but that is not the main focus. I thought this was also very well done, and unfortunately also very necessary. All in all this was a very cute book that made me laugh out loud and with wonderful rep.

LGBTQIA+ friendly novel. Darcy runs "Locker 89" at her school, which accepts anonymous letters from high schoolers struggling with relationships. She reads them, then does some research to make sure she responds with the best advice possible. One thing leads to another, and she finds out some information that she should not know, and the plot continues from there. A cute read, but it did drag a bit in a few parts.

There’s a locker in school that you can deposit your love advice questions into. You will then receive an e-mail response from an anonymous source. That source not only has a 95% success rate but is none other than Darcy Phillips. When she gets busted emptying the locker by Brougham, she doesn’t want her identity revealed. Especially because she’s done something less than ethical. To keep her secret, she needs to help Brougham win back his ex. Simple, right?

Perfect on Paper has excellent representation, and I feel there is a character for anyone to relate to. Gonzales writes about biphobia, which is so very ingrained in people, and it’s something we all need to hear. This is a funny, sometimes emotional read that gives you *all the feels*. I loved the characters, flaws and all. I hadn'’t read Sophie before this book, but it’s something I am going to remedy. Super fun read. Thank you, St. Martin’s-Wednesday Books for sending this along!

This was so sweet & funny and just what I want in a queer romantic YA contemporary. Loved how this book touches on LGBTQIAP+ (it mentions characters on ace/aro spectrum and my heart was here for that) but it also brings up biphobia, how someone is judged by not being queer enough and taking the easy way by dating someone the opposite cisgender as you.
This book also deals with family dynamics, setting boundaries in relationships, and questioning sexuality. I won't go into spoilers but, the last scene in the Queer and Questioning Club is PURE GOLD. My heart was a flutter for that whole scene.

Dear Locker 89... What a great book!

16-year old Darcy Phillips has been operating her relationship advice business out of an empty locker 89 for years. She's done tons of research online and, for a nominal fee, answers letters from her classmates. No one knows that Darcy is the expert behind the advice until one day when Alexander Brougham sneaks up on her and convinces Darcy to be his personal relationship coach so he can win back his ex-girlfriend. Now that Darcy's identity is known to someone at school, how much longer can her Locker 89 business remain anonymous?

One of my favorite parts of this book was the solid relationship advice that Darcy provides to (most of) her clients. This information will actually help readers to better navigate the sometimes turbulent ocean of relationships. This novel also has great representation of the LGBTQIA+ community where the characters are members of the community but are not suffering because of this part of their identities. Darcy's reflections on being bisexual are also incredibly vulnerable and authentic.

This book is perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and the movie Hitch! Be sure to check it out on March 9th!

This book is both hilarious and heart warming! Everybody knows what happens at locker 89. You put in a letter asking for relationship advice, and in about a week, you get a reply. However, no one knows who’s behind it, that is, until Alexander Brougham discovered Darcy Phillips. Darcy Phillips is a junior who is best friends with Brooke Nguyen and is bisexual. She never gave any thought to what she would do if she was caught. Unfortunately, she has to think fast, but denying any connection didn't work out. Now, she has to help Brougham get his ex-girlfriend back, or he will tell the whole school, and that can't happen. Because if it did, Brooke may never talk to her again. So all Darcy has to do is to get a girl, who already fell for Brougham once, to fall again. What could go wrong?
I fell in love with this book as soon as I started reading it! Darcy is hilarious and while her advice is spot-on, her love life isn't, which makes sense because its easier to judge unbiasedly from afar. However, I would definitely ask Locker 89 for advice if I had the chance. Darcy made a lot of mistakes, but you could tell that she cares a lot about her friends. At first, I didn't really like Brougham, and after a while he started to grow on me. He may be rich and have a bit of a cold exterior, but there is more to him than meets the eye. I personally thought that both characters really grew and learned a lot from their mistakes. The only bad thing I have to say is that the swearing kind of seemed almost forced, as if Sophie Gonzales put in the swear words to make it seem more of a teen book. Everything else, however, was perfect. There isn't anything that she could have done differently. I related with a lot in the book and I think many people will as well. I absolutely LOVED the ending!! It wrapped up the book quite nicely and gave me warm, fuzzy feelings! I would recommend this book to anyone who is bi and needs validation or anyone who loves a cute romance.
TW: (internalized) biphobia, toxic relationships, alcoholism, drugs, alcohol, vomiting
Thanks #netgalley for the ARC!

Thank you so much to @netgalley & @wednesdaybooks for the e-ARC of Perfect On Paper by Sophie Gonzales in exchange for an honest review. Pub date 3/9/2021.

TW: biphobia, toxic relationships, alcoholism

I enjoyed every second I spent reading this. I would’ve definitely asked Locker 89 for love advice because high school was WILD. I mean just the concept of this is amazing. I wholeheartedly loved how much effort and research Darcy Phillips put into this side hustle she had going on. Anyone else would’ve just given petty advice but she really went above and beyond.

But aside from that, just the concept of this story was so well executed! Darcy being caught red-handed by Alexander Brougham and being blackmailed into helping him get his ex-girlfriend back was such a great way to begin the story. The developing friendship between Darcy and Brougham made my heart flutter!

One part that really spoke to my heart was Darcy thinking she was going to lose her queer credit, and suffer through biphobia for dating a boy and being what to everyone else would be considered a het relationship. Being bi and dating a person of the opposite sex does not make you less queer!!

This is such a feel-good story and seriously deserves all the stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars! Being able to see growth in all the characters was truly a *chef’s kiss*. Y’all just seriously need to read this book!

A charming story that works not just as a romance but also as a way to guide readers on tricky topics like relationships, healthy boundaries, and internalized biphobia. An excellent choice for every high school library!

Imagine if Slate's Dear Prudence advice column was run out of a locker by a bisexual, wise-beyond-her-years high school student and you basically have the main character of this novel, Darcy Phillips. Even when she's making poor decisions, Darcy is a likeable protagonist who clearly cares about her friends.

The romantic entanglements in this novel were interesting and complex. There are excellent ruminations on the invalidation of bisexual identity and avoiding the toxic relationships modeled by our parents.

I really enjoyed my last Sophie Gonzales read, Only Mostly Devastated, and couldn't help comparing the two. For me, Perfect on Paper was very entertaining but its themes were not interwoven as tightly with the narrative. The Queer and Questioning club often felt like a vehicle for theme delivery rather than a device to further the plot. Darcy's trans sister Ainsley also felt flat. She was portrayed as this larger-than-life fashion Youtuber but her history and origin were glossed over throughout the book. There were various points where Ainsley had a bit of backstory given that was never fully fleshed out. Given her prominence in the overall plot, I would have liked to have had a better idea of who Ainsley was.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. I plan to purchase a copy for my school's library when it is released.

Thanks NetGalley and Wednesday Book for the ARC.

So so good! Not only was the story super cute and enjoyable to read, but the discussions of bisexuality in the book made this into one of my favorites. Being bisexual is hard for many to understand (biphobia is so real!) and the bi experience is hardly written about in this candid way. I also enjoyed the fact that we see Darcy have a crush on both genders, as many bi representation books only feature relationships of the same gender. Amazing just like Only Mostly Devastated and I cannot wait to reread it!

Perfect on Paper fits right in with young adults and teens. It’s about social acceptance, questioning identity, and how to maneuver through the shark infested waters of teenager land. Especially when the main character is bisexual and being blackmailed by a guy who wants her to help him win back his girlfriend. Gonzales depicts the angst, anxiety, and also the naïveté of teenagers. Young adult readers will associate with many of the themes of the book. After reading this book I grateful my teenage years are long behind me. Whoever said high school was,the best time of your life didn’t have a clue.

Perfect on Paper tells the story of Darcy Phillips, an amateur relationship counselor. She navigates high school pressure, being in love with her best friend Brooke, and helping Brougham, the hot Australian guy, get his ex-girlfriend back.

In the words of Becky Albertalli, this is a “perfectly wonderful” story. I missed reading a YA contemporary that got me this involved, to the point where my eyes were burning from the need to sleep. Also, this isn’t my first Sophie Gonzales book. Only Mostly Devastated is also great, but Perfect on Paper is definitely my favorite of the two.

The central theme of the book is that relationships are messy. And not only romantic, but also friendships, and family ones. Darcy does her best to advise other teenagers on how to solve their relationship problems. I love how every chapter (I think it’s all of them, but I’m not sure) starts with a letter she receives and her answer. And then, as the story moves on, you are shown the effects of her advice on some background characters.

There’s a moment where there’s a discussion about biphobia (Darcy is bisexual, btw), and it brought tears to my eyes. Here are minor spoilers, but Darcy has this prejudice that if she falls in love with a guy, she may lose her identity as bisexual. And personally, as a bi girl with a tendency to fall in love with guys, I felt that fear of not truly belonging to the LGBTQ+ community.

Honestly, it’s hard to say precisely why I love this book. But overall, it just feels real, dramatic, and beautiful. It’s one of those stories that could be adapted as a Netflix movie right now, and it would be a hit.

Darcy is a mess. She’s so good at counseling others about their problems, but facing her own is a whole other issue. She tries to hide her feelings and live in a bubble where nothing changes. She also has a hard time predicting the consequences of her actions, which leads to awful mistakes and hurting people without them even knowing. But as Darcy grows, she learns the impact of her actions the hard way and owns up to them, and we can’t ask for more.

Brougham seems to be a douchebag at first. He’s blunt, very stoic, and even seems manipulative. But as you and Darcy get to know him, you understand it’s only a façade for him to protect himself from being hurt by others. He truly cares, he lives in absolute fear of becoming his mom, he’s driven, and a total cuddly bear.

As I said above, relationships are the cornerstone of this story. Which is all about how family defines who you are from an early age, how friendships also require effort, and how love can come out of seemingly nowhere.

Darcy is stuck in a mess where she’s in love with her best friend Brooke for a long time. And it’s easy for her to stay in that limbo where she’s Brooke’s main person and not take the step forward. Instead, she overthinks their interactions and hopes Brooke will take the first step. Then comes in Brougham that catches her off-guard, and when they notice, they’re each other’s to go person in times of need.

Darcy and Brougham have a rocky start because first impressions are not the best, and there's some miscommunication. Which is understandable because both of them are heavily influenced by their family situations. Darcy is more closed off and insecure about her feelings due to her parent’s divorce. Her relationship with her mother is also messy, and she doesn’t feel heard by her, which same girl. On the other hand, Brougham lives with a lack of a steady family situation and the shadow of his mother’s alcoholism hanging over him.

But as they start getting to know each other and working together, it’s so clear how Brougham starts to enjoy Darcy’s company. And you’ll see how Darcy cares for him even before she sees it herself. The moment they give in to their feelings is the perfect mix of affection, care for each other, and some steaminess in the mix.

Perfect on Paper is a real, dramatic, and engaging YA contemporary romance with great LGBTQ+ representation. It relies heavily on the relationship dynamics, be it love, friendship, or family. It’s one of those stories that warmed my heart, and it will absolutely be one of my favorite books of 2021.

It’s not often that a book meets all of your expectations so superbly, but that’s exactly what Perfect on Paper managed to do. From the protagonist, to the romantic tropes, to the excellent writing, this book was a wonderful little story that made me giddy with happiness.

Darcy Philips was the star of the book and I don’t have a single complaint about her characterization. She was relatable, flawed, remarkable, stood up for her beliefs, and had such tremendous growth throughout the novel. How could you not root for a heroine like that? I also really loved Sophie Gonzales’ commentary on the erasure of bisexuality when dating a member of the opposite gender. I’m not a member of the LGBTQ+ community and therefore have no authority on the matter, however, I thought the way the issues were brought up and handled were brilliantly done.

The romance was impressively written. Perfect on Paper somehow managed to combine my love of the fake dating trop a lá To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before with the sweet, slow-burn that starts as friendship that made me love If I’m Being Honest so much. I love watching a romance unfold through characters’ thoughts and actions and not just being told, and that’s exactly what we are given in Perfect on Paper. In short, it was spectacular.

Perfect on Paper checked all of the right boxes to make this a tremendously heartwarming and satisfying novel. I think this book will appeal to a lot of readers and I highly recommend picking it up in March!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Perfect on Paper is a young adult feel good novel about a teenage girl named Darcy who is running a relationship advice service out of an unused school locker. Her identity is unknown and business is good. Darcy has a crush on her best friend, Brooke, but is too afraid to tell her for fear of messing up their friendship. Throughout this novel, Darcy discovers the complexities of being bisexual in a world that seems to only understand either gay or straight. This book touches on the theme of being queer and what it means. Darcy learns about what it means to truly love someone, and the importance of friendship and family.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC of #PerfectonPaper by #SophieGonzales . I enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to reading more of her work in the future. It was truly a breath of fresh air.

Perfect on Paper is practically a guidebook to getting through high school. Darcy runs an advice business through an empty locker at high school. Hidden in her answers, and her life, there is great advice on relationships, sexuality, dealing with parents, coming back from mistakes. She touches on so many hot topics for today’s teenager. And this is coming from a 50 something mom of two grown daughters. I would highly recommend to everyone still in high school.

I loved this book! So much fun and such a great cast of characters. The premise was really great and original, and the LGBTQ representation was fantastic.

PERFECT ON PAPER is a story of finding oneself, making tough choices, and undeniable, effervescent teenage queerness.

However, as a fan of ONLY MOSTLY DEVASTATED and Sophie Gonzales in general, this book was a bit of a letdown coming off of OMD.

Things I enjoyed about POP:
The REP! - Holy crap this book is a queer GOLD MINE! I felt understood by this book. It's a love song written for queer youth. The main character is bi but struggles with that identity and feels as if she isn't "queer enough," which is a very real struggle for many bi/pan/queer people, including myself. These heavy topics and difficult conversations were beautifully tackled, making this a must-read IMO.
Banter - I loved the banter and dialogue in this book, and at certain points I was laughing out loud. The conversations felt natural and seemed very authentically "teenagery."
The concept - I enjoyed the idea of "Locker 89" and thought it added a unique element to this story!

Things I didn't enjoy:
Darcy (main character) - I'm all for imperfect characters, in fact I LOVE them, but Darcy really got on my nerves. I found her actions selfish, self-serving, and generally annoying. She had a semblance of a redemption arc near the end, but it felt very disingenuous, and she suffered no real consequences for her actions.
Pacing - The plot for this book dragged out for what seemed like an eternity. I'm a sucker for slow burn romance and didn't mind the speed of that plot, but I really didn't engage with the story as a whole until about 40% through the book, which is far too late IMO.
Language - I was under the impression this book took place in Australia until the characters took a trip to Anaheim, California/Disneyland. The only Aussie character is Brougham, yet everyone spoke like Aussies. Darcy was the worst offender and often times sounded more Aussie that Brougham. She also used huge words that I found inconsistent with teenage speech.

Overall, this book is a good read. I think PERFECT ON PAPER has the potential to become a safe haven for queer youth, and that there will be many people who feel seen by Sophie's message of "you are queer," no matter what.

Review from my 12-year-old daughter:
Although I was excited for this book, I wasn't completely sure what to expect, since I hadn't read any of this author's other work. "Only Mostly Devastated" was on my to-read list, and after this book I want to read it even more! I loved this book, and it was made even better due to the fact that I read it after a book I really disliked.

In the summary, it is described as "Leah on the Offbeat" meets "To All the Boys I've Loved Before." I do agree with this, but I would also compare it to the book "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda," and the movies "The Half of It" and "Mean Girls." In this story, all you have to do to get advice on your relationship is write down the troubles your having in a letter and slip it into locker 89, with a ten dollar bill. Soon after, you will get an email from an anonymous account with the advice you paid for. If it doesn't work out, you get a refund. But although everyone knows about locker 89, no one knows that Darcy Phillips is the one who runs it. And because of something she did in the past involving her best friend/secret crush Brooke, she'd like to keep it that way. So when she is caught removing the letters from the locker by Alexander Brougham, she is forced to try and help him win his ex-girlfriend back so that the entire school doesn't find out it's her.

There were only a few things that I disliked about this book, and they're minor enough that they didn't change my reading experience, but I'm still going to mention them. The first thing is that in some of Darcy's email responses, it seemed a like the author was trying a bit too hard to sound like a teenager, and ended up sounding a bit off. And the other thing that I disliked was that the inciting incident was just a bit too early for my taste. But other than that, I absolutely loved this book!

Although I loved almost everything in this book, there were a few things that stood out. First, I liked how it basically had Darcy giving advice in a scientific kind of way, based more on actual research than emotion. Second, I loved all of the representation in this book, from Darcy to her best friend to her older sister to her enemy. I also loved the plot of this book. It reminded me quite a bit of "The Half of It," with the main character who had a secret letter writing business and began to coach a boy on his romantic life. Not just that, but I loved the main character's voice, and how she always tried to do what she thought was right (even if it wasn't). I also loved her older sister, who was my second favorite character. Plus, I thought it was interesting to start each chapter with a letter and her response, so we got to see what her business was like. And lastly, I liked how this book did a sort of love triangle. I usually dislike love triangles, since it's usually obvious to me who the person will end up with, but in this book it was more of her having a crush on Brooke, while realizing her mutual feelings for Brougham.

Overall, I absolutely adored this book and entirely recommend it