CW: underage drinking, alcohol consumption, vomiting, mention of divorce, scenes of parents fighting, biphobia

A stellar YA that tackles the subject of biphobia and bi-erasure. I loved this a lot and think it'll resonate with a lot of queer teens. I loved how realistic it was and how much the characters were brutally honest and learned from their mistakes. Though there is some miscommunication, it makes so much sense for 16 and 17-year-olds to act this way. Brougham is such a good character, he's complex but a great friend. He was definitely one of my favorite characters aside from Ainsley and Finn, a die-hard Chad and Ryan [HSM] fan.

I also loved how Sophie Gonzales added South Australian culture into the book. She writes the American school system and teens so well. This was such an addictive book yet an important read for queer lit. I'll be shouting about it for quite a while.

Perfect on Paper was really cute and kinda snuck up on you as you read. I will say that it’s the first book in a long time that I felt the characters were too young for me but overall I thought the story was very cute. The representation of different orientations and preferences within the LGBTQ+ community was refreshing and I think very important for young readers to see.

This was a good one! I enjoyed the storyline and thought the characters were interesting! I loved the lgbtq+ representation in this one! I also appreciated how this ended! I will say I am finding it more and more true that I’m liking YA books about romance less and less. Overall still liked this one!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Perfect on Paper is about Darcy and her secret locker romance advice. Pretty cool, right?

Darcy has a locker where people submit money and ask for help regarding relationships. It's going perfect until it doesn't.

And cue Brougham. Brougham wants Darcy's help to get his girlfriend back. In the process Darcy starts to have feelings for him.

Secrets, lies, relationships, friendships, and more. Perfect on Paper is the perfect YA novel.

Genre; YA, LGBTQ

Alexander Brougham & Darcy

Notes 📝

Locker 89, love advice, secrets, help, love goes where it wants, drama, secrets exposed, friends, love.

It was a fun story to read, sometimes a bit dragging, but the end made it all a okay.


A 4 stars 🌟 read for me

LGBTQIA+: bi, Darcy’s older sister is trans

Darcy runs anonymous dating advice correspondence through an empty locker at her school. When Brougham figures out her secret and blackmails for in-person advice, Darcy is more than a little put-out. What she is majorly put-out about is her longtime crush and even-longer-time BFF Brooke is on the receiving end of a crush by their nemesis. Between jealousy, a too-busy mom, her secret’s reveal, and an annoying enemy-to-friend (-to-lover???), Darcy is have a stressful semester. Will she be able to come out on top?

Sophie Gonzales has hit another one out of the park! She really gets how big emotions feel to teens, the drama that is inherent in high school, and family dynamics. I especially loved Darcy’s and Ainsley’s relationship. And the romance is great! Very fanfic in tone and feels!

Perfect on Paper is a young adult romance about Darcy who begins “Locker 89,” where fellow students can anonymously ask for advice on their relationship issues. No one at school knows who is behind this advice until Brougham catches Darcy retrieving the letters. In exchange for keeping her secret, she coaches him on how to win back his girlfriend. Darcy needs her anonymity to remain because she has manipulated her long-time crush, Brooke’s relationships in the past and fears losing her.

I absolutely loved this delightful book. I feel old when I say this, but I’m so impressed with the “kids” these days. (Next up – “Get off my lawn!”) I learned about attachment styles in 2019 (when I was 39) and Darcy has them mastered at age 16. She is classic relationship nerd with all her studying.

Cover: I love how this cover depicts the struggle Darcy goes through to accept her bisexuality in this book. The peach color is perfection.

Tropes: Friends to lovers, Stuck Together/Forced proximity

Character Development: The character development of Sophie and Brougham is strong. We come to understand why Sophie has developed expertise in relationships and how that relates to her parental relationships. We also see Darcy continue to develop in her sexuality and learn from her mistakes. The way this book handles biphobia and the struggles that folks go through is spot on.

World-Building: Even months after reading this book, I can still picture this high school and world in Southern California. I particularly enjoyed the Queer and Questioning Club because of characters and texture they added to this book. It made this community feel real.

Plot & Pacing: Excellent. I felt engaged in this book and tore through it in a couple of days.

Verdict: Highly recommend! I loved this queer YA romcom especially for the character development and exploration of biphobia.

ARC was provided to me by St. Martin’s Press, in exchange for an honest review.

This has to be in my top ten books of 2021! Sophie Gonzales has such an authentic writing when it comes to young adults. I devoured this book in like two sitting. Our main character Darcy can give out relationship advice, but cannot seem to see when it is right in front of her eyes. All of the characters are great but that main relationship between Darcy and Brougham feels really authentic. I appreciate the way this book also tackles the issues around bi-phobia, including and especially in the LGBTQ community. This is the type of book a queer teen really needs as they deal with their identity, romance, and other parts of teen life.
One thing I want to highlight is that Gonzales does not make any of her characters flawless. each of them have faults and I think those faults are what makes this story so believable and real. Teens can be selfless and selfish at the same time and that is particularly true for Darcy. She is this perfect blend of wanting to help others and still doing things to only help herself. She is definitely a favorite character of mine.
Overall, this book is great and wonderful. It is queer and amazing, and everyone should read it!

This book was so lovely and I love recommending it to my students, especially those who are LGBTQ+. It is a great read and so much fun!

I went into PERFECT ON PAPER with the highest of expectations, having recently loved ONLY MOSTLY DEVASTATED. However, I found myself frustrated by the romance between Darcy and Brougham. There were few interactions between the two before Darcy suddenly realizes her feelings. She also spends over half the book still in love with Brooke, which further emphasized how sudden those feelings for Brougham were. I think I would've enjoyed this more if there were more scenes between them, before confessions or feelings.

I DID enjoy the rep and the discussions around bisexuality, as well as the supporting characters and their relationships. If the implication wasn't that the Darcy and Brougham romance was going to be the focus, I think I would've liked it a lot more. I know that I'm in the minority here and I'd still encourage everyone to pick it up. If you're looking for a story with excellent writing, humor, complicated but loving friendships and family relationships, this one's for you!

(I'm also definitely still open to reading more of Sophie's work.)

Perfect on paper is a cute book about a bi girl who gives romantic advice struggling with her own romantic life. It's an easy read that was largely very enjoyable.

The main character makes some big mistakes that are pretty manipulative and difficult to digest to her best friend. The book does try to have her own up and make amends, but there may be some who read that and feel that she is forgiven too quickly. Or even feel that the fact she is forgiven at all is questionable.

What I did like is that even though she makes those mistakes there are several friendships ( including one with one of the love interests) where she is open and the relationship feels a lot healthier.

Where this book shines is largely in the relationships. It's a sweet light enemies to lovers book with a mild misunderstanding trope. There is some lovely LGBTQ+ representation including a powerful bit about biphobia. There is also what felt like a good representation of divorce or unhealthy parental relationships. I definitely recommend the book but if very realistic outcomes are what you are looking for this book only kind of hits that mark.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

High school can be complicated, much less trying to navigate love and relationships. But what if there was a locker you could drop questions about and get solid advice? That is what locker 89 is and what Darcy Phillips provides. Perfect on paper is the relationship book every young adult needs. Gonzales taps into the questions and sticky situations that every teen is curious about with such ease. Sexuality, personality types, consent are only a few topics that are touched on. Darcy is every teen and every reader will relate to her. The humor was spot on and made me laugh out loud several times. The pacing is a little uneven and could have used a more stable pace but it was only slightly noticeable.

Overall, while I really wanted to enjoy this book, it just wasn't really my thing. While the concept itself was interesting, and I like the bi rep and other queer rep we had in this book, I didn't care for the MC much at all, and it ruined my reading experience a bit.

Darcy gives anonymous love advice to her classmates, but it all goes wrong when things start to come out and her identity is revealed. While I did think Darcy was giving good advice, there were definitely some good points brought up about her qualifications/possible negative impact she could be having on romantic relationships that made for an interesting discussion. These were very present in the story, yet I don't think they led to a satisfying ending necessarily, since Darcy just sort of claimed she learned from the experience and would do a better job with her online blog. My biggest issue wasn't with this though, I mainly was just frustrated early on with how Darcy acted and sometimes abused her advice system, and I had a hard time forgiving her. On the other hand, I also had a hard time forgiving her best friend for some of the shitty things she did too, especially when she suddenly got a new girlfriend and they both treated Darcy pretty badly. It just overall was uncomfortable to read and I don't think it was resolved well enough for me to fully like either character again.

I did think the main romance of this story was cute though, and I really liked that this story dived into bisexual women dating men and how some parts of the LGBTQ+ community see them as less queer when they're in a straight-passing relationship. It's an important conversation, and I was glad this book featured it so strongly.

Overall, I don't think this book has necessarily put me off other books by Sophie Gonzales, since I do like what she was trying to accomplish here and really like the representation, but this particular book just didn't quite work for me.

This one hit a little too close to home to be enjoyable - I work at a private boarding school. This title wouldn't serve my student population

While a cute book, there were times that made me so angry with the characters for stupid decisions they made and lack of proper communication. Part of that is probably because the characters are high schoolers but still. I was happy for the bi rep and concerns bi girls have when they are seen dating boys but otherwise just a meh book

Sophie Gonzales’s third novel shows a promising future for the author while approaching serious topics in a “Sex-Ed” style story that will leave fans frantically searching “When is Sophie Gonzales’s next book coming out?”

“Perfect on Paper” introduces readers to Darcy, a high school student who seemingly blends in with the rest of her peers. But little do they know, she is the mastermind behind locker 89, a place where students pay to get relationship advice from one of their own. After a fellow student stumbles upon her opening the locker, Alexander Brougham asks for her to be his relationship coach to help him get back with his girlfriend. Seeing it as blackmail, Darcy helps, but nothing could prepare her for the chain of events that follows.

This book is amazing for a number of reasons, but the main one that I fell in love with was its approach to biphobia. At the beginning of the novel, Darcy’s helplessly got a crush on her best friend, Brooke, but by the end of the book, she realizes she might also be into Brougham who is clearly a guy. The internal struggle Darcy faces, which is eventually explicitly stated during a club meeting, is one bisexual (and other sexualities similar to it) readers will be able to relate to quite well. Gonzales writes this struggle with ease, and the battle going on in her head is evident with subtle clues nudging it forward to its build-up.

The second main reason I loved this book was the “Sex-Ed” themed story it took on. While Darcy isn’t giving out sex advice like Maeve and Otis, the discreet relationship advice clinic is reminiscent of their sex clinic in the show. The lowkey blackmail theme gives it an almost “Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda” vibe, and as much as I hate comparing queer stories to Becky Albertalli novels, it fits perfectly with this book.

But “Perfect on Paper” is perhaps even a step above “Simon” in this case. If I have any complaint, it’s that this novel feels so small. It happens in a high school with a very small set of characters, many of which we know hardly any about. I was deeply invested in these characters, and at times it did feel like their actions seemed a tad out of character. This was rare though, and the feelings are mostly a result of wanting to know more about the characters.

Regardless, this book is simply wonderful. Sophie Gonzales created yet another great book to get yourself lost in. From themes of biphobia and how to tackle high school romances, “Perfect on Paper” is a must-read YA novel that should become a staple for queer YA literature.

This was a cute, quick, fun, read. I would recommend for any YA or romance fans. I thought the parts documenting Darcy's struggles with her sexuality and identity were really well done.

One of my favorite books I read this year! I loved everything about this book and could not put it down. LGBTQ representation is a must when I'm finding books to read and this one was so well-written and that cannot be understated. Overall, I loved this book, I loved the characters, and I loved the writing.

This was a good reading, the plot was very entertaining and what I love most was the sex Education vibes in all the book, so if you are looking for something similar this would be a great choice.

Oh my GOD this was SO GOOD!!!! Literally one of the best YA contemporaries I have ever read.

Like where do I even start???? The way this book discusses bisexuality, being queer, romantic relationships, friendships, and relationships with parents is unlike anything I’ve ever read before, especially in a YA novel.

I loved the set up of Darcy being an anonymous relationship counselor for her classmates as well as how her and Brougham’s dislike to friends to lovers relationship develops throughout the book. I also personally really enjoy YA books with a fair amount of messy drama, and this definitely delivers on that front. There’s even a sort of love triangle involving Darcy, her friend Brooke, and Brougham, which I was so here for. On another note, I ADORED all of the diversity in this book, specifically the numerous LBGTQ+ characters!

This book made me tear up and laugh out loud numerous times and when a book can do that, you know it’s good. I just can’t recommend it highly enough. I can’t wait to read more from Sophie Gonzales!

PS Finn going on about Ryan and Chad’s relationship in High School Musical 2 had me HOWLING omg he was so right though 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**