i’m rounding my 2.5ish star rating to a 3 but yeah, i wouldn’t recommend this book unless you want to experience over 300 pages worth of that ‘about to throw up’ kind of stress response. the climax is at the 85% mark which is way too late in my opinion and the ending comes screeching so suddenly to a halt that it feels like the author forgot the back half of the ending. i appreciate that there isn’t a magically resolution to all of the issues Perla faced because after 3 months of constant severe lying, it wouldn’t make sense for her to get off with no consequences but what she does get also doesn’t make sense? idk man. this wasn’t for me but i don’t know who it would be for either. at least the guilt Perla feels from impossible parental expectations was #relatable because the rest of the book was something out of my worst panic ridden night terrors.

Received this to review on Net Galley. This was added to my Do Not Finish Pile. I rarely have those but this was so drawn out and while I get the family pressure to be perfect, there was something missing from the book.

After going through this kind of pressure myself, I have no desire to relive the college admissions experience, and even the beginning of this book was far too stressful for me to read even though I’m several years removed from that whole experience. I think this concept might have worked well as a thriller, where everyone is meant to be less likable. Here, it’s never fully addressed how poorly adjusted Perla is.

I was not able to get to this book before it was no longer available. I am so sorry for this. I am rating it three stars since I do have to provide a rating, but providing a neutral rating seems like the best option for the book and author.

This book was not my cup of tea. It covers some hugely important topics -- familial and cultural pressure to pursue certain majors and careers, and college pressure overall as a mental health issues for teenagers -- but the way it played out was clunky and ultimately unbelievable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

This book fell flat for me on so many levels.

I really wanted to love This is Not a Personal Statement. I love YA that looks at the pressures and pain of the academic system. This didn’t get there for me. I didn’t really like Perla or her parents and I didn’t see the growth in any of them that you are supposed to see by the end. While I can’t imagine being in that situation that Perla finds herself in: not getting into her dream school so lying about it and pretending to go there to save face, I felt more anger at the situation than anything else. The whole system let her down: her parents, her school, her friends, and her own unhealthy patterns for dealing with failure.

Failure is such an important life skill for young people to learn, and I don’t feel like that theme was really resolved, nor did I ever feel genuine remorse or the realization that what Perla did was wrong and hurt others, nor from her parents with whom she had some serious issues with. They all ust came across as really narcissistic.

Thank you, Quill Tree Books, for the ARC in return for an honest review

Perla Perez has had her academic career mapped out for her since she skipped two grades in elementary school. Now her parents have Perla on a strict regimen in order to mold her into the perfect Filipino-American daughter. The culmination of their plan in Perla's senior year at the rigorous Monte Verde high school is for Perla to get accepted into Delmont University for pre-med, just like her mother. However, when the time comes, Perla isn't accepted into Delmont. Or any of her other schools. In a panic, she photoshops an acceptance letter for her parents and begins researching work arounds in order to appear living on Delmont's campus and attending classes while applying again for the spring semester. Perla's plans to hide on campus miraculously work for a little while, but food, clothing and keeping up with all the lies are a little more difficult. Perla might just discover something she actually enjoys while pretending to be a student, but at what cost?

This is Not a Personal Statement is a young adult novel that takes fake it till you make it to the next level. While Perla's actions are a little unbelievable, her character is especially relatable. Anyone who has felt stressed by their parents to succeed can relate to Perla's trouble, especially if your parents don't share your vision for the future. Perla's parents are written to the extreme and their words and actions are really verbal and psychologically abusive. The writing carried an excitement, hope, and suspenseful feeling the whole way through as Perla's carefully constructed plan kept changing, the lies built up and an inevitable unraveling was in the works. I was glad that during Perla's stolen time at Delmont, she was able to discover that her parent's dreams are not her dreams, make friends and speak up for herself. Perla had to break herself down in order to rebuild. While Perla's punishment seemed harsh in the end, it is also exactly what she needed. Overall, This is Not a Personal Statement is an exciting, cotemporary story of gaining independence, finding yourself and discovering your passion.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Thanks so much for sending me a Netgalley Copy of this book. So adorable and cute as I can deeply relate to the main characters presented. Lovely book and I hope to read more from this same author in the future.

Welcome Back!

It’s been a very busy week but I have still managed to sneak in some reading. I am also trying to find time for a trip to the local library in my new town (because I love to explore all libraries)! I picked up a new audiobook at the start of this week and I am so far really enjoying it. But for now, I want to talk about This is Not a Personal Statement! I was incredibly lucky to receive an E-ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions (and full disclosure I loved this story so much)! So without further ado, let’s jump in!

SPOILERS AHEAD

Perla is an academic superstar! She has made her parents incredibly proud her whole life, never deviating from the big binder in the living room that dictates her future. Perla even went to high school early and is the youngest student in the graduating senior class. She is barely 16! Now Perla is supposed to go off to a prestigious university and study to become a doctor. But that is not really happening. Perla was not accepted to any of the schools she applied to. Instead of telling her parents this Perla makes her own plan. She makes a fake acceptance letter, goes to move-in day, fakes moving into an empty room, and starts a life on campus. Perla’s plan entails how to live until she can actually get in! She plans to try to get in again in the spring. But what if a childhood family friend finds out her secret? What if the university or her new friends or her parents find out what she did?

I really really enjoyed this story. I was unsure how things would shake out for Perla but I wanted the absolute best for her and her friends the whole time (I was honestly really worried about how her relationships with people would change if her secret was found out). I also really liked how we got to experience Perla evolving and changing as a person. She was learning new things and changing from what the big red binder and her family had dictated to her, her entire life. At the end of the book, I found myself wanting to see where Perla’s life journey was headed next (so I would definitely love a sequel)! This book just recently came out on January 17th! I definitely recommend going and checking it out!

Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

***Thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This wasn’t for me but I think some younger readers might like it. Struggling with perfectionism can be tough and learning to fail is scary.

I still have love for this book but my very high expectations were not met.

I think more time with the editor may have made this book one of those YA's that remind you of what is so great about the genre, but it just felt unready for publishing.

I enjoyed the concept, and there are many elements that will resonate with teens, but from the standpoint of writing as an art, there are some elements missing.

As a Filipina reader and writer, I wanted very badly to love this book. I did appreciate the representation and could connect with many of the struggles that Perla faces, especially when it comes to pleasing her parents. However, the book itself was very hard for me to finish. I was determined to get through it because this book was written by a FilAm author and I wanted to love it. It took me many months to finish it. It often felt like a chore to read it and I had to make myself read a little every day. I believe it had to do with the writing style and also the narrator’s voice. Perlie is sixteen and very immature, and the book absolutely nails that voice which was very hard for me to continue reading. There seemed to be a lot of redundancy and also a lot told rather than shown to readers. “Perfect Perlie Perez” and “My seven step plan” is mentioned so many times, it was exhausting. Just a lot of stream-of-consciousness and not enough action, in my opinion. I will also add, that I believe this book will be important for young adult FilAm readers to have access to. I would not recommend this book to my adult friends who enjoy reading upper YA because Perlie’s voice is better fitted as lower YA. But this would be a great book for high school readers, especially FilAm readers, which I believe is the book’s true audience. Thank you Netgalley for the digital ARC.

This wasn’t the most entertaining YA book I’ve read recently. The character development, writing style, and delivery didn’t really do it for me. But I chose to read and finish the novel because I liked the premise. It kinda reminded me of this movie I watched called “Accepted” where the student was rejected from every college they applied to so they created a fake university to attend.

In the novel Perla Perez was graduating high school early. She was very excited about getting into her dream college Delmont University. Rather than applying to multiple colleges she had her mind set on this particular school. When she received a rejection letter instead of being honest with her parents about it. She forged an acceptance letter and found a way to live on campus without anyone knowing she wasn’t a real student. Eventually her plan blows up and she’s confronted by campus security forcing her to come clean.

There were a few realistic aspects in the novel I enjoyed. Like how the parental and cultural pressure to perform academically can do more harm than good. In some cultures hard work is highly praised so academic achievements can be seen as a social competition you must succeed in.

Perla’s parents projected a lot of their wants and desires onto her making it seem as though she had to be academically perfect and seek their validation. They never gave her the room to be honest about college because she was always compared to someone else and felt she had to prove herself worthy. They undermined everything she wanted placing this role for success unto her that she wasn’t really prepared for. Then once the truth came out her mother’s main concern was that she lied and how embarrassing it would be when others found out. Not realizing them projecting “their ideal self” unto her caused the entire situation.

Overall this book was meh definitely wasn’t for me. Nothing about it was memorable not even the characters so can’t say I would recommend just read at your own will. Special thanks to the author and publisher for my advanced copy.

I didn't dislike my read of this story. I just won't remember much or be able to pick out anything distinguishing in a few months or week's time. The main character, Perla, faced an identity crisis after not getting into any schools and wound up choosing a far-fetched but marginally believable deception which caused her to question everything. Although I do not think she could have carried on the deception as long as she did, the extremely high stakes consequences at the end felt like too much, too heavy handed. The author, however, did characterization well since even in the end, the most frustrating part, I still got angry at Perla's mother in defense of Perla.

I can 100% understand the need to succeed, and academic pressure, but the lengths this book took it to was interesting, to say the least, unfold. Perla's a fairly complicated character, who's been so driven by only focusing on academics, prioritizing them over anything else. Once she's thrown into a new environment, she can finally separate herself from that and well. Grow more of a personality.

The entire premise was insane, so I obviously was immediately intrigued and had to read it. While it is highly unrealistic, it was something that I genuinely enjoyed reading. It was fun, exciting, and had me terrified for Perla every step of the way. That being said, I didn't really like her character? I get that who she was as a person was entirely because of how she was raised, but I really wish she'd been able to detach herself from that sooner, and not hurt most people she met. I did like that she was able to grow however, and become more mature, because at the start- she kind of got on my nerves. She got better, but she wasn't the best.

I didn't like the evolution of her relationship with her father. It almost felt too sudden, towards the end, his shift in viewpoint towards her. I think there wasn't enough buildup to it, and it was more of a trying to close a plot point than a logical shift. Also. Why was Camilla just randomly nice? The backstory was set up so she'd be against Perla, since they'd been competing for their whole lives. Then, all of a sudden, she's just extremely helpful and inviting? Again, it was illogical. The ending was more anticlimactic than I'd hoped for, but I did really like the fact that it wasn't set in stone. The sense of freedom it had to it went with how Perla was as a character at that point.

Overall, while some parts seemed a little off, I did end up really enjoying reading it. It took a little bit to become invested in, but once I passed the start, I was hooked. I loved to be able to see Perla accept herself, and have others accept her. I also appreciated that she was able to separate herself from just her academic values. As a whole, I would definitely read more of Tracy Badua's books.

This Is Not a Personal Statement is a relatable read about the pressure students face. Following a clever main character who fakes admission into her dream school and heads to campus undercover, this one had me on the edge of my seat wondering if she would ever get caught. This one also has many thoughtful discussions about not only the pressure to succeed, but also navigating university and living away from home for the first time, which makes for an entertaining and thoughtful story. While it may seem outrageous at first, this is a great read that I'm sure many students will identify with.

This is surprisingly one of the most stressful books I've ever read. The rejection that comes with college applications is so hard and to get rejected from everywhere? horrible. You want to root for Perla and her journey even if you have to read between your fingers. This novel reads like a heist movie but just happens to star a 16 year old girl trying to make her mark on a college campus. Perla is an unlikely but endearing hero and Badua is a talented writer to bring this all together.

My anxiety could never. I can't imagine the amount of pressure she could have been under to do something like this. But this was so good and I really enjoyed reading it. I was biting my nails the whole time while waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it was amazing!

Perla Perez only knows what it’s like to grow up in the pressure cooker of the exclusive California town of Monte Verde. The high school is ultracompetitive and is known for its graduates going to excellent universities. Perla herself not only works hard and does well, but she actually skipped two grades when she was young, so she’s only 16 as she graduates. (Hence her nickname of Perfect Perlie.) Her parents are successful (one a lawyer and one a dermatologist), and they expect her to be equally successful. The plan (really her parents’ plan) has always been for her to attend the top-notch Delmont University and then go to medical school. Not that she’s really enthused about that, but she doesn’t have much of a say in her future.

When her letter from Delmont arrives and it is a rejection, Perla is not just crushed but panicky. In a bid to put off sharing the bad news with her parents, she fakes an acceptance letter. And things snowball from there. Since she didn’t apply to any backup colleges, only “reach” schools, Perla has nowhere to go. So she decides to fix things. She’ll go to Delmont, pretend she’s a student, and gather intel on-site as she works on a new application for the spring semester.

The plan is a terrible/almost impossible one, obviously, and it made me feel either/both that the story really stretched credulity and/or that Perla had some serious problems. She faces a lot of challenges trying to find places to live temporarily and just to eat without letting her parents know the truth. And it goes on for several months. Her parents’ expectations border are appalling. It begins to make some sense why this character thinks she can attempt an outrageous, potentially dangerous and even ruinous, plan.

I had thought the book was going to be more lighthearted, so I was not prepared for its sobering tone. The story explores what it’s like to face intense pressure to be perfect and live up to others’ expectations. The Perezes are Filipinos (her father is second generation and her mother a longtime immigrant), and their ethnicity plays an important role in the story. Perla’s parents faced their own pressures to succeed in America and to prove themselves as “brown people.” My husband is Filipino, and he has talked about the same message shared here: if you’re a person of color, you have to work a lot harder than white people to get anywhere. The immigrant/BIPOC viewpoint is a valuable one for readers. It’s valuable as well for young people to learn through Perla that it’s OK to make mistakes and to find something they enjoy as they attend college or work toward a career.

For the above-mentioned insights, I recommend This Is Not a Personal Statement. Just don’t have the expectation of lightheartedness/wackiness that I did going in. Either I didn’t pay close enough attention to the book’s summary or I read into it what seemed a more likely possibility of what the tone would be.