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Book Review | Finding Perfect

Over the years, I have shared many book lists for kids, book resources for families, and free reading printables. I shared how to make your own visual reading list for your kids, and created Read for a Reason which features many book resources for homeschoolers and classroom teachers.


You can find tons of reviews online for books that have been available for a while, but there are MANY newer books and parents don’t have time to read them all to preview the topics presented. I plan to feature books that have been released within the past 5(ish) years. Many of my readers are Christian homeschooling families and have concerns about what is presented in books. It is my hope that as I read books I can share a post with information about the book so you can decide.

Click on the graphics below to see books I have reviewed…


BOOK REVIEW: Finding Perfect

Book Title: Finding Perfect

Author: Elly Swartz

Year Published: 2016

Suggested Ages: 10-12

Suggested Grades: 5th and up

Main Character: Molly, age 12, struggles with OCD (although she doesn’t know that’s what it is until near the end of the book).

Other Characters: Molly has a younger brother (Ian) and an older sister (Kate). Her parents are separated. Her friend Hannah plays a key role in the book also.

Themes/Issues: mental health, marital issues, OCD, anxiety, friendship, family


SUMMARY:

To twelve-year-old Molly Nathans, perfect is:

―The number four
―The tip of a newly sharpened No. 2 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 sometimes broken, so she hatches a plan to bring her mother home: Win the Lakeville Middle School Poetry Slam Contest. The winner is honored at a fancy banquet with white tablecloths. Molly is sure her mother would never miss that. Right…?

But as time passes, 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. In this fresh-voiced debut novel, one girl learns there is no such thing as perfect.

See book on Amazon here!

PERSONAL NOTES:

I will be adding this book to my daughter’s 8th-grade reading list.

The story was engaging, and Molly was a believable character with an issue many don’t talk about, OCD. She doesn’t realize she has OCD, and watching her struggle throughout the book is emotionally difficult.

Possible concerns for some parents…

In addition to the main themes of the book (listed earlier in this post), there are slight mentions of some things parents may have concerns about. Below I will share some issues that you may or may not have a problem with. I am not sharing my personal opinions. My criteria for including things below is, “Do I know at least one person who would want to know this was in the book?” and if my answer is yes, I am telling you about it below.

  • Molly’s parents have recently separated, this is a key issue in the storyline. Her mom moved to Canada and Molly lives with her dad and siblings in Michigan.
  • Molly sneaks online to create fake social media profiles and also to search about her concerns. She has a fake Facebook account that she isn’t allowed to have.
  • The word *issed is used. Quote: “Mom was ______.”
  • Molly (age 12, 6th grade) and her friends attend a party and her friend kisses a boy there. Crushes and relationships are discussed.
See book on Amazon here!

Grade Level Reading Lists

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Middle Grade Books Tagged with: Book Reviews

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Carisa Hinson
Homeschool writing class with Fern. Always a fabul Homeschool writing class with Fern. Always a fabulous teacher. Not distracting at all. 

#homeschool #homeschoolers #homeschoolingrocks #homeschoolingmama #homeschoolmom #homeschoollife  #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolfun #homeschoolkids #homeschooliscool  #homeschooldays #homeschoolblogger 
#homeschoolteacher #homeschoollookslikethis #homeeducation #homeeducator #howwehomeschool #homeed #homeschoollifestyle #thisishomeschool
#homeschoolcommunity #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolersofinstagram #homeschooled #homeschoolcollective #homeschoolideas #homeschoolinspiration #homeschooladventures #iew
Yes, we still walk our cat in a stroller. Mabel ev Yes, we still walk our cat in a stroller. Mabel even posed for the picture. Our other cats go in the stroller sometimes too, Mabel is the frequent stroller-er.

#calicocats #fluffycalico #catsinstrollers
Swipe to see the books I read this year! Lots of m Swipe to see the books I read this year! Lots of middle grade books last summer (many reviews are on my blog, I linked them in the “2022 Books” highlight above). Did you read any of these? See my ratings on my goodreads profile! I will link in my stories, I am Carisa Hinson on goodreads.

#middlegradebooks #middleschoolbooks #mglit #middlegradebooksuggestions #readinginthemiddlegrades #2022goodreadschallenge #2022yearinbooks
It was a Christmas filled with many emotions. Joy, It was a Christmas filled with many emotions. Joy, happiness, excitement, surprise, sadness, longing, and a bit of emptiness. 

We celebrated with my parents on the 24th, and that was a very joyous celebration. We enjoyed church, gifts, food, and mostly one another. 

On the 25th we celebrated with my husband’s family and sadly we are missing our beloved Nana who went to be with Jesus a few weeks ago. We all did our best to honor her love for fun last night. We played games, we laughed, we ate well, but it was all mixed with a longing sadness, wishing we had her with us. 

The next to last photo is it Kyler and my father in law, who lost his very best friend. We just love him so much and pray for his continued healing as he grieves this horrible loss and emptiness. 

The final photo is of Nana’s grandkids each holding their collage of photos of them and their Nana. This gift brought some tears, but we can tell will be treasured by each of them. She was one of a kind, and so special to all six of them.
Paxton won the gift award this year. Swipe to see Paxton won the gift award this year. Swipe to see what he bought his little sis! She was SO surprised! He loves giving gifts and having a job the enables him to do surprises like this is a gift to him. Sweet moments. ❤️
Not posed. Our foster kitten Jolly posed herself i Not posed. Our foster kitten Jolly posed herself in the perfect spot! See more of her and her sister Holly here: @crazy_foster_kitten_lady Merry Christmas Eve! 

#hollyandjolly2022fosterkittens #orphankittens
#kittenseason2022 #fosterkittens #fosterkittens4thehinsons #fosterkittensofinstagram #fosterkittenlove #kittenfostering #kittenfostermom #kittenfoster #fosterkittenlove #kittenseason #tinybutmighty #fostercatsandkittens
Tree decorating night! Goodness I love my kids. Tree decorating night! Goodness I love my kids.
I know many of you don’t know many of the people I know many of you don’t know many of the people in this photo, but I know many of you pray. The beautiful woman on the far left of the couch is my bonus-momma, my husband’s mom. She has stopped all treatment for her cancer and is going home to be with Jesus soon. We prayed for her to feel well enough to be with us at Thanksgiving, and though she felt pretty crappy, she was there. 

If you know her, you know what I mean when I say this is one of the kindest, most joyful, selfless people I have ever known. The world won’t be the same without her. We are devastated and hurting. We pray for her peace, her comfort, her pain, and for God to relieve her of the suffering. 

Last night was a huge mixture of pure joy and devastating sadness. We celebrated and hugged, and laughed, and we cried. It’s just so hard. Thanks for praying for our family. ❤️
We decided to decorate with a polar bear this year We decided to decorate with a polar bear this year. ❤️ 

#🐶baxter❤️ #pitmix #pitmixes #sleepydogs #marshmellie🐶 #greatpyrenees  #greatpyreneesofinstagram  #greatpyr  #greatpyreneeslovers #greatpyreneesfamily #doggo #rescuedog #adoptdontshop #doglife #pyreneesofinstagram #dogsofinsta #doglover #instadog #gentlegiant
Webby and the lizard. Swipe for the video version Webby and the lizard. Swipe for  the video version. 🐱 🦎
I love my Christmas birds. We love having the deco I love my Christmas birds. We love having the decorations complete before Thanksgiving so we can relax and enjoy our home with our favorite decor of the year! I got started today, not close to done, but enjoying my adorable birds. A lot. Do you decorate early?
Mabel has turned out to be the most entertaining c Mabel has turned out to be the most entertaining cat we have ever had. She is sweet and sassy, mischievous and marvelous. Equal parts of each. She annoys all of our other animals just like a little sister should and keeps the humans on our toes too. She LOVES Lili, and is still BFF with Pebbles (Lili’s cat). So glad we decided to add this rambunctious ball of fluff to our crew!
Fun night celebrating my momma’s birthday and tr Fun night celebrating my momma’s birthday and trick or treating in her neighborhood with Lili and her friends! The gum ball machine costume made it back for another year!
My amazing bonus-momma, my husband’s momma, is f My amazing bonus-momma, my husband’s momma, is feeling good today so we met for lunch. She hasn’t had many good days lately so we take the moments when they come!

She has cancer and chemo is making her sick, it’s been a long hard road as any of you who have dealt with there horrible C word know. We don’t know what the future holds, so we cling to today! I loved sitting by her and laughing together. I am so blessed to have her as my mother in law! ❤️

Sadly since it was last minute, my boys couldn’t make it to lunch.
Every year they drive up to the mountains for the Every year they drive up to the mountains for the day and just spend time together. It’s their thing and I love it. Today they hiked, that’s Lili laying on the rock! She’s not much of a hiker but she loves the mountains, the leaves and her Daddy!
Goodness they are cute. Love them so much! 🧡🧡🧡
Totally thought I would hate it. It’s not that b Totally thought I would hate it. It’s not that bad. Reading it for chemistry this year, and I have to admit I am learning a LOT, and it is interesting! 

We are using @guesthollow Chemistry in the Kitchen, this is one of the many books we are reading and will read.

#homeschoolchemistry #napoleonsbuttons #guesthollowchemistry #homeschool #homeschoolers #homeschoolingrocks #homeschoollife  #homeschoolfamily #homeschooliscool  #homeschooldays #homeschoolblogger 
#homeschoolteacher #homeschoollookslikethis #homeeducation #homeeducator #howwehomeschool #homeed #homeschoollifestyle #thisishomeschool
#homeschoolcommunity #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolersofinstagram #homeschooled #homeschoolcollective #homeschoolideas #homeschoolinspiration #homeschooladventures #homeschoolhighschool
Beautiful Fern on my beautiful new fall cat blanke Beautiful Fern on my beautiful new fall cat blanket. 🧡🧡🧡 

Thanks to my momma for the new blanket!
Link in profile to see answers and share your answ Link in profile to see answers and share your answer on my Facebook page! Not on FB? Share in a comment below! 

I have been homeschooling for a long time, one of my kids is graduated, one is a junior, and the other is in 8th - homeschooled the entire time. I am still a curious homeschooler and love to know what is working or hasn't worked for others. I have a series of these posts planned and hope that many of you will share!

First up - MATH! What curriculum are you using? Do you like it? Did you switch from something else? Any thoughts you're willing to share - good or bad! 

If you have a blog or Youtube and want to link to a specific post/video about math, feel free! 

#homeschool #homeschoolers #homeschoolingrocks #homeschoolingmama #homeschoolmom #homeschoollife  #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolfun #homeschoolkids #homeschooliscool  #homeschooldays #homeschoolblogger 
#homeschoolteacher #homeschoollookslikethis #homeeducation #homeeducator #howwehomeschool #homeed #homeschoollifestyle #thisishomeschool
#homeschoolcommunity #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolersofinstagram #homeschooled #homeschoolcollective #homeschoolideas #homeschoolinspiration #homeschooladventures #homeschoolmath
Remember them? We don’t see much of my oldest no Remember them? We don’t see much of my oldest now since he’s been living on his own (renting a house with friends), but we love when we do! That’s his dog, Melody, who is temp. living with us due to not getting along with a roommates dog. She’s smiling in this pic because he came over to visit her and she ADORES him. 

Paxton is 20 and doing great, I know many of you have watched him grow up on my blog! He works for a robotics company that contracts with Amazon, so he runs the robotics portion of an Amazon warehouse (did I explain that kinda right @paxtoroni ?) he’s VERY into cars, and has been for years, this is his car account in case you’re into cars too: @paxgt 😬 I don’t love cars but I LOVE him.

#marshmellie🐶
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