The Other Side of Perfect

Florence, Melanie and Scrimger, Richard. The Other Side of Perfect
April 2, 2024 by Scholastic Press

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

 Autumn Bird is a popular seventh grade girl in her Toronto area school, but it's hard work to keep up her status. She has to dress a certain way, spend a lot of time on hair and make up, and put up with a lot of negative energy from her friend Mia and others, who want to dictate what she does. One of these things is her relationship with Connor. He's popular and cute, but Autumn doesn' really like him. She certainly doesn't want to kiss him, or do even more, as the girls hint. Connor thinks that Autumn did more with someone at summer camp, although that is not true, and this is one of the reasons he wants to date her. Cody has a very different life. His mother is not in the picture, and his father often becomes abusive when he drinks. The two live in a run down apartment which Cody's father doesn't keep clean. He even is unhappy when Cody cleans it, since that's something "girls do", so Cody tries to clean when his father isn't home. When Cody's father thinks Cody is laughing at him, he beats the boy so badly that he passes out. When he comes to, Cody decides to runaway to escape further abuse. He packs a small bag and leaves, but is so badly injures that he passes out in a clump of bushes while looking for a place to sleep. Amber is on her way to an important party to see Connor when she happens upon Cody. At first she thinks he is dead, but when she realizes he is injured, she helps him to her home. Autumn's mother is a doctor, so she immediately wants to bring her in to help, but Cody makes her promise to keep adults out of it. The father has an art studio in a building on the property and is done with work for the day, so Autumn settles him there. Her parents, who are both Indigenous, have taught her to help out whenever she sees someone in trouble. She manages to get Cody food and lets him clean up a little. At school the next day, Mia and her cronies ask about why Autumn wasn't at the party and give her a hard time, and also are not friendly to Cody, who does have some hygiene issues because of his father's neglect. After school, Autumn arranges to meet Cody, and once again tries to help him out. She's not able to hide him from her parents for too long, and is greatly relieved when her father discovers Cody. The father is understanding, but does want his wife to know and check Cody out for injuries. He also insists on telling Cody's father, bringing along the family's large but loveable dog Boomer as protection. Cody's father isn't at the apartment, however, and there is an eviction notice on the board. Mr. Bird also takes Cody to the prison where his mother is serving time for robbery, so that he covers all of the bases. The mother has some mental health challenges, but does give permission for Cody to have other caretakers. In the meantime, Autumn is tired of Mia's group, and reverts to her old self, in comfy clothes. She used to help at a community group that serves Indigenous people in need of some help, and brings Cody to that. The two end up doing a school project on the center her mother helps with. Cody is more comfortable at the center than at Autumn's fancy and expensive house, but is glad to not have to worry about his father. When the center has an anniversary celebration and Cody's father reshow up drunk, will it destabilize Cody's new situation?
Strengths: This has all the elements of the kind of "sad" book that my students like. While many adults seem to like books about children struggling with grief, my students seem to prefer stories about children in neglectful or abusive situations who work to survive, both in the situations and when escaping them. Autumn is a great character, who struggles with wanting to help, as she has been taught, and wanting to be popular because it makes school an easier place to be. Cody's struggles are depicted realistically, and he is glad to be in a better situation, but has trouble believing it will last. I appreciate that the Birds take the legally required steps to alert the parents and authorities. The father's artwork also played an interesting role in the book, and I was glad to see Cody given the opportunity to pursue some drawings of his own. The Indigenous representation (this is the Canadian term) is very balanced. This book really caught my interest and kept me turning the pages.

 

Weaknesses: The writing felt a little like the authors were working from publisher's notes that told them what to include. In some ways, this is good, because it shows really helpful ways to deal with difficult situations. One example is how Autumn deals with very racist comments that Cody makes about Indigenous people; she's very angry, but her father tells her that Cody is just parroting what he has heard. This is reinforced when the father shows up at the center's anniversary party. Young readers won't mind the deliberate feel, but one more round of editing might have smoothed the edges of the social message's inclusion in the text.

What I really think: This might need to be hand sold; the cover doesn't quite indicate what this book is about, but it will be popular with my students who are interested in books about children in challenging situations, like Rudd's How to Stay Invisible, Bowling's Dust, Toalsen's The First Magnificent Summer, Walter's King of the Jam Sandwiches, and the oldie but goodie (and my daughter's favorite) Robert's 1977 Don't Hurt Laurie.

How cool is that original cover? This is what my childhood looked like. I'm surprised that this wasn't made into an Afterschool Special with Kristy McNichol.