Perfect Enough (Good Enough #2)

Kuyatt, Megan. Perfect Enough

June 2, 2026 by Scholastic Press

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this sequel to Good Different, Selah is cautiously excited about attending a summer Writers' Camp at a university. She will be there with her long time friends Brooklyn and Rheya,  but is concerned that she will become overwhelmed. This is something that can happen because she has autism, but she has some good coping strategies in place. Her mother is reluctant to let her go, but her grandfather, Pop, supports her. Selah worries that if she can't last a few weeks at camp, her mother will never let her do anything. She sets off with her tools like earplugs, fidgets, and sunglasses, and is excited to work on her poetry so that she can get a start on being a real writer. Her counselor, Noa, is understanding, since she also has autism and is in a wheelchair due to long COVID. Brooklyn and Rheya say that they don't want any drama during the summer, so Selah tries to not freak out, even when there are masses of ladybugs in the room. When Brooklyn and Rheya decide to do a film for their group project without consulting her, she's not happy, but tries to power through. A boy who has given her trouble back at her private Pebblecreek school, Ezra, is at the camp, but when the two are paired on a writing project, Selah finds that the two may have some things in common. Ezra has ADHD, which is what causes his exuberant behavior that irritates Selah. They find some common interests, and Selah finds it more calming to be with her than her friends sometimes, which irritates them. Brooklyn doesn't seem to really understand that Selah is sensitive to lights and noise, and Selah ends up trying to sleep in the dorm library because of the interference. When she mentions it to her roommates, Rheya seems to understand, but Brooklyn just laughs it off. This eventually causes Selah to call her mother and asks to come home. She ends up staying, but talks a lot to Noa about how she has to protect her health. This is especially important when everything becomes too much for her and she can't get out of bed. Selah talks to Pop, who lets her know that coming home doesn't mean that she can't ever succeed; it just means that she is overwhelmed right now. Brooklyn is upset because Selah hasn't been upfront with her, and claims that "real friends tell each other things". Brooklyn is, of course, having her own problems, and her parents aren't very attentive to her. Selah goes home, but has a new friendship with Ezra, a new understanding with her friends, and a new perspective in starting the upcoming school year and Old Mill Middle School. 

Strengths: While many middle grade novels depict traditional outdoor summer camps, special interest camps at universities seem to be more prevalent today. There are certainly many camps for writing and computer programming, and spending time on a campus is an intriguing proposition for young readers. It was realistic to see the difficulties that Selah had with Brooklyn and Rheya; hanging out for a few hours is completely different than having to live with your friends 24/7! It was quite fascinating to see Selah and Ezra becoming friends and bonding over their neurodiverse brains, and it was good to explore how tweens might hate when people make assumptions about them even while they are making assumptions about others. The mother's overprotection was on point, and I was curious as to how Pop's was able to encourage Selah to listen to her mother while he was still driving despite some opposition. There might be another book possible detailing Selah's entrance into her new public middle school. 
Weaknesses: While it is admirable that Selah wants to be a writer focusing on poetry, I would still like to see more books depicting tweens who are interested in careers that will be more in demand, such as STEM careers, child care, or math related occupations. I was a big fan of the 1950s career romances that encouraged girls to become physical therapists, nurses, copy editors, or librarians (which AT THE TIME was not a bad choice). It makes sense that authors are creating books about wanting to write, but it would be more useful to broaden the scope of jobs for tweens. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Hicks' Inbetweens, Montague's Camp Frenemies, or Fajardo's Miss Camper.