Review: Being Perfect

Being Perfect
by Anna Quindlen

"Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious
and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is really hard, and
really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming
yourself."

This is the little teaser on the back of this pocket-sized book that I picked up from the library. There is not a lot of text. In fact, more pages are covered with pictures than writing. But the writing is a golden nugget. Quindlen doesn't fill a 200 page book with meaningless info. that needs to be waded through to find the point; she gives the good advice right up front. No muss, no fuss.

I'd say this book is perfect for the young girl just entering Jr. or Sr. high school. It sounds like a letter written by an older and favored cousin or friend; maybe a young teacher. It's a nice little reminder not to get caught up in the perfection game. Instead focus on what you really want and how you can be happy for yourself. Here's my favorite paragraph:

"Begin with that most frightening of all things, a clean slate.
And then look, every day, at the choices you are making, and when you ask
yourself why you are making them, find this answer: Because they are what I
want, or wish for. Because they reflect who and what I am."

I like Quindlen's style. I like her brevity. Here's my only problem with the book: It costs $13. for a book of advice that every person already knows. I might purchase it for a certain type of girl that I knew would appreciate it and go back to it each time she felt compelled to be a perfectionist. Otherwise it's just a good library selection to me.