Read The Perfection of YA Dystopian Drama In "Flawed"

  Title:  Flawed
Series:  (Flawed #1)
Author:  Cecelia Ahern
Format:  ERC
Length: 368 pages
Publisher:  Feiwel & Friends
Expected Date of Publication: April 6th, 2016
 Rating:  4.5 Stars

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She's a model daughter and sister, she's well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she's dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.

But then Celestine encounters a situation where she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule. And now faces life-changing repercussions.

She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found FLAWED.

In her breathtaking young adult debut, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society where obedience is paramount and rebellion is punished. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her-everything.

It's the branding that does that, and I know it. It dehumanizes me in a way to others. I'm to be stared at and talked about as if I'm not here  -Flawed, Cecelia Ahern

Crevan's red robe is the same color as the scar on my hand, and I'm guessing as my foot, chest, and temple. My blood is on his robe. He did this to me. Him. I feel nothing but disgust for him. I used to think that I couldn't be afraid of someone so human, now I realize it is his humanity that scares me most, because despite having all those traits, having shared the moments we've shared, he could still do this to me. - Flawed, Cecelia Ahern

  Listen To An Audio Excerpt Here:  Flawed: Harper Audio


My Thoughts
It has often been said that "to err is human".  But what if the very thing that is said to be the essence of one's humanity; that one thing which allows one to learn and grow, is the one thing that could lead to societal and personal ruin?

That is life for  17 year old Celestine North.  A life  that as the daughter of privilege and plenty, has always found her on the right side of the moral code.

Until...she isn't
Until one act, one decision, one moment, changes her life and the lives of those around her forever.

Yes.  This is another "the one" troped dystopian.
But before you start shaking your head and making comparisons between this book and all the others of its ilk that you have muddled your way through.
Consider this.
What if your only mistake is being kind, having respect for an elder, and extending a common courtesy.  All things that you  are taught ad nauseam to do?
Your crime?
Extending said courtesies to the wrong person in public.
That is life for Celestine North.

What sets this book apart from others is how quickly the cloak of privilege that has worked for so long to both protect Celestine, and effectively shield from the ills of the common, quickly ripped away and instead used to shroud the misdeeds of the powerful.

This is a very engaging book.
Celestine is a very likable protagonist.  This likability is mostly due to the fact that she doesn't have an entitled bone in her body. She takes the things that happen to her in stride for the most part.  Her biggest concern throughout the majority of her trials being the effect of what is happening to her on those she loves.

Another plus about this story is the cloak and dagger trail of breadcrumbs that the author leaves both Celestine to follow in order to discover the who's, why's, and wherefore's of what amounts to a plot against her.
But wait...
There are also those who would love to see her succeed, and their agenda could prove just as dangerous.

There is also a bit of an emotional love triangle.  Emotional because the feelings that develop between Celestine and her mystery man are born of  circumstance.  Whereas, the feelings that she has for Art, are born of relationship and history.

While this book is a dystopian on its face; it is also a mystery, an adventure, and a glaring examination of the evils of power and social control.

 

About Cecelia
Cecelia Ahern was born on September 30, 1981 in Dublin, Ireland. She is the daughter of the former Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. On 14th December 2009 it was announced that Cecelia had given birth to her first child with partner David Keoghan, a girl named Robin. She was secretly married on 11 June 2010 in County Kildare, Ireland. Her older sister, Georgina Ahern is married to Nicky Byrne of Irish pop group Westlife. Cecelia was a member of the Irish pop group Shimma who finished third in the Irish national for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000. She attended Griffith College Dublin and obtained a degree in Journalism and Media Communications.

Cecelia Ahern wrote her first novel, PS. I Love You when she was twenty-one. It was published in 2004, the number 1 bestseller in Ireland for 19 weeks and sold in over forty countries. The book was adapted as a motion picture directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler and released in 2007 in the United States.

Her second book, Where Rainbows End (US title: Love, Rosie or Rosie Dunne) won the German CORINE Award in 2005. She contributed with short stories to charity books and is also the co-creator and producer of the ABC comedy Samantha Who?.

Her other works include If You Could See Me Now (US title: A Silver Lining), A Place Called Here (US title: There's No Place Like Here) Thanks for the Memories (US title: Desire Lines) The Gift The Book of Tomorrow.

See Her Socially:  Web / Twitter / Goodreads