Pushing Perfect by Michelle Falkoff (review)

When Kara develops papulopustular acne, her life becomes an exercise in hiding from her peers. Self-conscious and never seen without makeup, she lies to and loses her two best friends and throws herself into schoolwork, determined to parlay her self-imposed isolation into dreams of escaping her high-powered, failure-phobic parents by going to Harvard. Unfortunately, panic attacks threaten to derail her plans by preventing her from finishing the SAT. When a new friend, Alex, suggests a drug that helps her stay focused and alert during marathon online poker games, Kara decides to take the risk. Alex introduces Kara to a whole new crowd, but they soon find out that one thing that binds them together is an anonymous blackmailer who threatens to reveal all their secrets unless they procure more of the drug and launder money from its sale. The blackmail is suspenseful and the mystery is enjoyable, and Kara’s anger at her parents is solidly grounded. However, the novel glides over the issues it raises, including the facts that Kara’s use of an illegally obtained drug has the desired effects and that Alex’s online gambling is clearly an addiction. The book therefore suggests that teens can successfully manage, control, and hide risky behaviors that lead adults into lives of crime and consequence; it’s a questionable moral, but it’s one that YA readers may slyly enjoy.