Flawed by Cecelia Ahern was a book I was very interested in when I got sent it. I had previously seen it in book stores and it had really intrigued me, and then since receiving it, I have been so exited to read it. It was an incredibly powerful book that I won't forget for a long time and I absolutely loved it.
The book was about a society where everything has to be perfection. If it's not, it's flawed, forever. There's not only the law but also if you do something wrong which doesn't perform absolute faultlessness, you get marked a flaw, by literally getting a large F burnt into your skin. You have treated specially and unfairly: no luxuries, so many limits, curfews, but worst of all, no one looks at you the same ever again.
Celestine North is an average girl who never likes doing anything wrong, she always goes by the rules and hates to stand out. Then she's found flawed and everything changes. She had the choice to lie and get away with it, or be true and honest to herself, and get branded for life.
It begins with the court case after she helps a flawed dying old man to sit down on the bus. She is told that she should lie and say she wanted him to get off the bus, although she knows in her heart that was not why she helped him sit down, it was only because he was suffering. The first nail-biting event is for her to decide what she should do with the decision, without knowing which one would lead to what event. The decision she takes is so bold and breathtaking, it's where the book really starts to become so intense.
The book goes on to tell the story of what her life is now she's flawed, and what terrors come with it. You go through everything with her and I felt as the reader I really connected with her as a character. At the beginning, I actually wasn't very keen on Celestine, but as the book went on, I went to route for her more than any other character I've known. It was so interesting seeing how the author portrayed her and how she handled the situation she found herself in.
The book had such a powerful message, that it is so wrong to think of yourself as perfection because that is truly impossible. It taught me it is so important to have respect for yourself and for others when you do something that isn't impeccable, and this book really was a clever way of teaching us that this is how society could end up if people thought this way. It also taught me how important forgiveness is. One way a person got flawed is if they themselves helped someone in any way who has flawed themselves. This was awful and displayed how important it is to forgive and forget when someone does something that was a mistake.
I also thought the book was another way of showing discrimination, and how awful it is. People who were flawed were treated like they were so dangerous, disgusting and infectious, which really gave an insight of how capable humans are of actually acting this way towards one and another. The book was written so well and it grabbed me as soon as I'd read the first page and didn't let me go. The vocabluary used was incredible and the way it was written created such suspense and emotion, which made the book all the more epic.
The book had so many twists and turns and I think this is what created it to be so fantastic. I was hooked every page and it was always a mystery to what would happen with each and every character. Furthermore, all the characters were portrayed so well and Cecelia fantastically highlighted what each character own imperfections were, which I thought was really clever and made you connect with them even more.
Celestine soon found it hard to trust anyone in the book, and this really affected me as the reader too. I began to trust no one which also made the book even tenser and both devastating and uplifting.
Ironically, I don't think this book has any flaws! It was written incredibly, the characters were portrayed so well, the plot hooked me from start to finish, and a number of lessons and meanings it had in outstanding me. I think it is an important read for all to understand humanity.
I really recommend all ages to read this book, it is a young adult book but has so much meaning and emotion in it that I think everyone would enjoy it. It has so many lessons which I will not forget in, and the boldness that Celestine had as the book went on inspired me.
Buy it:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/flawed/cecelia-ahern/9780008125127
or
https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008125127/flawed
