Predictions for Different Characters' Futures in "Perfect" by Ellen Hopkins

          The book "Perfect" by Ellen Hopkins is a book written in verse about four teens, Cara, Kendra, Sean, and Andre, all of whom have new experiences such as questioning sexuality, family problems, love, alcohol and drugs, self-image, and more. These four teens all have some sort of connection; whether it's dating, family, or friends, they seem to have some sensible reason for possibly bumping into each other at any moment. In the future, the character Cara will get closer and closer with Dani very quickly, but then she will have trouble keeping it from her parents as well as Sean. The character Kendra will either a) go visit Connor in Aspen Springs, and/or b) she will drop out or purposefully screw up during one of her pageants. The character Sean will, after finding out about Cara and Dani, throw himself into working out, because that's also what he did after his dad died. The character Andre will somehow be faced with the decision of Jenna or dance, and he will pick Jenna, even though dance is the smarter choice because he's worked so hard at it.

          Each of the characters will do different things or make different choices in the future, and this is why. Cara will get close fast with Dani, but then have trouble keeping it from Sean and her parents, because it is most certainly not what her parents or even Sean expect from her. For example, in the book, Cara says, "I don't say that falling in love with a girl doesn't fit well in my master plan." She is proving that not only is this something that doesn't go with the rest of her lifestyle, but she's saying something that makes it more likely for her to not tell anyone, especially Sean or her parents. Kendra is either going to 1) visit Connor in Aspen Springs, and/or 2) drop out or screw up on purpose while in one of her pageants. This is because 1) no matter how much she denies it she is still in love with Connor. For example, in the book, Kendra says, "I think about Connor all the way home.". She also may drop out or purposefully screw up during one of her pageants, because she is sort of sick of and fed up with the whole business. For example, after being asked by her mother if she still likes pageants, Kendra also says, "Does she want the truth? Do I want to give it to her?". This proves that Kendra is most definitely thinking that she isn't as into pageants as she used to be; all the more reason for her to drop out or purposefully screw up. For Sean, as soon as he finds out about Cara and Dani, he's going to get extremely angry and only focus on his working out. This is because he obviously isn't great about expressing emotions, so he puts it all into constant weight-lifting and body-building. For example, Sean says, "Focused completely on the gain. It can't happen overnight. It takes hours every single day...". Although this doesn't prove much about him pushing down his emotions, Sean is saying "focused completely on the gain" meaning not focused about anything else, especially not his feelings. Finally, Andre is going to somehow be faced with the decision of Jenna or dance, and he will pick Jenna, although that isn't the right decision, considering how much work he put into dance. This is because, when Andre says, "...the girl I can't seem to get off my mind.", he is talking about Jenna. Coincidentally, he is in dance class when he says that, and actually starts messing up the routine a little because he's thinking about purely Jenna.

          I believe that these characters will do these things or make these decisions in their futures for 

the reasons above. Although I do realize that these predictions are mostly negative, there is a certain 

reasoning for that. That reasoning is that Ellen Hopkins seems to like to give characters a shocking, 

negative spin that makes the reader only hope for the best. I know this also from reading two of her 

other books, "Burned" and "Impulse", and because of the way she set the characters up in the 

beginning. Cara started as the perfect girl who got perfect grades and a perfect personality and a 

perfect look, so obviously that has to crumble at some point. Kendra started as an anxious beauty 

queen who still couldn't get over her ex-boyfriend, of whom is currently in rehab (Connor).  Sean 

started as a body-building obsessed, sports lover who is the all-star jock at his school, dating the all-

star girl (Cara). Andre started as a well-raised, spiritual kid who hides his true dreams from his 

parents, because he fears they won't approve, which they most likely won't. All of these first 

impressions are practically set up for destruction in some sort of way; now it's just about finding out 

in what way they'll get destroyed.