Mary Elizabeth Ryan

Mary Ryan is the author of The Trouble with Perfect about a thirteen year old boy named Kyle. This book is at about a 3rd grade reading level, but the content would interest middle and high school students. Kyle belongs to a seemingly perfect family with a mom, dad, and two kids. The trouble is there is no such thing as perfect. Kyle fears his alcoholic father, and feels like he will never be as “perfect” as his all star basketball playing older brother. Kyle is under tremendous pressure to do well in school, not upset his father, be supportive for his mother, and avoid being bullied. Thankfully he has help along the way from his best friend Rowena who encourages him to try out for the school Knowledge Bowl Team with her. Rowena helps Kyle with his math difficulties, and all of a sudden life is starting to look brighter for Kyle. He even gets attention from Celia a long time crush. Unfortunately things make a turn for the worse when Kyle decides to cheat on a test and his dad gets busted for DUI. This story is highly believable and would appeal to young readers. I didn’t really care for the way the story ended due to lack of specific details. Grade 6 and up.… (meer)