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 in which 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.
… FLAWED.
In her breathtaking young adult debut, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society in which obedience is paramount and rebellion is punished. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.
more
(SPOILER ALERT) So yes, I bought this today…and finished it today…oops. Not really sorry though, because it was a great book. I am definitely looking forward to the next one, and will be getting it as soon as possible when it comes out.
Anyways, onto the plot. The main character (Celestine) lives in a “perfect” world with “perfect” people. Those who are deemed imperfect are branded and marked “flawed” (see the F on the front cover). This brand outcasts them from everything socially, and there even different societal rules regarding the “flawed.” Anyways, like most other drama producing books, the novel wouldn’t be complete without the main character getting into some sort of trouble. So Celestine makes some choices that could end up where she is potentially marked “flawed.” Surprise surprise, she is marked flawed and has to deal with the repercussions of the branding both physically and emotionally, while getting to the bottom of the underlying plot in which Judge Crevan has turned from a friend and father of her boyfriend into a deranged man who had given her a sixth brand on her spine (without anesthetic, ouch!). Don’t want to spoil it all, but just get to reading this book if you haven’t already, it is pretty good…and then you can join me on my wait for the release of the next book!
This book was frightening in light of what is currently happening in society today. People are judgmental, quick to blame others for their shortcomings and eager to believe everything that is on social media. In this book, the Guild is responsible for branding and punishing anyone found to be flawed. The Guild decides if someone acted irresponsibly against society and if so, that person is found to be flawed, and branded so that everyone knows. It is scary to imagine that this could happen. A wonderful book which left me thinking about it after I read it. I have the sequel as an advance copy and am anxious to read it.
A futuristic novel that is the perfect read for this day in age. In this perfect world, anyone can be determined Flawed if their decisions or actions threaten their society. But what is the real threat? Find out in this haunting, easy to read duology.
Some books keep your eyes fixed on them right from the first word, or chapter for that matter. Flawed, is one of them.
There is only one word to describe this book: incredible. True to form, Cecelia Ahern has produced another masterpiece in a way that only she can. It’s so well written you are placed in the story and feel everything that it happening to the protagonist. Amazing story, amazing writer, and as always an original theme. A must read for anybody, and a story that carries an incredibly important message: nobody is perfect.
Great lines
Loved the book! Just finished reading!
I loved this series of books! One of my favourite books!
For the Audible version: This book provided perfect (dare I say “flawless”?) narration by Aysha Kala, but with one glaring exception: she pronounced mischievous as “mis-chee-vee-ous”. No one’s perfect, but that was a fairly easy one for a producer to catch, no?
Flawed is an intense novel with a strong pace and startlingly abrupt ending. It’s the kind of story that is uncomfortable and frustrating to experience, even during the best of chapters. In me, it elicited a range of emotions I didn’t necessarily want to feel, but I was brought to them effectively, even stylishly.
I’d recommend Flawed for those who enjoy dark YA dystopian series like Pure, Uglies, and Hunger Games.
Flawed has an interesting premis, and Ahern’s writing was good, but I can’t say the book really thrilled me. With each character that was introduced I could say, “Here is the roll they will play.” As the story progressed, I kept waiting for something surprising to happen, but it never did. Celestine, the protagonist, flows along with the story without ever taking conscious action. She claims to be a very logical person, but she doesn’t think anything through. More like, she’s good at coming up with rationalizations.
I also found it odd that, while the flawed justice system is central to their society, real law enforcement never takes place. Crimes, which seem to carry a lighter sentence than harmless actions stemming from what is deemed poor judgment, are never really addressed.
I think, for the book to rise to the next level, Celestine would need to develope some real character and actually (intentionally) push back against her environment. Hopefully she will in the sequel.
The book is a fantastic, quick read, despite the headline of my review. I am a slow reader and I burned through the pages of this book quickly, which also says something about how well Cecelia Ahern plotted the story. I finished it quickly and already have the second book ready to crack open tomorrow.
So what’s so flawed about Flawed? Read my full review to find out: https://www.stargreyfantasy.com/flawed-is-not-flawless/
I was dying to read this book and it was one my most anticipated reads of 2016.
Cecelia Ahern is pure genius for creating an unbelievable world and a nonpolitical system that motivates its citizens actions. My mouth literally hung open with disbelief at the way these people lived their lives and how they treated others. It was damn awesome and sad all at the same time.
I won’t go into detail about the world because it is so much better to learn about it as you go. But I will say that the society came up with the Flawed system to get rid of the greed for power and money that consumed the world in the past, as a way to make sure that never happened they decided to punish people who committed acts against society by branding with like pigs with a red F for Flawed on different parts of their body. It can be their tongue, temple, hand, sole of the foot, or chest so that others can see their crimes(sorta like a scarlet letter) and are shunned by society, those who see themselves as “perfect.”But with the nature of some, people want power regardless and Celestine gets swept up in the middle of it when she helps a Flawed man, something you are not supposed to do. This sparks a rebellion long in the making.
I liked the story a lot. I feel that this series has a lot of potential to be great. I will say that I felt that there wasn’t enough of the story being told because I was left with lots of questions and felt that the Judge Crevan should have played a bigger role in the middle. I also was disappointed we don’t get to see more of Carrick, I was definitely looking forward to that. The book also ends so abruptly that I was just confused. There was inkling that more was to come or what we could expect next for Celestine. But being as this is the first book, I am still excited to see what happens next.