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The Perfectionists is a duology of young-adult novels by American author Sara Shepard, beginning with 2014's inaugural entry of the same name.

The series follows the lives of five high school seniors - Mackenzie Wright, Ava Jalali, Caitlin Martell-Lewis, Julie Redding and Parker Duvall - with nothing in common who discover they all want two things: to be perfect, and they hate the same guy, Nolan Hotchkiss who had done things to hurt each of them. They come up with the perfect plan to kill Nolan, but they thought of it as a joke, but he seems dead in the same way they had planned to kill him. For which they become the main suspects in his death and they must find out who the real culprit is, before they are taken to jail for a crime they did not commit.

The novels explore several serious issues such as bullying, murder, family issues, drug addiction, underage drinking, eating disorders, homosexuality, peer-pressure, infidelity, and mental illness. Like with her "sister saga", Moral ambiguity and the consequences of lying are featured prominently in the series; the girls constantly create their own problems through their unwillingness, to tell the truth about certain events and misdeeds they have done. The novels have frequently appeared on the The New York Times Best Seller list like Pretty Little Liars.

In 2019, a TV series loosely based on the novels began airing on Freeform, but the show was cancelled with one season.

Overview[]

The series only have 2 books, and follows the lives of five high school seniors - Mackenzie Wright, Ava Jalali, Caitlin Martell-Lewis, Julie Redding and Parker Duvall - with nothing in common who discover they all want two things: to be perfect, and they hate the same guy, Nolan Hotchkiss who had done things to hurt each of them. They come up with the perfect plan to kill Nolan, but they thought of it as a joke, but he seems dead in the same way they had planned to kill him. For which they become the main suspects in his death and they must find out who the real culprit is, before they are taken to jail for a crime they did not commit. The real killer of Nolan is Julie Redding.

Book Order[]

Arc 1[]

Characters[]

Although the series features an extensive cast of characters of varying significance, the novels focus predominantly on six main characters:

Ava Jalali[]

Ava never really cared about school and getting good grades, as she was beautiful and knew it, often getting modeling gigs. She often got mediocre grades on tests, but her mother assured her father that Ava was smarter than what her grades said. At some point in high school, her mother died as the result of a drunk driver, which sparked Ava to prove to herself that her mother was right and she was smart. Her father later remarried to Leslie a woman who often abuses Ava, especially when she doesn't do what she wants.

Ava dated and broke-up with Nolan Hotchkiss a year prior to the events of The Perfectionists. After it, Ava’s reputation was ruined long ago by Nolan claiming she’d slept with her teachers. Ava also gained unwanted attention from Mr. Granger because of this, as he has a reputation for being in inappropriate relationships with his students.

Mackenzie Wright[]

Mackenzie had a been a shy, introverted girl in High School that stuck to her music and select-few friends. So, when Nolan Hotchkiss approached her, called her cute, and asked her on a date, she was elated. They went on two dates, and then he requested nude pictures. She trusted him, and took the photos and sent them. Even though most of her body was hidden behind her cello, it was obvious she was naked. Nolan came to her house, tossed her a wad of money, and thanked her for helping him win a bet. She was humiliated and angry, and burned the money in her backyard and has wanted revenge ever since.

Caitlin Martell-Lewis[]

Caitlin was adopted by Sibyl and Mary Ann from Korea shortly after her birth, and was raised by them in Beacon Heights. Later, the couple returned to Seoul to adopt Caitlin's younger brother, Taylor. During this time, Caitlin lived with the Friday's, a family who was friends with her mothers. She became best-friends with Josh and his brother, Jeremy. During High School, her younger brother Taylor died. His death impacted her greatly, and she became obsessed with being the perfect soccer player and student. She strives to earn a soccer scholarship so she can go to a college away from her town. Prior the book, she had badly sprained her ankle which had caused her to be benched for a while, and powered through with therapy and the occasional Oxycontin. She returned to the soccer field four weeks later, hopping to qualify for a big play-off game in two weeks, where winning that was her ticket to an athletic scholarship at the University of Washington, something she’d been working toward her whole life.

Julie Redding[]

Originally portrayed as the popular, friendly Queen Bee, Julie was friends with almost everyone. She disliked Nolan Hotchkiss due to his bullying people but never intervened. She was later shown to be cunning, manipulative, and secretive, able to cover her tracks when she harmed or killed people (as her other personality Parker Duvall). After being placed in a mental institution to receive intense therapy, she was diagnosed officially with multiple personality disorder.

Parker Duvall[]

Parker was stated to be one of the most popular and social girls at school alongside her best friend, Julie Redding. She always had guys after her at all times, and then the incident happened. Parker began dressing in black, stopped socializing and became an outcast. She became the poster child of those who fell short from perfection.

it is revealed that Parker actually died the night that her father beat her. Julie felt terrible about what had happened, believing that she could have prevented Parker's death. Julie created a second personality and that she called Parker, and became her when she thought that an injustice had occurred. Julie committed the murder of Nolan Hotchkiss, Lucas Granger and Ashley Ferguson as "Parker". At the end of the novel, a hallucinated version of Parker is eating Chinese food with Julie, who had escaped the mental institution she was put in.

Nolan Hotchkiss[]

Nolan was the most popular guy at school—handsome, athletic, charming, the head of every committee and club he joined. Nolan's most infamous trait was his power of persuasion and manipulation. According to Caitlin, it is said that if you so much as pass on a party of his, you were off the Beacon Heights A-list. Somehow, he also knew of the many awful secrets everyone hid. He died like the same way as Parker, Ava, Caitlin, Julie, and Mackenzie had planned, forcing them to investigate his death before they take the fall. He was the first victim of the death list. Formerly, he was Parker's best friend and one night, Nolan Hotchkiss' infamous parties, she drank too much and was then given an Oxycodone by Nolan. Knowing that this always angered her father, who always got upset at her if she came home drunk or high, Parker asked Julie if she could stay over at her house for the night. Julie was scared of the retaliation from Parker's father, and instead, drove Parker home. Parker entered the house and found her father drunk in the kitchen. Enraged that Parker was high and drunk, he attacked her and punched her numerous times resulting in ugly scars on her face. Parker became ostracized at school, and her father was sent to jail for assault.

Novels[]

Cover Title Original Release Biological / Chronological Order
ThePerfsBookCover
The Perfectionists October 2, 2014 1 1

Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker are all driven to be perfect—no matter the cost.

At first the girls think they have nothing in common, until they discover that they all hate the same person: handsome womanizer Nolan Hotchkiss, who's done things to hurt each of them.

They come up with the perfect plan to murder Nolan—jokingly, of course. They'd never actually go through with it. But when Nolan turns up dead in the exact way they'd discussed, the girls suddenly become prime suspects in his murder.

Only, they didn't do it.

So who did? Unless they find the real killer, and soon, any one of them may be the next to die….

TheGoodGirlsBookCover
The Good Girls June 2, 2015 2 2

In Beacon Heights, Washington, five perfect girls have done some not-so-perfect things...

High school seniors Mackenzie, Ava, Julie, Parker, and Caitlin have been accused of murder—a murder they didn’t commit. Sure, they talked about killing rich bully Nolan Hotchkiss, but it’s just a coincidence that Nolan died in exactly the way they planned... right?

Except Nolan wasn’t the only enemy they mentioned that day. Each girl named someone else, someone she wished would just... disappear. They never meant for anyone to get hurt, but when someone else on their list dies, the girls wonder: Are they being framed? Or are they about to become the killer’s next targets?

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