Dr. Eugene Brown was a top Ophthalmologist, (eye surgeon), and had been headhunted by the Archers to fix the problem. Eugene moved to Perfect with his wife Rose, and ten year old daughter Violet. Sure enough the next day all three went blind and needed the special glasses to be able to see again. A Place Called Perfect was my first book. It was published in August 2017 and was a Waterstones Book of the Month. It won numerous awards including Crimefest Children's Book of the Year and was nominated for the Irish Book Awards and Waterstones Children's Prize. Edward and George Archer have built this perfect town, but not all the citizens conform and do not become perfect citizens. Violet is one of those citizens and very soon Mrs Moody, the school teacher diagnoses Violet as having IDDCS (Irritable Dysfunctional Disobedient Child Syndrome) and Violet is placed on medication. However, Violet only pretends to swallow the pills because she does not want to be perfect. When Violet starts in her new school, something seems odd to her. A lot of things acutally. Because everything and everyone in Perfect is, well, perfect. Soon enough, mysteries start piling up and one day she meets Boy, who lives in quite a different part of town.

Violet is a spunky and fun character, and I loved seeing her character arc progress throughout the book. She went through quite the time, what with seeing her parents change into people she could barely recognize under her own eyes and all. Boy had a significant role throughout the book- I do wish his character had more in terms of growth, but together he and Violet were a, well, perfect pair. They were both extremely realistic and quirky and quite fun to be with throughout the course of the story. The evil twin Archer brothers are quite very menacing and their plans for Perfect were quite very appalling- they were honestly brilliantly evil villains!

Throughout all this there's a serious message to be found too. The book makes us think how we may be unwittingly made to fit a "perfect" mould, and how we may be oblivious to it all, content with following the majority without any questioning. Helena has weaved a vivid tale about Violet, a new girl in a town call Perfect. Everyone wears rose-tinted glasses to stop going blind and promptly lose themselves in being perfect – including Violet’s mum. Her father, an opthalmologist (eye surgeon) is employed by the controlling Archer brothers who run Perfect and manufacture a rather intoxicating tea that perfectionists drink like water. When Violet’s father disappears, she uncovers the truth about Perfect with Boy, who comes from No-Man’s-Land where the rejects of Perfect live.

Or are you considering it, after reading this review? Let me know in the comments if you’re into magical tween fiction too! Violet discovers that Bungalow, one of the Watchers that she can now see, goes into people's houses at night after the curfew, collecting imaginations from the rose coloured glasses and transferring them to jars in the Archers Optical Emporium. Violet from following Bungalow, sees that the jars glow. One jar has her name written on it and says 'processing'. The town of Perfect was run by the Archer Twins, George and Edward. Just like the place name, everything was perfect, except for one thing, all the residents went blind not long after arriving and needed special pink rimmed/rose tinted glasses to be able to see again. This is not all. There is dark magic and some creepy macabre elements. There are scary plotting villains. So all in all, this book has everything that makes a magical story and I sort of loved it. This book is perfect for Children, young adults and even adults. It's just too alluring and tempting with an enticing storyline. All of these thoughts mashed together, produced Perfect...its streets and people, No Mans Land and its oddities, The Ghost Estate and it's dark corners, Violet and Boy, Edward and George Archer and their estranged and rebellious brother William, Iris and Macula and their inner strength, The Watchers, The Reimaginator, The Tea, The Orphans, The Eyes, The Graveyard and all the things in between...With echoes of Roald Dahl, Neil Gaiman's Coraline, the Wizard of Oz and the films of Tim Burton, this is a charming, whimsical tale sure to appeal to those who enjoy quirky, imaginative stories. Whilst the adult characters go blindly about their daily perfect lives it is left to the children to seek the truth of the matter and discover what the fiendish Archers are planning. I loved the interaction between Boy and Violet. They made a good duo. Bouncing off ideas, helping and saving each other. Plus their jokes and snark had me in stitches. :P Violet was a little girl with a big imagination, but even she knew she wasn’t imagining that something was wrong in Perfect, especially when her father went missing and her mother didn’t seem to care.

A Place Called Perfect is an impressive debut. Looking forward to sharing this with my own children and to reading more from Helena Duggan. One of the biggest charm points would be the fact that this takes place in a time without cellphones, with wifi/internet. There is one mention of a game console, but that is it. I just adore it when an author writes a book without the modern conveniences. The characters have to really rely on wit, bravery, brains. They can't just google their way out of here. Oh no. And I love that. It really brings out the characters and shows just how great they are. Helena Duggan is a graphic designer based in Kilkenny and this is her debut novel aimed at readers age 9+ although it would be equally enjoyed by adults who enjoy magical tales. There may be a few things I missed, but I think I got most of the things I wanted to say in my review. The dialogue, as mentioned earlier, contained a few sexist remarks. This unfortunately was a big turn-off for me.The synopsis was said to be a book fans of Roald Dahl would like. I’m happy to report that this pitch is quite accurate! However, it did miss the mark for me in some places. I am from Kilkenny, a medieval, haunted city in the south of Ireland, which was the inspiration for the town in A Place Called Perfect. I write stories full of adventure because I get bored really easily. Violet was a wonderful character, though at times a bit too impulsive, and also a bit selfish (though I do get why she acted like that, I would probably have done the same if I was her age + it was my dad). But most of the time I just liked her a whole lot. She had a giant imagination, and she was also the one with the biggest plans. She never gave up, even when everything seemed hopeless. I cried along with her when her mom totally changed. The series is a bestselling series has sold over 230,000 copies in the UK and counting and is published in 13 languages to date. Perfect has also been optioned for an animated TV series by Jellyfish Productions.