Flawed - Book Review

Flawed by Cecelia Ahern being one of my all time favourites I thought it would be a good choice to break the one year long silence in the blog. This is the first dystopian novel I have read and the first Young Adult novel written by the author. Regardless the stacks of new books that I have waiting to be read I read this book twice within a year’s time and that itself is a proof how great a read I find it is.

Celestine North, the protagonist is a girl of definitions and logic. Her boyfriend Art finds her perfect which means the world to her. Just few months away from turning 18 years, she lives a happy and comfortable life any average 17 year old might live. She is no leader and is someone who always try to fit in, but one day she takes a decision which costs her everybody and everything she cherish. Just one move and her life turns upside down and us readers are taken on a journey through her new life full of hurt and never ending battles.

The story is set up on a dystopian world where the government has implied a system to punish the people who are ethically wrong. People’s mistakes are traced and judged by the authority called as “the Guild” and the accused are branded as “Flawed” which would make them live a life full of sufferings till their last breath. Guild’s vision is to cleanse the population from committing ethically wrong acts and to make great example to the rest of the society so everyone would be scared to make mistakes. Would such plan really will be effective as the government expect? Couldn’t there be any flaws in the very system of branding the Flawed? The story ignites a great debate over the makeshift system and the practicality or the humanity in it.

As usual, Cecelia has penned down another masterpiece. I really admire her skills of storytelling with such depth of emotions. It was a real tear jerker for me. Character building of Celestine was quite meticulous. The overnight changes of her life was presented so smoothly and detailed giving the reader ample space to get into the character and feel it for themselves. One has to be quite insensitive to not to weep over the misery the protagonist goes through. The story make us realize that it takes only a moment for our lives to collapse, how uncertain our joys and life could be and how cruel people among our friends would turn out. It teaches us not to trust others easily but to trust ourselves more. All in all its a book which will stir your emotions as well as your thoughts and make you wonder about life.

Compared to the other works of the author I noticed a slight difference with her writing style in Flawed. It was more simple and direct and felt truly as a narration from a young girl who see the world through logic and definitions. It's amazing how the story could create such great impact on the reader’s emotions with that kind of lucid writing style.

The only flaw in Flawed is that it just stops in midway of the story which will continue in its sequel “Perfect”. One years wait was quite agonizing for it was truly a gripping read and I would say that all its new readers are lucky because the sequel is available now to be read in one go. I would give the story 5 stars and recommend it to anyone who would like to read a dystopian novel. Though it's labelled as YA it sure will be quite insightful for all the adults.

Ending the note with one of the favourite quotes I found in the book.

“I’ve learned that to be courageous is to feel fear within, every step of the way. Courage does not take over, it fights and struggles through every word you say and every step you take. It’s a battle or a dance as to whether to let it pervade. It takes courage to overcome, but it takes extreme fear to be courageous.”