This book was fine - light reading for me to read when I'm a little bit sick and not quite ready to read anything with more heft. The author is from Philadelphia and I really enjoy all the local flair in her novels.

This one is about a single Mom of two living in a nice part of town in the months after her husband mysteriously leaves her and the kids. She doesn't want to tell anybody and slowly her resources have dwindled to the point where she's stealing packets of butter and sugar from restaurants and smuggling happy hour food out of bars to feed her kids for dinner.

I mostly enjoyed the novel but was completely unsatisfied with the underlying mystery. ( )

A slow read as we navigate the difficulties of Tabitha’s life. When Tabitha’s husband disappears leaving her no money, no job and two kids to care for, she falls into near homelessness. But even in her time of struggles, when there wasn’t enough food for her family or light bulbs to light her fancy apartment, Tabitha continued to think of others including, donating her husband’s clothes and over tipping workers in jewelry.

Not Perfect highlighted the silent struggles many strangers, or even friends, are dealing with daily. Many are too embarrassed to ask for help, while others yet have no one to ask help from, this book lit a fire inside me to use my own good fortune to help those down on their luck. ( )

While portions of the book were fine, overall this was not the book for me. The protagonist is highly unlikeable, making one bad decision after another. At times I wanted to reach into the book and shake her. Her husband has been gone for months, she is stealing food from restaurant buffets, but still she spends very little time trying to find a job (she doesn’t even have money to pay for lightbulbs so they are almost in the dark in their apartment). Then her daughter is at the hospital for a leg injury, and Tabitha is more worried about taking a phone call from a new guy she is interested in than she is about what is wrong with her daughter (?!?!). Her mother suffered from dementia before she died and whenever Tabitha reflects on their relationship she grumbles about how frustrating and annoying it had been to care for her. As someone personally dealing with that situation myself, I found that galling and beyond unkind and selfish. There was only so much of that I could take after a while. I did finish it because I was so curious where the husband had gone and what his threatening note meant. Sadly, the resolution was not worth the time spent reading the book to the end; it was a letdown to say the least. I realize that not every book appeals to everyone, but this certainly was not the book for me. I would look long and hard at the other Kindle First choices before I picked this one. ( )

My Review of “Not Perfect” by Elizabeth LaBan

What would you do if your husband left after a disagreement, and just seemed to disappear? He is not answering your texts or your frantic telephone calls? Where is he? What is happening? After being so captivated and engrossed in “Not Perfect” by Elizabeth LaBan, these are many of the questions that I am left to think about. The author writes about the emotional pain and journey of Tabitha Brewer and her two children who seem to be abandoned. (emotionally and physically)

The genres for this novel are Fiction, Women’s Fiction, and some mystery is thrown in. I appreciate the way the author tells the layers of the story going back for clues to see why this happened. The author describes the characters as complicated and complex, angry, upset, and determined. I also see some of the characters as being resourceful and courageous. For Tabitha Brewer, who has led what looks like a perfect life, this is embarrassing and humiliating. Tabitha doesn’t want anyone to know that she doesn’t have the money for food, soap, detergent and other common goods. She tries to do the best she can. Tabitha meets some colorful characters along the way as she struggles to try to do what she feels the best is for her family. Can she keep this secret forever?

All Tabitha can remember from the last letter that her husband left for her , he leaves a threatening comment, “I’ll tell them what you did”. Tabitha is not sure what he means or what she did.

Is anyone perfect? The blurb on the book says “a poignant and relatable look at the facades we create in the futile pursuit of perfection.”

I appreciate that the author discusses issues of homelessness, abandonment, health insurance, poverty, food banks, and emotional support. The author writes about the importance of family , friends, forgiveness, love, faith and hope. I would highly recommend this book for lovers of Women’s Fiction. I received an ARC of this book for my honest review. ( )