Title: Piper Perish
Author: Kayla Cagan
Publication: March 7, 2017
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genre: YA Fiction
Pages: 416
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
Piper Perish inhales air and exhales art. The sooner she and her best friends can get out of Houston and into art school in New York City, the better. It’s been Piper’s dream her whole life, and now that senior year is halfway over, she’s never felt more ready. But in the final months before graduation, things are weird with her friends and stressful with three different guys, and Piper’s sister’s tyrannical mental state seems to thwart every attempt at happiness for the close-knit Perish family. Piper’s art just might be enough to get her out. But is she brave enough to seize that power, even if it means giving up what she’s always known? Debut author Kayla Cagan breathes new life into fiction in this ridiculously compelling, utterly authentic work featuring interior art from Rookie magazine illustrator Maria Ines Gul. Piper will have readers asking big questions along with her. What is love? What is friendship? What is family? What is home? And who is a person when she’s missing any one of these things?
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
A debut novel by an author always gives me chills because you have no existing knowledge of their writing style and it’s a clean slate to build an opinion on. Piper Perish is the story of Piper (obviously) as she navigates the complicated channels of high school. Not just your regular teenager, Piper is an artist with immense talent and individual style and friends. A plan has come into play for her and her two best friends to go off happily to New York to art school. Unfortunately life doesn’t always work that way and many obstacles jump into Piper’s path.
Piper started out to annoy me. She was a bit needy and honestly let some people around her walk all over her. However, as life goes in the real world, Piper grew up. She started to gain confidence and stood up for herself. She still made some horrible decisions, but she works it out. The truthfulness that Cagan writes about teenage emotions and how senior year really does change a lot in the many lives is so real. While the beginning was a slow pick up, all the drama and suspense this book kept me turning page after page. Aside from the Piper, the supporting characters including her best friends, parents, and random boys all bring the story together and added a little flair. Anyone who loves lots of twists, family drama, tests of friendship, and more then Kayla Cagan’s debut novel Piper Perish is absolutely for you. It can be enjoyed by anyone teenage age and up for a bit of light reading.
Aside from the slow start this book was a great read and I recommend it to anyone.
Pick it up! Highly recommended. Four out of five stars.
Piper Perish by Kayla Cagan is available on March 7, 2017 in bookstores near you, on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Make sure to add it to your Goodreads To Read list and leave feedback for Cagan when you are finished.
