Little Imperfections: A Tall Tale of Growing Up Different

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As always, a copy of this book was provided by the author or publisher in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way. Tiny Imperfections is a well-balanced story of love, new chapters of life and moving forward. Readers can expect a great deal of heart, soul, emotions to the highest degree, and several laugh-out-loud moments sprinkled within this novel. Each of these traits tie into the center of the novel and make it all the more compulsively readable-- Tiny Imperfections reads so smoothly you can expect to lose yourself and your day without even realizing it. Peet, your platform explores being the only average-height member of your family. What was that like growing up? At its heart, this book is a story about the Bordelon family, which is comprised of three women from three different generations: Aunt Viv, the matriarch, who has been the Head Cook for over 50 years at Fairchild and who took in a four-year-old Josie when her mother abandoned her, raising her as her own; Josie, Aunt Viv's niece and Etta's mother, who works as the Dean of Admissions at Fairchild, the elite private school that she once attended herself; and Etta, Josie's 17-year-old daughter, who is a senior at Fairchild, one of the best dancers of her age, and currently going through the college admissions process (which causes great stress to her mother). Through Josie's eyes, we see the year unfold and all the drama--both in the family and in the Fairchild admissions process--that that entails. Grand-aunt, mother, daughter relations surrounded with smart humor, genuine and emotional writing and great touch of romance, self-discovery and self-growing vibes.

One of the themes of your book and platform is taking your weaknesses and reforming them as positives. How do you guys take your weaknesses and reframe them as positives, and what impact has that had on your life? One more question, and it' s kind of fun. Peet, you've had experiences with the infamous Cecil hotel, and I was wondering if you both have had any creepy supernatural encounters. Do you guys believe in ghosts or spirits? What' s your take on that, especially with Halloween right around the corner? Peet: Yes, I definitely believe that The Cecil is haunted, only because of the things I've seen from living across the street. Now people actually live there, it's a homeless shelter, which is great, but before anyone was there, the things I would see like curtains moving and windows opening and closing by themselves and doors and figures and dark shadows. It came to the point that I started making videos about it, and people were like, "You're lying because where's the proof?" So I started trying to record the proof, and I started doing live streams, and people were like, "Oh my God, I see it too." I could go on like this forever. Yes, it's creepy, and I live alone, so I get as much garlic and salt and Bibles and whatever else as I can. Climax was great. I was curious to know what will happen after whole drama with Nan and how Etta’s interview will go. I couldn’t place Aunt Viv’s weird behaviour and when the reason was revealed it was surprising. I liked their conversations afterwards and what Aunt Viv had to say about whole thing and it answered everything. I loved end and the way things turned out for Bordelon women at the end. A bit predictable but I’m not cutting star for that as I enjoyed it. Tiny Imperfection was entertaining fiction that revolved around Josie’s life and school admission season. It was about admissions at private school, drama, love, friendship, and at its heart of all it was about Bordelon family.After nearly two weeks of having mediocre reads that are aiming straight for the DNF pile, Tiny Imperfections single-handedly saved the slump I was in! Alli Frank and Asha Youmans create a perfectly dynamic duo and are definitely a team-up of writers you should be looking into-- Tiny Imperfections serves as a perfectly engaging, humorous debut. Alli Frank and Asha Youmans' Tiny Imperfections is a lighthearted romp through the world of private school admissions, with some family drama thrown in for good measure. She grew inside me, developed a heart right underneath mine and sometimes I know what she's feeling before she does. Josie is currently experiencing a role reversal as she navigates the college admissions process with her seventeen-year-old daughter. She raised Etta with the help of her Aunt Viv and there are strong disagreements among the three about the best choices. Josie would like her daughter to avoid the mistakes that she made in her life and is overly involved in the process. Together they must find a balance while allowing Etta the chance to make her own decisions.

I am tired of seeing gay men in books just to be that girly, femme side character that complains about excersize and lusts over every man within a six-foot radius. We. Are. Tired. Montzingo is originally a YouTuber, but became a TikTok star after his videos blew up during the pandemic. Users loved Montzingo's wholesome relationship with his mother, who has dwarfism. Montzingo -- who is the only person of "average height" in his family -- has created popular content about accepting who you are. Looking at media representations of little people -- what do they get right, what do they get wrong? And what do you hope changes in the future? Where do I begin? I suppose I'd like to start out with what I believed were this book's strongest points. The discussion on privilege and class were fascinating, and I thought that they were done with a very humorous but conscious hand. There were a few lines I laughed at and that were genuinely funny, and there were a few characters such as Aunt Viv that I grew to love. Overall, Tiny Imperfections was laugh out loud, feel good, and diverse women’s fiction with great characters and many hilarious scenes. I recommend this to fan of this genre.

Peet: So the bond, especially with my mom, it feels very like "we get it." It feels very natural. Like, growing up, we always had a special kind of bond, and you know I wish I had another word for "mama's boy," but I don't. I just really am a mama's boy. I'm just a lot like her, and so because of that we're able to be on the same wavelength for things. That's why the videos come so easy, and it's always fun when we're together. She sees some things in common with her mother. She was dropped off at Aunt Viv’s when she was four. She left her child with Aunt Viv’s while she chased her career goals. But Etta is growing up now and she just wants the best for her. There’s a problem, though. Etta is smart and she wants her to go to a well accredited college and get a good job. All Etta wants to do is dance. She wants to go to Juilliard. Josie is not happy with that but Aunt Viv is on Etta’s side.

She also has to contend with the parents who are desperate to get their children into the school, particularly a high-maintenance woman with boundary issues, and a pair of husbands she can’t quite figure out. Throw in a manipulative boss and the pressure is mounting! Peet: It truly is way more work than we thought. There's so much more logistical things you have to think about and all these different components. Even with the illustration — the illustrator would make the images and then I'd be like, "Oh, it doesn't feel right. I'm a perfectionist and my creative bone isn't tingling right now. Why is that?" And so I have to dissect it. Josie Bordelon is the director of admissions at the prestigious Fairchild Country Day School in San Francisco. She is gearing up for the next set of applications and her days are filled with eager parents wanting to enroll their children and schedule interviews. Josie is a pro at managing expectations having attended the school herself and is all too familiar with the landscape of the community. Right from the get-go, our main character Josie introduces Roan who is in every sense the overused trope of the gay best friend. Let me make something clear: I know that there are gay men out there who fit certain stereotypes very well. They can be flamboyant and love gossip and fashion, and there is NOTHING wrong with being queer and fitting certain queer stereotypes. What I find issue with is when cisgender straight women write a gay character into their story who is the epitome of every stereotype that ever was, and does not contrast them with a more non-conforming gay man. I hate when straight authors will just plop in a gay character for "diversity points" and fit them nicely into an overused and, frankly harmful, trope. The robustness of a farm girl, the honed sophistication of a city woman, a dash of Jewish chutzpah, and a heaping cup of endurance athlete and voila, you have Alli Frank. Alli was raised in Yakima, WA, the only child of two parents who instilled in her that hard work coupled with a resilient spirit will take you where you want to go. So up some of the highest mountains Alli climbed, down insanely steep terrain she skied and across long swathes of land she ran. To pay for all this adventure, Alli has worked in education for over 20 years in San Francisco and Seattle - from an overcrowded, cacophonous public high school to a pristine private girl's school. She has been a teacher, curriculum leader, coach, college counselor, assistant head, private school co-founder, sometimes pastor, often mayor, and de facto parent therapist. A graduate of Cornell and Stanford Universities, Alli can still be found with her nose deep in a book or hunkered down at the movies, never one to miss a great story. Alli lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband, two daughters and terribly cute mini-Bernedoodle. When she needs good food (cause she can't really cook) she turns to her co-author Asha Youmans.

Customer reviews

Frankly, I thought the gay representation in this story was horrendous. It was painfully, painfully clear that there were no sensitivity readers for this book. What the hell? I seriously question how some of these lines got published. The story is told through the empathic and humorous perspective of Peet Montzingo, the internet sensation who grew up as the only "tall" sibling in a family of little people. Peet often raises awareness for dwarfism with a lighthearted and charming presence, shining a loving light on his family.

Tiny Imperfections folllows Josie Bordelon, the Director of Admissions at an elite San Francisco private school as she ramps up for another application season. This year, Josie is also guiding her own 17 year old daughter, Etta, through the college admission process though the two don’t see eye-to-eye on Etta’s future. Etta also has the support of Aunt Viv, who took Josie and Etta in years ago when Josie returned home as a young single mom after her modeling career ended. It is sweet, fun, soft, entertaining with easily relatable characters, interesting, moving storyline, three generation’s communication problems.Exactly, a lot of this is about self-worth. So what would you say to someone who is still discovering their self-worth and now going on that journey? Peet: My mom was a part of the writing and filming process from beginning to end. We had four long filming days and she was up the earliest and working the longest. I just am so proud of her honestly. Family drama, friendships, helicopter parents, a bad boss, and a hot (yet unavailable) dad are all at play in Tiny Imperfections. This is a lighter story — I thought parts were funny and enjoyed the implied message that while their actions may be questionable, at the end of the day most parents just want (what they think is) the best for their kids. Written mostly in a millennial banter (think Facebook posts and texts by people of a certain age), this story of a kindergarten admissions director during applications season is fun. Although I got a little tired of the cute persona voice, there were times when real emotions came out and I found myself relieved and tuning in. This isn’t an ordinary children’s book. Why did you want to create a video and a book component for this project?