Fasten your seatbelts, Shmoopers, because there's some fast living going on in Perfect. Cara's first LGBTQ spring break party is full of underage drinking, and her date, Dani, lost her mother to drugs. Kendra's after Sean for steroids because she's heard they'll help her lose weight, plus she's discovered the leftover Percocet in the medicine cabinet. Sean has himself a steroid problem, which leads to a Viagra prescription, and Jenna, even though she's younger than the narrators, can drink them all under the table.
A recurring theme in Hopkins's work is the horrible consequences of drug and alcohol addiction, and Sean and Jenna are the ones who suffer those consequences the most in Perfect. You might consider Kendra as the ultimate addict, though, since she both abuses pills and seems pretty addicted to controlling her weight.
Questions About Drugs and Alcohol
- Why do Sean, Jenna, and Kendra use drugs, but Cara and Andre don't? What's different about the pressure Cara and Andre face?
- Why don't Jenna's parents realize she's getting guys to buy her alcohol? Is she really that good at hiding it?
- Will the guy behind Sean's eyes go away when he stops using steroids?
Chew on This
Kendra suffers from anorexia, which is its own form of addiction. Her eating disorder is just as serious as her sister's drug use, but her parents choose not to address it because her thinness serves a purpose—they stand to make money from her modeling career.
Even though she knows there might be drugs at the spring break party, Cara chooses to go anyway. She's suffered from Sean's drug use, but she's surprisingly trusting of Dani's ability to handle substances. Love can seriously cloud your judgment.