The Perfect Girlfriend

March 18, 2019
Elizabeth Juliette Price, the narrator of Hamilton’s fascinating debut set mainly in England, believes that she has found her one true love in commercial pilot Nate Goldsmith, until he tells her he needs space. Not one to be brushed off, she devises a plan to win him back, complete with motivational mantras. She starts using her middle name, Juliette, and begins training as a flight attendant for Nate’s airline. A fresh mantra soon springs to her mind: “If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they’re yours. If they don’t, make them.” She later observes, “It’s true that there is a fine line between love and hate, and I have crossed it.” Because Juliette doesn’t follow the expected norms of behavior, it’s impossible to predict what she’ll do next. In her pursuit of Nate, she ends up committing a crime. But will she get away with it? Hamilton subtly unveils the reasons for Juliette’s obsession, creating moments where the reader feels a surge of sympathy for this original and plucky, yet delusional, protagonist. This page-turner is by turns funny, creepy, surprising, scary, and exhilarating.