In Cambridge, there are rules: Stay polished. Stay loyal. Know your place. Poppy Moore doesn't. As a stay-at-home mum Poppy spends her days navigating school gates, social expectations and the unspoken hierarchies of suburban life. But when her daughter Ruby unexpectedly wins a children's beauty contest, the balance shifts. Friendships fracture. Gossip spreads. And the cracks in Poppy's carefully constructed world begin to show. As pressures mount — from family, from society, and from within — Poppy must decide how far she's willing to bend to belong. Almost Perfect is a sharp, funny and perceptive novel about modern motherhood, loneliness, and the courage it takes to stand your ground.