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The Miserable Lives of the Perfect Ones is a book by Fort Benton’s very own Emerson Giese. This book was published in December 2022 when Giese was 18. This book is about 4 main characters, not pointed at anyone in the Fort Benton school or surrounding schools.

Emerson Giese was a high school student at Fort Benton high school. She was born on September 23, 2004 which made her 18 when she published the book. This book was her debut novel, when she was not reading or writing, she was busy attending school, or participating in sports and other extracurricular activities.

This book is about four senior students that got put on a list. Veronica Gray was the first on the list along with Elle Hope, Teddy Crimson, and Jack Livingston. This list is referred to as the perfect ones and it was posted all around the school. They discover that several people didn’t find it complimentary and that they weren’t included on the list. A week after the list was put up, problems began to arise.

Some of the characters experienced family problems due to their poor communication and the list itself generated problems at school with jealousy and hard feelings. Ultimately the four protagonists grew closer as the problems were resolved to a degree. The book was inspirational and could help a young person navigate the tough times in high school. While not a very long book, it was a worthwhile read.

Belt School’s librarian Mrs. Meissner introduced Ms. Giese during career week for her high school reading classes. Giese talked about her processes in writing the book and how she self published the manuscript. She also talked about other distractions that she had including sports and o