Author: Sara Farizan
Expected Publication Date: October 7th, 2014
Summary: High-school junior Leila has made it most of the way through Armstead Academy without having a crush on anyone, which is something of a relief. Her Persian heritage already makes her different from her classmates; if word got out that she liked girls, life would be twice as hard. But when a sophisticated, beautiful new girl, Saskia, shows up, Leila starts to take risks she never thought she would, especially when it looks as if the attraction between them is mutual. Struggling to sort out her growing feelings and Saskia's confusing signals, Leila confides in her old friend, Lisa, and grows closer to her fellow drama tech-crew members, especially Tomas, whose comments about his own sexuality are frank, funny, wise, and sometimes painful. Gradually, Leila begins to see that almost all her classmates are more complicated than they first appear to be, and many are keeping fascinating secrets of their own
**Copy kindly provided by Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.**
Review: Farizan's second novel is a great addition to the growing list of LGBTQ+ YA fiction. Our protagonist Leila, attends a prestigious high school where she is already different because of her Persian heritage - if word got out that she liked girls, life would be twice as hard.
The novel itself was a mostly light, funny, and well written read that never felt stilted or contrived. Farizan does a great job weaving the tale with an equal measure of hopeful, humorous, and heartbreaking moments - at some points, it was enough to bring me to tears.
Leila is a great protagonist and believable teenager with a true-to-life voice. Scenes with her family were some of my favourite of the book. Her parents were not absent, like so many of them are in YA fiction. They felt real and vivid, and I could tell they loved their daughters very much.
The tech trio were some of my favourite characters of the book - I kind of wished we'd got more of them sooner. They were quirky, in a good way, and kind of reminded me of the three fairy godmothers from Sleeping Beauty.
Saskia was a real piece of work. The worst part of her character was that there really are girls like that in real life, and they will play with your heart. I kind of wished we'd gotten more closure on what happened to her, maybe seen some justice getting served... but the sad part is that in reality, the bully often does get away with it, especially if you go to a less-than accepting school and you happen to be part of a minority group.
Leila's coming out scene was painfully real. As I read it, I felt that familiar bubble of nausea in my stomach that seems to be present whenever I have to come out to somebody, whether it be a new friend, or a family member whom I haven't seen in years. It was absolute torture waiting for Leila's mom to tell the rest of the family. I felt so on edge reading through that part of the book, I know how Leila felt.
Overall, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel was a great read that gets bonus points for actually making me shed tears. I read it in one sitting, unable to put it down. It's a step up from the usual selection of YA LGBTQ+ fiction, and stands firm with other releases from this year so far. I'd recommend this book to anyone and everyone - it's well worth the read and Farizan does a great job with it.
Rating: 4/5 stars
★★★★✰
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