Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel A Novel

Sara Farizan — 2014

“Both personal and universal, this is a compelling story about high school, family and owning up to who you really are. Farizan is just the voice YA needs right now. Trust me, you'll be glad you listened.” --Sarah Dessen Leila has made it most of the way through Armstead Academy without having a crush on anyone, which is something of a relief. As an Iranian American, she’s different enough; if word got out that she liked girls, life would be twice as hard. But when 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.

Reviews

abbie j@honey_scented

May 1, 2023

i changed my rating for this because in hindsight it had quite a few problematic aspects :/

Ro Grayson@lutecephysics

Aug 31, 2022

I hate this book so much, it made me hate everything I am. This book inspires racism and homophobia in me and I hate it so much. Imagine being so disconnected from your own culture you write a book slamming it down. Fuck this book and fuck this author

allie@libraryofallie

Feb 12, 2022

4 stars. RTC!

ishika 🌷@ishika1916

Jan 25, 2022

the ending seemed so incomplete i don't know i wanted more

Antonia Sonntag @queenofsundays

Nov 29, 2021

3.5 stars

Ariel Himboi@arielhimboi

Oct 19, 2021

A more coherent review to be entered her later. Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel is a feel good book. Not necessarily because it's rainbows and butterflies all the time. Our main character is an awkward lesbian in high school trying to meet her parent's expectations and keep her friendships- mostly, with her ex who still likes her and a new girl she can't stay away from. The story is interesting and I really enjoyed seeing the family dynamics. Leila is a nice MC to read about. I liked that I could relate to her a lot, between wanting to hide herself and please everyone around her, to becoming confident and choosing to be with the people who make her happy. The drama towards the end felt rushed. One minute we had the antagonist that moved the plot and riled up the MC, and the next they were history. I felt like some of it was still unsolved, but still served it's purpose to age the main character. The romance was incredibly cute and I hadn't expected it at all. The friendships were also adorable and realistic and I think the grief felt by side characters was very realistic. The dialogue did not feel awkward or forced at all. This was a nice book to read for fun. I picked it up, expecting less than I got, and was left buzzing with happiness. I recommend this 8/10!