Review- Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan

Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel on Goodreads

BOOK 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.

Release date: October 7th, 2014

Published by: Algonquin Young Readers

Page numbers: 304

REVIEW:

The premise of Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel sounded very promising and interesting. Luckily, it ended up being just like that, as well. While the book mainly dealt with the traumas of a lesbian from an Iranian family, it wasn't just a rant session or an almost autobiographical text, because the story in itself had so much going on that it ended up being more of a family/ school drama, which was so very adorable. 

Leila has always been into girls, but coming from a country where people are hanged for not abiding by society's self-made rules, she is afraid if coming out to anyone, let alone her family. The Azadi family was portrayed so well by the author that they seemed just like any normal family one would come across. It's always great to see importance given to family in YA novels, and this wasn't any exception. From the family scenes described in the book to the relationship Leila has with each of them to the way they all react to her sexuality, everything was well done and spot on. 

Leila isn't a wallflower or anything, but she isn't the queen of her school either. Her life is going just about fine until Saskia walks into it. From the very beginning, there was something so off about Saskia and she just seemed so wrong, but for the avoidance of spoilers, let's just say that everything turns out really well. Leila's other friends from school, like her family, were portrayed in a very realistic and cool manner. The fact that the story revolved around a school play (again, something so lovely about YA!) was just perfect. 

Overall, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel wasn't very unique or anything, but it was such an adorable read that had a bit of everything you'd look for in a YA novel in it. To top it all of, it is a very quick and easy read, thanks to author Sara Farizan's simple writing and intriguing story-telling. A thoroughly enjoyable read, this one is definitely the cutest and least- by no means do I mean to sound rude or offend anyone by using the following word- dramatic book about a lesbian that I have read. 

Buy the book: AMAZON

Review- Dirty London by Kelley York

Goodreads Summary:

All London Noble wanted out of her senior year of high school was anonymity. The complete opposite of Jasmine, her emotionally unstable baby sister, London has worked hard to stay out of the spotlight.

Then she discovers that Wade, one of the most popular guys in school, is gay like her and their new-found closeness based around their shared secret has half the student body convinced they're hooking up...and a lot of girls aren't happy about it. Now she's been dubbed "Dirty London." Rumors are flying about her inability to keep her clothes on, and London is pretty sure she's developing a crush on the one girl who sees through it all. 

If she could admit why stealing boyfriends is the last thing on her mind—not to mention find out what's going on with Jasmine and her rapidly disappearing psych medications—her life would be a much brighter place. But if her and Wade's truth gets out, and if she doesn't find a way to help her sister, London faces losing a lot more than her obscurity.

REVIEW:

As I write this review, I barely remember the story of Kelley York's Dirty London. I started reading the book with lots of enthusiasm and excitement, but when I got to the second half, my pace somehow slowed down and from then on, I just have a faint idea of what I read. The most important point, however, is that it was not the book, but me. I was way too occupied to give the book my hundred percent. Nevertheless, what I read and remember was simply too good. 

Unlike other Kelley York books that I have read and loved for the sole reason that someone dies in each book, Dirty London is the exact opposite. The author says herself that no death in the book is really "weird" for her. And it was the same for me. I waited, and waited, and waited. But no death came. What did happen in Dirty London, contrary to other Kelley York books, is life. Life happened at the end of it, and life tried to happen throughout it. 

Like I have said before, my memory of what I read is not too the sharpest. But from the strain that I am putting on it, I do remember that London, the protagonist, her sister Jasmine, her mother, her friend Wade and her new found friend and lover Amber really stood out as characters. Even secondary characters were well developed and superbly portrayed. To top it all off, the story revolved around a school play and incidents of abuse hidden underneath all the drama. I found the book to be depressing, yes, but in a very rebellious and strong way. Also, for a F/F romance, the first that I read by Kelley York, the chemistries were auite sizzling. 

Dirty London was a fantastic and fabulous read that I really enjoyed. I only wish I had given it less time to finish and more time to think over. But keeping all that aside, as with any Kelley York book- although not with the same intensity as others- this one rocked too. 

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Review- Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters

Goodreads Summary:

When Alix's charismatic girlfriend, Swanee, dies from sudden cardiac arrest, Alix is overcome with despair. As she searches Swanee's room for mementos of their relationship, she finds Swanee's cell phone, pinging with dozens of texts sent from a mysterious contact, L.T. The most recent text reads: "Please tell me what I did. Please, Swan. Te amo. I love you."

Shocked and betrayed, Alix learns that Swanee has been leading a double life--secretly dating a girl named Liana the entire time she's been with Alix. Alix texts Liana from Swanee's phone, pretending to be Swanee in order to gather information before finally meeting face-to-face to break the news.

Brought together by Swanee's lies, Alix and Liana become closer than they'd thought possible. But Alix is still hiding the truth from Liana. Alix knows what it feels like to be lied to--but will coming clean to Liana mean losing her, too?

REVIEW:

The main reason I was looking forward to Lies My Girlfriend Told Me is because it's a LGBT book. I had no idea what to expect from the book, but what is clear by the end of it is that it was- slightly if not overly- beyond my expectations. I haven't read any Julie Anne Peters book before, and now I can't wait to try more of the author's books. I am absolutely astounded and thrilled by the mystery surrounding this book. Lies My Girlfriend Tole Me begins with the death of Alix's "girlfriend", Swanee. She is devastated with the sudden and out-of-nowhere incident and when she visits Swan's place, something makes her pick up Swan's phone and keep it with her. She even texts another of Swan's playmate as I like to call it from the phone of a dead person. That's when Alix and Liana start developing a bond. They connect over the lies Swan fed them, the miscalculated events she plans and the hippie, almost way too free lifestyle her parents let her lead. 

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me is the first F/F romance that I read. I love LGBT books, but it's usually been more along the lines of GBT for me as yet. That's the reason why I found Lies My Girlfriend Tole Me very amusing. It was a whole new world for me. I must admit that sometimes it got a bit cheesy and overboard for me, but like I said, it was an experience and I liked it. The three main characters in the book, Alix, Liana and Swanee were each different in their own ways. The book goes from Alix's point of view. I wish her character was more developed since she lacked some individuality to me, and I wish she had been at a better place with her family. Once we got a deeper look into the story about her relationship with Swan, I got why she acted the way she did and she realised how least bothered she'd been and she wanted to get back to her usual self which is who, I have no idea. Even though a lot of things seemed off to me at a few times, she shared a nice relationship with her parents and she was more of a made to be caring sister to her little brother Ethan. I found it hard to believe but still loved how her family was cool with Alix being a lesbian. It just made everything easier and it added to making the family a strong unit, which I adore. 

Alex's relationship with Swanee was just not there. It was wrong on all levels, just like Swanee's relationship with Liana. I had a feeling there was more surrounding Swan's death than just a random attack, but as we moved ahead, I realised I was not going to get the answers I was looking for. I just couldn't seem to like Swan. She was just too much for me, and by that, I mean that she was everything a person shouldn't be, at least not in relationship(s). She was quite the charming and interesting person she's made to sound, but we barely get to know much except for the lies she fed herself and others around her. She was too destructive. Her family was also way beyond normal, and not in an acceptable or nice way. Then we have Liana and her relation with Alix. The two had to fall hard individually, but they got back up together and held hands. Liana seemed like a bitch at first, but she was an okay girl. I liked how Alix and Liana found not just a common point to cry over, gossip about and feel bad for each other about, but they each found a friend in one another, but it straightout irritated me when the two went back to the past in the present. 

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me is not solely a romance. It's actually more of a thriller with all the mystery surrounding Swan's death, but unfortunately, it's not much of a mystery. There's an air of intrigue and chilly feels that surround the book and it only adds to the charm of it. Author Julie Anne Peters has written it well. Her writing is pretty good and she has executed her story in a simple fashion. From the first page until the very last, there's no point where the reader might get bored. There is a lot happening, and at times it may seem like one thing happens and then the story jumps on to another thing altogether. I was expecting more mystery and I did not get the answers I was looking for but keeping that aside, Lies My Girlfriend Told Me was a really good read. 

RATING: