Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan

Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel

by Sara Farizan

"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.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

4 of 5 stars

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Rating: 3.5 stars

I really loved Leila and her personal struggle came across as very honest. She was just trying to figure out who she was, and worried about disappointing her parents or being cut off by her parents. I was really happy with the way Farizan handled her family situation. Leila's mother was a star, and I loved her to pieces. I also liked how supportive her sister, her teacher, and friends were. I like being surprised in good ways. To be honest, I could have done without Saskia. Sort of hated her, which I believe was the intention, and also not sure what she really had to offer as far as the overall story. Once the real romance began, I was extremely happy. There was sort of a grandish type gesture to reveal the feelings, and then there was just a ton of honesty that added to the awww-sweet quotient.

Overall: A very enjoyable coming of age/coming out story, which was punctuated with a heartwarming romance.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 3 October, 2017: Finished reading
  • 3 October, 2017: Reviewed