Not the Girls You're Looking For by Aminah Mae Safi

Not the Girls You're Looking For

by Aminah Mae Safi

Lulu Saad doesn’t need your advice, thank you very much. She’s got her three best friends, and nothing can stop her from conquering the known world. Sure, for half a minute she thought she’d nearly drowned a cute guy at a party, but he was totally faking it. And fine, yes, she caused a scene during Ramadan. It’s all under control. Ish.

Except maybe this time she’s done a little more damage than she realises. And if Lulu can’t find her way out of this mess soon, she’ll have to do more than repair friendships, family alliances, and wet clothing. She’ll have to go looking for herself.

Debut author Aminah Mae Safi’s honest and smart novel is about how easy it can be to hurt those around you even if - especially if - you love them.

Reviewed by Amber (The Literary Phoenix) on

5 of 5 stars

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I love Lulu and her messy, beautiful life.

This book does not have a twisty plot or a grand reveal, but it's filled with real characters that will grab your heartstrings. I found Lulu so relatable, the way she carries her passion and rage right on the surface. Between her complicated friendships and a faux pas with her family that can never be fully forgiven, Lulu finds herself in deep trouble.

Lulu and her friends all have big personalities. Her brothers are fantastic, her relationship with her parents is interesting and real. And I love the friendship Lulu has with Matt. It's really nice to see a guy and a girl in a book with a platonic friendship, just meeting for beignets after school. The details in this book really bring it to life. From Monty Python and the Holy Grail to a powerful scene where Lulu changes her mind and says "no" in an intimate encounter (LADIES. You CAN change your mind. No means no, no matter what point in the encounter you feel that way), I thought this book was really impressive and relatable and I just plain loved it.

Aminah Mae Safi's writing style works perfectly for me. I like her snap and wit and the flow of her writing, and I'm really looking forward to her next book. Really, the only thing that bothered me personally was the format of the book? Which is actually fine, but the font was a little different than I'm used to? It took a few chapters for me to adjust. But that's how much I liked this - the only thing that I didn't love about it was the font? That's pretty good. :)
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💕❤️💕❤️

I’ll have to write a proper review soon, but in short, here are a few things I loved about this book:

- Lulu’s ability to effortlessly quote movies while making it super lowkey.
- The mess of the four girls and how it reminded me of my high school friendships.
- The fact Lulu actually observes Muslim holidays.
- The Indian wedding!
- Beignets.
- The scene where the brothers and father were watching Ancient Aliens.
- How terrified/fearless Lulu is.
- Her story and her dad’s story about her name.
- Monty Python midnight movie = yes please.

I love this book for everything it was. Proper review to come in the next few days. 💕

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 24 July, 2018: Finished reading
  • 24 July, 2018: Reviewed