Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi
Published on June 11th, 2019 by Feiwel & Friends
Genre: contemporary romance
Pages: 320
Source: LGBTQReads Patreon
Goodreads
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Sana Khan is a cheerleader and a straight A student. She's the classic (somewhat obnoxious) overachiever determined to win.

Rachel Recht is a wannabe director who's obsesssed with movies and ready to make her own masterpiece. As she's casting her senior film project, she knows she's found the perfect lead - Sana.

There's only one problem. Rachel hates Sana. Rachel was the first girl Sana ever asked out, but Rachel thought it was a cruel prank and has detested Sana ever since.

Told in alternative viewpoints and inspired by classic romantic comedies, this engaging and edgy YA novel follows two strongwilled young women falling for each other despite themselves.

I loved this! I absolutely flew threw it the day I got it. That hardly ever happens anymore but I actually sat down and read this cover to cover while only stopping a few times to pump or eat. I was immediately taken by Sana (though I had a harder time getting to like Rachel) and I couldn't put it down.

This is "inspired by" Gilmore Girls, a what-if kind of story about Rory and Paris. Now, if you haven't seen Gilmore Girls, you absolutely will not notice the GG references, and the story absolutely stands on its own. You do not need former GG knowledge at all. In fact, if you are as familiar with Gilmore Girls as I am, that may even be detrimental to your reading experience. There were moments I had to run over to my group chat and tell them "Wow! This is STRAIGHT out of an episode of GG." Even the dialogue felt similar in some ways, though definitely not the rapid fire banter of Rory and Lorelai. More like the dialogue between Sana and her father. It felt a lot like Rory and Christopher. Of course there were also the family dinners, the paid-for education, the private school, the "family disappointment" mother, the high expectations, and the tense relationship between the two leads. I think the author did a great job of incorporating all these elements while keeping her characters and story as their own thing, if that makes sense.

Like I said, I loved Sana from the drop. She tried to project this Perfect Girl image because of the high expectations set upon her by her family. This is a character type we see a lot of, but there were some things about her I found genuinely unique and relatable. Sana actually enjoyed a lot of the activities and classes she was "forced" to take on her path to becoming a doctor. Yes there was this huge expectation that she would grow up to be a doctor, but she liked it too. I feel like, very often, this kind of character just hates what they're doing, hates having to impress their family, but Sana loves her family, loves what she does--she just wants more freedom. I also related a lot to her relationship with cheerleading and athletics in general, in a way I never have before with athletic characters.

Rachel was a tougher nut to crack. Our first impression of her is not the best one; her opening scene involves being a total control freak and yelling at the younger students around her. She's been hurt really badly in the past by her mother abandoning her family, and that means she has really high, thick walls built up around her. I get that, but that doesn't mean I like a blatantly mean character all the time. She does eventually soften up a bit, and I did love her by the end. I enjoyed watching Sana niggle at the cracks in Rachel's veneer. There's something to be said about the softy/grump relationship type, that's for sure.

One thing this book had going for it that hardly any other books do: I laughed out loud, multiple times. Usually I can just acknowledge a funny moment and move on. At most you'll get a snort. But I was full on cracking up, a lot, while reading this book. It was so great and so much fun to read. I also loved the feminist messages in here; too often stuff like that can feel very heavy handed or over the top, like inserting a Tumblr post right into the book itself. But with Tell Me How You Really Feel the discussions of women in the workplace, particularly Hollywood, and how women are perceived because of their looks, felt organic and natural. I really loved how many powerful women existed in this little book, and all the different ways they were powerful and strong.

I do with the ending had been a little longer. It wrapped up pretty quickly. But then, I say this about all my romance reads. The couple get over the big conflict, and that's a wrap. I always want just a little bit more.

Anyway, if you're looking for a diverse, feminist, adorable, and funny F/F book, this is for you. It's shippy and tropey in ways F/F hasn't been allowed to be for the most part. Everything about the ship from the "meet cute" to the last kiss was excellent. I also think it would make THE BEST movie. Please @ Hollywood!