Tell Me How You Really Feel is a queer love story that I’ve been DYING to read! Lately I’ve struggled to find queer love stories that tick all my boxes. Too often the characters don’t feel like real people. Are they real people with personalities and interests beyond their queerness? Is the plot completely driven by their queerness? This story was fantastic did a great job of showing you two girls and their story.
Summary from Goodreads:
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.
Tell Me How You Really Feel was an adorable, quick read. As someone who just moved to LA county, it was engaging to read a love story that was set there. I was able to visualize the setting as well as develop a fondness for an area that I had only recently experienced. The author pulled from a variety of settings to support the threads of the story. She also did an excellent job of subverting some tropes that could’ve been problematic. For example, the subplot of Rachel’s movie does a great job of demonstrating Rachel’s change in perspective, that Sana is not the bitchy, popular girl.
Both of the characters were fantastic to watch as they grew. Sana was easier for me to connect with, because even though I don’t have the familiar pressure that she does, I often have similar thoughts. Rachel was so prickly and though I didn’t relate to her as much, she was easy to root for. I also appreciated the nod to each of their religious backgrounds and experiences. Aminah Mae Safi effortlessly blended their religion, sexuality, culture, and more, to create realistic and relatable characters.
I appreciated this book for so many reasons. If this had been a straight love story, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly so much. However, queer love stories deserve to have their chance at enjoying all of the tropes. These types of stories are still not widely told and they deserve to be. I want to read more and I will pay to read more to support them. I especially appreciated that not only was it queer but the cast was diverse. Will definitely be reading more from this author. I rated it 4 out of 5 stars, simply because the ending was a bit expected, but this in no way lowers my desire to recommend it.