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More Than Just a Pretty Face
by Syed M. Masood
Danyal Jilanli is a pretty boy and underachiever who dreams of opening his own restaurant and marrying his best friends’s beautiful twin sister. When he is entered into his school’s Renaissance Man competition, Danyal enlists the help of Bisma, a failed arranged marriage prospect, to prove himself to his family and crush that he’s ~more than just a pretty face~
I enjoyed Danyal as a main character. He’s goofy and doesn’t take anything too seriously. He’s consistently called dumb and incompetent by everyone around him, but he was a line cook at a rather prestigious restaurant, clearly proving he was determined to chase his dreams. I loved Bisma as a love interest. She was kind, thoughtful, complex, and big old nerd.
My favorite part was Danyal’s Renaissance Man presentation where he goes for the jugular on Winston Churchill despite everyone telling him to just write a paper praising the man. Instead, he opts to give an honest portrait of Churchill as a tool of British colonialism and it’s negative effects on India and Pakistan. Let’s go!!!!
This book struggles to find its footing until about 40% in. The plot waffles around and seems unsure where to go. We’re told all about Danyal’s feelings but never really shown how much he’s grown to care for Bisma. I love that this is #ownvoices about a Pakistani Muslim boy, but a couple own voice reviewers on Goodreads wrote about their concern with how Masood portrayed Islam and the purposes of arranged marriages - remember it’s always good to read own voice reviews!
In the past, one character is non-consensually filmed during sex, and the book does not handle it well. I understand conservative Muslim communities would struggle with this, but as the book is intended for a teen audience it’s disheartening to read so much slut-shaming. Danyal is adamant it doesn’t matter, but that’s not enough. What happened was a crime, and the book needs to pushback more against any other thought.
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown For Young Readers Books for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review. This book is out on August 4, 2020!
I enjoyed Danyal as a main character. He’s goofy and doesn’t take anything too seriously. He’s consistently called dumb and incompetent by everyone around him, but he was a line cook at a rather prestigious restaurant, clearly proving he was determined to chase his dreams. I loved Bisma as a love interest. She was kind, thoughtful, complex, and big old nerd.
My favorite part was Danyal’s Renaissance Man presentation where he goes for the jugular on Winston Churchill despite everyone telling him to just write a paper praising the man. Instead, he opts to give an honest portrait of Churchill as a tool of British colonialism and it’s negative effects on India and Pakistan. Let’s go!!!!
This book struggles to find its footing until about 40% in. The plot waffles around and seems unsure where to go. We’re told all about Danyal’s feelings but never really shown how much he’s grown to care for Bisma. I love that this is #ownvoices about a Pakistani Muslim boy, but a couple own voice reviewers on Goodreads wrote about their concern with how Masood portrayed Islam and the purposes of arranged marriages - remember it’s always good to read own voice reviews!
In the past, one character is non-consensually filmed during sex, and the book does not handle it well. I understand conservative Muslim communities would struggle with this, but as the book is intended for a teen audience it’s disheartening to read so much slut-shaming. Danyal is adamant it doesn’t matter, but that’s not enough. What happened was a crime, and the book needs to pushback more against any other thought.
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown For Young Readers Books for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review. This book is out on August 4, 2020!