It was a bit hard to get into at first, but I loved the family, the culture, and the friendships in this book! It felt authentic and it was so, so incredible to read it!

Characters
Lulu is a brilliant young woman, growing up in a mixed culture household and not knowing where she truly belongs or its impact it has on her identity. That’s all before we even get onto the fact that she’s a teenager in high school and dealing with the social etiquette of that too.
I love her fire and loyalty. She’s honest and uncompromising with her views; it gives you a good basis for the plot to revolve around.
James is a curious individual who isn’t overly likeable at first, but as Lulu gets to know him, you’ll be forgiven for having a change of heart.
Plot
It’s Easy A meets Heathers, by way of Mean Girls. You get an understanding of teen life, before Lulu’s life is turned upside down. It causes her to confront aspects of her life that she has always questioned; enabling her to understand herself a little better before the status quo is finally reached.
You don’t leave Lulu’s perspective, so her friend’s views are given to us through Lulu’s perspective or second hand news. It gives you an interesting view of what Lulu thinks of herself and others.
Writing
The writing is crisp, clean and emotional; you can clearly feel the torment of a person caught between two cultures. It is perfect for anyone wanting to understand what it feels like to almost have your very existence questioned.

Leila (Lulu) Saad is a Muslim teenager struggling to find her place in her various communities. With an Iraqi father and a white mother, Lulu feels as though she doesn't quite fit in at school--where she is the only one of her friends who fasts during Ramadan--or with her extended Muslim family. She's also experiencing some drama in her friend group, spurred on by privileged, aggressive boys who take without asking.

This novel offers sharp insight into the life of Muslim and mixed-race teens. With confidence, exuberance, and a sharp tongue, Lulu stands up for herself, makes poor decisions, and learns to correct her mistakes. She is realistically flawed, complex, and deeply human. The prejudice and abuse Lulu faces from others is balanced by the typically YA friendship and relationship drama throughout, with the core of the story being Lulu's friendships.

A unique and observant voice that offers valuable insight and no shortage of snort-laughs to the reader.

Five stars, what an excellent read. If I'm not mistaken, it's #OwnVoices too, which is even better.

"Not the Girls You're Looking For" by Aminah Mae Safi is an important book written at the perfect time. Written from the perspective of a Muslim-American girl growing up in the southern United States, it explores various issues that have haunted our country for nearly two decades and are only getting worse under the current administration while also tackling hot-button issues such as feminism and consent. This book should be required reading for every high school and is an integral part of the ongoing conversation that we are having, not only about women's rights, but human rights. 5/5 stars.

So clearly I'm in the minority so far, but this book was like a 2.75/3 stars for me.

First off, what I did like:
1) Yay, a Muslim main character! Well, a 16 year old high school girl who just happens to be Muslim and fasting for Ramadan.
2) The culturally blended family! Lulu's mom is white and southern, and I love the way that she... seemingly gracefully and like a normal human person... takes on and supports the culture of her husband's family, even though she's not fully included
3) The MC who feels in between - never fully American and never fully part of her father's culture either
4) The Arabic. There's the actual text of Muslim prayers in Arabic written out, and short explanations family traditions that have been syncretized. There's also a lot of greeting and small discussions in Arabic, which are only partially translated (a good thing).

In terms of diversity and representation, this book was a total win. It was subtle - it wasn't like some other books, where the author/MC is like hey, here's a book about the challenges of being a Muslim teenager. This was a book about a very believable teenager who happened to be Muslim, so many of the background details of her life were influenced by that fact.

Anyway, what I didn't like as much: I was bored. For more than 3/4 of the book. It was just too much teenage angst and friendship complication for me. I really liked the first 10% and the last 10%, but the middle... I found myself skimming and wishing it were over. I usually love YA, but this was more... teenagery... than I am used to. So it wasn't for me. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to someone who was actually in high school, though.

**This review is scheduled for publication on June 5, 2018
From the publisher:

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 realizes. 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.

My thoughts:

I got to about 12% of this book and thought I just could not stomach any more of Lulu Saad. I realize now that maybe this cover threw me off because she acts much younger than she should as a junior in high school and the cover makes it seem like she is a junior in college. The character was just too immature and I could not stand her "voice."

However, I am glad I stuck it out. Like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, this is a no apologies chick book that will appeal to girls from middle school on. The fact that the main character is half Arabic/Muslim, half white and all American with a trio of friends that are not culturally similar to each other is a perk. It definitely makes the dynamic more interesting, especially in the fact that this story does not highlight or glamorize their differences. The problems are universal problems about growing up and growing apart, as well as what it takes to hold friendships together. Finally, although place does not play as strong a part in this book as it could, the fact that it takes place in Texas lends a little context to what is going on in the story.

This DAC was supplied by the publisher and Net Galley for an honest review.