3.5, rounded up. I'm starting to wonder if Masood is anything like main character Danyal--a funny, somewhat conceited, lighthearted, self-deprecating young man--because he's incredibly similar to one of the protagonists of his other 2020 novel, The Bad Muslim Discount. It's tough to say whether Masood himself believes that poking fun at Islam is the way to really embody it, and I've seen several reviews that have criticized this. I won't speak to this point, but I can see the validity of these critiques.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed getting to know Bisma, the romantic interest; it's always fun to read about a well-rounded, intelligent, nerdy gal. It was also satisfying to read and think about Danyal's exploration of Churchill's treatment of Indians and the whitewashing of colonization.

Not perfect, but overall a decent #ownvoices YA book.

I loved this book. It was diverse and cute, a major win for me. We need more books like this in this world!

Though this was a cute love story, I'm not sure how likely I'll be to purchase it for my library. I enjoyed the main characters, but when I thought about S.K. Ali's brilliant LOVE FROM A TO Z, I had an inkling that MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE didn't quite measure up. Reviews from Muslim readers confirmed my suspicions that the Muslim rep wasn't quite as strong as they had hoped it would be from an own voices author. I've been looking for more books that portray Muslim teens both positively and authentically, and this book didn't necessarily measure up in that regard. Not only did it combine or mix up certain Islamic practices, but it also portrayed Danyal's best friend as a joke once he decided to become more serious about his religion. Again, the love story and the characters were fun, but I"ll have to do more research before I decide if this is a book I want to add to my library's collection.

being a Pakistani myself, i could relate to this book so much. I could actually relate to each and every character of this book. That the reason i gave this book 5🌟s.
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Daniyal is a character who has a heart made of gold and he owns my entire heart. Firstly, I'm gonna say this to every Muslim girl ever, don't ever settle for anything and anyone less than Daniyal. I can relate with is his family dynamic. The problem he faces in his household are the problems me and so many of my friends face in their lives as well.
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Coming to my best girl, Bisma. I love her so freaking much. Pakistani girls have to live with this stuff everyday, their one mistake hangs over their heads for the rest of their lives, ruins their chance of happiness and makes them 'unmarriage-able'. Hats off to the author for portraying this so well, and showing the world how shitty this is.
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One of my favorite characters from the book is Suri, our beloved little sister. Reading about her and Bisma just reminds me of my relationship with my own sister (yes, I'm talking about Khadeeja). I'm lucky enough to say that i have a sister who would stand by me through anything just like Bisma. Suri and Bisma are a perfect representation of how the bond between two sisters is.
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I relate with kaval because ik what kind of things are expected from a pakistani girl, that she'd marry a rich guy one day and i think kaval was stuck in a bad situation and that bought out the worst side of her. Sohrab was always judged by everyone because he's religious, which I've seen so much around me. And he ended up being one of the only people who were kind when it came of bisma's controversial situation.

Danyal has a lot of maturing to do and, thankfully, we do see our protagonist grow throughout this story. For the first good part of the book, the main character is shallow and, frankly, not a likeable person. I honestly wanted to give up on him and his story a few times; however, it was worth sticking with it. He learns about himself, his family, and his faith. This isn’t only a feel good story; it was a big smile stand up and cheer Because minds And hearts were opened.

I’ve been in such a reading slump lately, reading a lot of books that I haven’t clicked with and haven’t been worth reviewing. But boy did Not Just a Pretty Face snap my streak! This book was much sweeter than I expected and it was laugh out loud funny in many spots. I actually highlighted several quotes because they were so funny. At first I found our lead, Danyal, shallow and irritating. His flippant responses to daily life were gearing, but as the book went on it was great to see his development. I connected with all the characters in one way or the other and I loved the character of Bisma. 🤞 for Suri’s story - her little sister antics were great.

I love a romance novel, with a touch of culture, coming of age, teen drama, love love!
a little slow build, but totally worth it towards the end. Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed reading about a young adult male protagonist that has to fight cultural norms, all while dealing with a disapproving family. We rarely see men, let alone young men, having to fight for their dreams due to social and familial expectations. And while I think that the majority of readers who will be picking this book up will consist mostly of females, it will be worthwhile for them to see a male being ostracized for his decisions in life.

This book is about fighting for your dreams, learning to see beyond yourself, and falling in love. What more could you want?

Danyal and Bisma's story is just so heartwarming and incredibly cute! Anyone who loves sweet contemporary romance with a good emphasis on defying norms should add this to their to-read list.

I don't even know where to begin with this book. It' definitely one of the best ones I've read this year, and this is a genre I don't really read from. however, after finishing this book, and sobbing for 24 hours, I've decided that this title deserves every 5-star review it gets. Our main character is hilarious, charming, and clumsy-but in the best way possible. honestly, going into this book, I expected it to be just another ya contemporary. But I was very wrong, as the subjects covered in this book made me step back and think about my choices and complicity to certain injustices. If you love books that have a little bit of love, a lot of sas, and main characters with courage, this is definitely a book I would highly recommend.

Oh my goodness, what an incredible read. If you're one of those folks who binged Indian Matchmaking, you'll love this. And if you aren't, you'll still love it I'm sure. There's so much here for everyone.

I heard some review that called these characters flat, which I honestly don't get. I love how the mom defies stereotypes and expectations. The dad seems like one type of archetype, but then surprises us with unexpected and heart-felt moments. Danyal is a hilarious narrator (though I was disheartened to hear everyone jokingly call him an idiot). I loved how they incorporated his friend's faith journey, and coping with the brokenness of the world by burying himself into his faith. Bisma is so real, human and fun--totally the kind of girl I would be friends with. I found them all very believable, and people worth spending time with.

There's so much more depth here than just being a rom-com. When Danyal is selected to represent history for the annual Renaissance Man competition, he's asked to write about Churchill--and in the process discovers he's not quite the "hero" history has venerated him to be. The complex conversations about history, racism, colonization, religion and war never felt heavy-handed to me, but authentic for the characters' experiences and world, and highly relevant and important for readers to participate in and reflect on.

There is so much brokenness but Danyal doesn't lose heart. He still finds a way to be joyful, funny and pursue what he loves. I don't know, especially right now I found that so refreshing and heartening. Definitely one of my favorite YA reads of the year.

I can not review this book because I am on the Florida Teens Read Committee, but I have placed it on the "Long List" for consideration

I want to say thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this for an honest review:
This was such a pleasant read and the cover is just adorable. I enjoyed this book from the start. This book talked about important facts in the Muslim community an it was much appreciated. I love reading the growth pf the MC..I love the family interaction and was probably one of my favorite parts of the book. Even though Danyal's father was pretty tough on him (which I guess is expected as a parent) I laughed every time the parents were on page. It was such a fun read and looking forward to read more by this author.

Danyal is telling Kaval she is more than just a pretty face. Danyal is interested in Kaval. I really liked the characters and descriptions

I started this book looking for just a sweet young YA romance, which it thankfully was but I also learned and got so much more from it along the way. I loved the slow young love romance but also appreciated how this book addressed cultures and religions that typically aren’t Included in most mainstream romance novels. I must admit I struggled with the story at the beginning because I didn’t like the main characters right away but as we got a greater understanding of their familial backgrounds and the pressures that accompany them, they became easy love and root for. Plus an author can never go wrong with a friends to lovers romance in my opinion. Thank you for this copy to review!

Danyal knows he isn’t the smartest guy around, but he makes up for it with his charm and confidence. It’s a surprise to everyone when he’s nominated to participate in his school’s academic competition and Danyal is determined to show everyone that he is *more than just a pretty face*. Meanwhile, he’s crushing on his best friend’s sister, trying to learn how to be a chef, and being set up by his parents for an arranged marriage.

I didn’t have too many expectations going into this and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would! Danyal is a refreshing, likable character and all the dialogue is hilarious. I enjoyed seeing Danyal sort out his feelings towards Bisma and Kaval and how he recognizes immediately that what Bisma went through isn’t okay. Danyal’s struggles of trying to keep his friend group together and live up to his family’s expectations felt very authentic.

Several other reviews express disappointment with how this book mishandles religion and Muslim dating culture. I can’t speak to the extent to which this is true, but I trust that they are correct and I am saddened to hear that many readers were disappointed in this book’s portrayals. With this in mind, I hope that this story still does more good than harm.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a cute read! I really liked the main character Danyal. He’s very confidant but he also knows his weaknesses and isn’t afraid to point the it. He also doesn’t let anything stop him from pursing his dream to become a chef..even though his father doesn’t approve. I also loved that Danyal chose to approach tough topic with his Renaissance Man paper. He could have just wrote something to appease his father and his history teacher but instead he decided to write about something that needed to be said. I also really enjoy Danyal relationship with Bisma. It was sweet and wasn’t insta-love.
Overall a very sweet and enjoyable read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!
*I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a honest review*

"They tried to discipline me or soothe me or teach me or distract me. But maybe I just needed to be frustrated for a while. Maybe I needed someone to see how difficult it was for me to do stuff that seemed so much easier for other students."

Thank you so much @hearourownvoicestours and Netgalley for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really did not feel like rating this book at all in the first place. Why? Because I feel like people judge you because of book ratings as it portrays somehow that how review is going to be. I am just stating my own feelings and opinions regarding this book and I don't mean to disrespect my Muslim culture and religion.

While, reading this book I realised that this is a work of fiction, a story. It does not have to be perfect.

I got a chance to interview the author for my book tour stop and when I read the answers of the author, they gave me a whole new perspective.

So here's my perspective. This is not a Muslim rep book. Even the author hasn't said if it is. Yes, I found some jokes here and there in this book that were problematic regarding Islam, sex in Islam, women who do hijab etc. I did not like that disrespectful stuff.
But I could not ignore the other aspects of the book that made it a good read. The story, the character building, the depth and the historical aspects, all this was amazingly written.

I loved the character development of Daniyal, Bisma, Zar and Sohrab. Even Daniyal's dad, whom I did not like at first. The supporting roles like Suraiya (Bisma's sister), Tipett (Daniyal's teacher) and the chef, these people were pretty cool.

Apart from this, I could really relate to Daniyal regarding not being able to study well and loving your passion and following it. I could also relate to the part where people try to tell you what to do in life when you are still trying to figure out what you want to do actually.

Also, Bisma was judged harshly because of a mistake she made in the past. This actually happens in our society. I won't go into those details because it's sort of a big debate and I don't have the full knowledge, so I won't mention it here either. I believe that Allah is the only one to judge and that's it.

So, I am not going to judge this book because I don't want to.

I loved Daniyal's determination regarding the competition once he learned the truth about Churchill and wanted to present what he wanted and not what other people wanted him to present. All that historical stuff regarding Bengal femine was deep and heartbreaking. I did not know about it, so I liked how the author explained it while keeping the pace of the story as well.

I loved the Humor and Daniyal's expressive passionate nature. This book at times was light read and I laughed so many times while reading.

There are so many things that I still want to say but the review is already so long. I just wanted to write both negative and positive aspects of this book that I felt.

Again, I do not mean to be disrespectful or anything. I am just stating my opinion here.

More Than Just a Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood
4.5/5

I loved everything about this book. There was food, history, education, romance, and desi culture. I usually am not one for YA novels, but I really enjoyed reading this one. Being and Indian-American who also lives in the SF Bay Area, there was a lot I related to in this novel. While my parents are not as strict to tradition as the characters in this book, I could understand and relate to the characters on a personal level.

Danyal’s love of cooking and food hit me on a personal level. I loved reading about the description of his work in the French restaurant, as well as his descriptions of the meals he made at home and for their Desi gatherings. I also loved his nontraditional dreams of working as a chef and how he does not let others influence his dreams.

I also greatly appreciated how Masood intertwined important and timely topics to this novel, such as colonialism, and how history if written by the “winners”. There are many stories that I have heard from my family about the British Raj, India, and Pakistan that you do not see in textbooks or learn in school. Given the current world climate, I think that Masood brings these issues up in a tasteful way.

I highly recommend this book to my fellow Desis, as well as non-Desis to get a glimpse into the world of modern Desi-Americans, as well as hear some important statements about the ways history is written and ways to be more well educated on brushed aside topics of importance.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for this e-book.

Danyal Jilani May not be the smartest guy in the room, but he certainly doesn’t lack confidence. He dreams of being a professional chef, even though his father doesn’t approve of his career choice. What does matter to him is the approval of Danyal’s longtime crush, Kaval and her family, who see him as a less than ideal arranged marriage prospect. When Danyal gets selected for a school academic championship, he thinks it will be the perfect opportunity to show everyone that he’s smarter than they think. He recruits his friend Bisma to help with the competition, but the more time they spend together, Danyal realizes that happiness might be staring him right in his pretty face.
My favourite part of this book was hands down the romance. I loved how Danyal and Bisma talked and trusted each other and how the relationship progressed.
Danyal is characterized as someone with a lot of confidence, but when it came to academics or giving advice, he would always say he wasn’t very bright and would say some stupid things.
I also didn’t really care for the love triangle. Kaval is used to getting what she wants, and I didn’t like how she would only accept Danyal if he did what she wanted.
All in all, this was an enjoyable quick and easy read, but I did expect a bit more from the story.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. I learned so much and thoroughly enjoyed reading every moment. Danyal is such an underdog that you can't help but root for him from the very start.