Not The Girls You’re looking For by Aminah Mae Safi (Review, Giveaway and Playlist)

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.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a physical ARC in exchange for this honest review and a place on this blog tour. And thank you to Aimee from Aimee, Always for hosting this blog tour. I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to be part of this.

Lulu and her friends are fierce. They are strong, independent and care for each other more than anything. Lulu is messy, she is your normal teenage girl just trying to get through high school. She is a wild child, making things more difficult for herself and her parents.

If there is one thing I get from this book, is that this is my new favorite friendship novel. This group of friends is fierce, I wish I had them by my side when I was in high school.

Lulu has two very different parts of her life, her family life and her life with her friends. Her father is Muslim and her mother is not, her dad’s family is originally from Baghdad. Lulu fasts for Ramadan and states that this is something she does that bonds her to her family over seas, the ones she can’t communicate with properly due to their language barrier.

Lulu’s relationships with her friends and with the boys she meets are nothing but complex, which makes reading this book so much more fun. Lulu is feisty, outspoken, strong, shy and just plain normal. She is relatable, she is smart and she is trying to navigate her life like everyone around her. She gets herself into sticky situations, laughs a lot, rolls her eyes a little too much and is unapologetically herself.

While reading this book, I had many songs pop into my head. So many of them are strong girl power songs, which is how I feel about Lulu and her friends. They are strong and you don’t want to mess with them, but you want them by your side in a fight.

1. Rich Kids by Bea Miller
2. Sit Still, Look Pretty by Daya
3. Girls Freak Me Out by The Summer Set
4. The Boys You Do by The Summer Set
5. Really Don’t Care by Demi Lovato

I really like this book and recommend it to anyone looking for strong female characters.

Now, the giveaway! Not The Girls You’re Looking For Giveaway! Unfortunately the giveaway is US only! You can win a personalized hardcover copy of Not The Girls You’re Looking For.