You Asked for Perfect

It's mostly a 3.5.

I have been excited to read this book for a long time because it seemed so adorable and the kind of YA book I would enjoy. And this was definitely what I was hoping for.

The story is completely told through Ariel's POV, so we see everything thats going on in his head and that's not comfortable at all. He is constantly struggling with keeping up his grades and extracurriculars in preparation for his Harvard application and just doesn't have enough time in the day for managing everything. But he also doesn't want to admit his problems to anyone and that just exacerbates all his issues. I will not say I related to Ariel completely but I understood him very well. His character is a lived in experience for many young students these days and we get a very realistic picture of the stress and pressures and expectations that are put on young people and how it affects them physically and mentally.

There is a whole host of characters in the book who are all wonderful and supportive and diverse and I loved them all. The romantic dynamic that develops between Ariel and Amir may come across as sudden, but I kind of enjoyed how realistic it felt as a teenage romance. It has all the elements of sweetness and wonder and joy of young love and I think it was written very well. I'm also very glad that it's just written as two young boys deciding to date and there are no declarations of eternal love. Despite this romance in the book, I think it is definitely more about family. YA books feature a lot of absent/problematic parents, so it was very refreshing to read about completely present and supportive parents and siblings. Ariel's relationship with his mom dad and his sister Rachel is so healthy and amazing. Their dinner time conversations felt authentic, their religion/faith is depicted as an important part of their life but something that's also personal and not something that they use to preach. I obviously can't comment on the Jewish representation but it's ownvoices for the author, so I think it's really authentic for her own experiences. Amir's family is Muslim and Pakistani and it was great to see both these families be very supportive of their kids' sexualities. I also loved the whole friend group - Sook, Malka, Pari, Issac, Rasha - everyone has their own issues and is dealing with them in their own ways but no one really understands what the others are going through because they don't feel comfortable sharing their problems.

This is my first read by the author and I really enjoyed her writing. The book has a very diverse cast which feels very realistic and not tokenism at all. I also liked that it's quite a positive representation and these kids have families and friends who are supportive and don't discriminate at all because of their religion or sexuality or anything else. The author also does a great job of showing us the consequences of our very competitive education system and how it adversely affects the kids. There is obviously no easy solution for this but the book really stresses on the importance of being open about issues and having a support system to be able to cope. Religion is also depicted as something positive that brings peace of mind and maybe provides perspective for young kids when dealing with such life changing issues like college and future - I thought this was very refreshing and so rare in YA.

If you like YA with great diverse family and friend dynamics and an adorable couple, you should definitely check this out. It also has some great representation of the anxiety that young students face in these hyper competitive times, and I think everyone who has been in these shoes before or is going through high school or college right now will find something relatable in this story.