More
Than Just a Pretty Face follows high-school senior Danyal as he
struggles between high school, romance, and family expectations.
Danyal’s Pakistani-American family is insistent on him finding a
respectable arranged marriage. Unfortunately for them, Danyal fails
to be an ideal prospect due to his poor grades, goal of becoming a
chef, and dream of marrying his crush, the beautiful Kaval. However,
Danyal's parents introduce their son to the intelligent and
accomplished Bisma, a marriage prospect that Danyal initially has no
interest in pursuing. Bisma’s difficult home life and rocky
backstory, however, lead Danyal to realize that although it would be
wrong to marry her without mutual feelings for each other, he could
at least be her friend. In the midst of his social life, Danyal, a
poor student, is chosen as a joke by his critical, sarcastic history
teacher to represent his class in the “Rennaisance Man” project.
Danyal couldn’t care less about the project until he hears his
father practically explode after hearing Winston Churchill’s name.
With heightened curiosity, Danyal chooses to throw himself into the
project with a passionate negative stance on Churchill, despite the
fact that his teacher views Churchill as a hero. With Bisma’s help,
Danyal prepares his project for the final presentation and slowly
grows closer to Bisma in the process. Through Bisma, Danyal learns
that he, and love, can be about more than just a pretty face.
More
Than Just a Pretty Face was certainly an enjoyable book and one that
I would easily recommend to a friend. Notably, it’s a romantic
comedy, and the characters in the book illustrate this. Danyal’s
confidence is unique for most books that center around teenagers, and
a large part of the humor in the book involves his acceptance of his
talent and good looks - which is surprisingly refreshing. The side
characters are also entertaining and interesting: Danyal’s best
friends, Sohrab and Intezar, Danyal’s father, Danyal’s crush,
Kaval, and Danyal’s history teacher, to name a few. Through these
characters, the book also touches on themes including religion,
feminism, how best friends grow apart, and current social issues. Of
course, it’s difficult to fit that much into a single book, and it
was unsurprising that some of the plot and character choices got lost
along the way (for instance, Danya’s chefmanship.) However, this
made for well-rounded, believable characters. This book was hard to
put down with its creative humor, a fast pace, and friendly, easy
language. I would recommend it to any high schooler who enjoys unique
characters and lighthearted books. Additionally, the ideas related to
sexism and racism in an everyday context are thought-provoking, and I
would suggest that those interested in reading about social issues
give this book a try.
Laurel
A. Grade 10
