Three-sentence Review: More Than Just a Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood

A three-sentence review of More Than Just a Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood. Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Danyal Jilani knows who he is: a very good-looking guy, someone who’s not great at school, and someone who looks forward to his life after high school when he is working as a chef. But while Danyal is secure in his knowledge of himself, he is pushed and pulled in other directions. His father wants him to pursue a high-status profession and his history teacher nominates him to give a prestigious lecture in front of the entire school. Danyal’s got a lot of things to sort out—including potential candidates for an arranged marriage—and he navigates through those things as best he can in this very funny book.

I’ve got 85 #betareading questions and here is one: What were the character’s goals?

Danyal’s main goal was to survive high school. He wasn’t in physical danger, but his lack of school skills made it taxing to spend hours every day surrounded by people focused on academics. School was one of the many ways his father found him lacking. In contrast, we see Danyal at his restaurant job and how competent he feels, even in the face of the head chef’s brusque demeanor. The difference is that cooking is an area where Danyal has talent, unlike school.