Birmingham Public Library: Book Review Quick Hits: "Tell Me How You Really Feel" By Aminah Mae Safi

Press release from Birmingham Public Library:

October 28, 2021

Whereas books typically inspire movies, Tell Me How You Really Feel may owe much of its success to shirking that norm.

Author Aminah Mae Safi described the 2019 release, which became an instant cult classic in the YA LGBTQ+ community, as “My love letter to rom-coms.”

Created to mirror the feel and pace of a comedic sitcom, Tell Me How You Really Feel does read more like a Netflix series than a traditional work of literature.

The characters (modeled after archetypal roles from the hit series Gilmore Girls) drop in fully created on page one, letting you tag along on their already constructed day-to-day worlds.

While this approach may be jarring to this aging librarian or pretty much anyone over 40, it clearly resonates with a younger generation raised alongside Tik Tok and other streaming platforms.

This press release was produced by Birmingham Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.