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A review by kimbongiorno
More Than Just a Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood
4.0
I liked this book because of Danyal's growth in it.
He's a high school senior who has been relying on his good looks and charm, accepting that people don't give him much credit, see him as the dumb kid in class, and don't expect much from him.
Then he's assigned one of 8 slots in the Renaissance Man competition at school, which requires a lot of research, writing, a presentation in front of the school, and will greatly affect his grade (ie, whether or not he stays back again).
He's assigned a subject that he discovers has a very bad past with his ancestors, despite being someone the assigning teacher appears to deeply respect. So does he skip over the ugly side of that person to get the good grade and graduate, or write--and speak--the truth?
While he goes through this decision process, he also has other issues to untangle on top of this particularly difficult schoolwork assignment, including the messiness coming up between his two best friends who are drifting apart; what to do about the girl he wants to be with vs the girl he just met who could really use a friend right now; and how his love and gift point him to a career as a chef, but his parents (and those of his potential romantic matches) disagree.
The book was funny and moving and interesting for me, but what I liked most was watching his growth as he works through the process of deciding what to do about each of the issues he's facing.
He's a high school senior who has been relying on his good looks and charm, accepting that people don't give him much credit, see him as the dumb kid in class, and don't expect much from him.
Then he's assigned one of 8 slots in the Renaissance Man competition at school, which requires a lot of research, writing, a presentation in front of the school, and will greatly affect his grade (ie, whether or not he stays back again).
He's assigned a subject that he discovers has a very bad past with his ancestors, despite being someone the assigning teacher appears to deeply respect. So does he skip over the ugly side of that person to get the good grade and graduate, or write--and speak--the truth?
While he goes through this decision process, he also has other issues to untangle on top of this particularly difficult schoolwork assignment, including the messiness coming up between his two best friends who are drifting apart; what to do about the girl he wants to be with vs the girl he just met who could really use a friend right now; and how his love and gift point him to a career as a chef, but his parents (and those of his potential romantic matches) disagree.
The book was funny and moving and interesting for me, but what I liked most was watching his growth as he works through the process of deciding what to do about each of the issues he's facing.