Fourteen-year-old Iranian-American Parvin Mohammadi sets out to win the ultimate date to homecoming and learns along the way that being yourself is the perfect way to be.
“A touching contemporary that’s hilariously heartfelt about one girl’s journey to self-discovery.”—BuzzFeed
“A joyful celebration of the right to take up space in the world.”—Booklist, starred review
Fourteen-year-old Parvin Mohammadi has just been dumped. Apparently, cackling, Cheeto-eating, frizzy-haired jokester Parvin is just too much. Whatever that means. But as she considers her now-ex’s new blond-haired, perfectly poised girlfriend, Parvin wonders if he-who-shall-not-be-named could be right.
Though heartbroken and humiliated, Parvin is nothing if not a girl with a plan: change everything about herself and get a new boyfriend STAT. After a night of observing the women in her favorite rom-com movies, Parvin thinks she finally understands how to get and keep the guy. Now she just needs a guy.
Enter sophomore heartthrob Matty Fumero, who is looking more and more like the smoking-hot cure to all her boy problems. If Parvin can get Matty to ask her to Homecoming, she’s positive it will prove to herself and her ex that she’s girlfriend material after all. There’s just one problem: Turns out being a rom-com dream girl is much harder than it looks.
Olivia Abtahi is a writer and filmmaker born in Washington, DC. When she isn't drafting novels about awkward teens, you can find her working on documentaries about social justice and climate equity. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband and daughter.
A Sequoyah Book Award Nominee (OK) • A Texas Lone Star Reading List Pick • A Golden Kite Honor Award Winner • A Georgia Peach Book Award Nominee • A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick • A ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project List Pick • A New York Public Library Best Book Pick • A Chicago Public Library Best Book Pick • A BuzzFeed Best Young Adult Pick • A Book Riot Must Read YA Romance Pick“Abtahi writes a touching contemporary that's hilariously heartfelt about one girl's journey to self-discovery.”
—BuzzFeed“Abtahi deftly navigates Parvin's transitional life phase, equipping her with enough humor and moxie to see her through even the toughest challenges . . . A joyful celebration of the right to take up space in the world.”
—Booklist, starred review“Abtahi’s charming debut will have readers cheering for Parvin. . . an incredibly charming, funny, and lovable protagonist who greets life with unbridled enthusiasm . . . as she navigates her two cultures with vim. . . A truly delightful story about a charming and engaging teen navigating freshman year.”
—School Library Journal, starred review“Parvin’s narratorial voice sparkles with wit and pathos, and her journey toward self-acceptance seamlessly incorporates political and emotional realities. . . A diverse, fast-paced, feminist romance.”
—Kirkus Reviews“The fast-paced writing, wonderfully diverse cast, and very realistic and age-appropriate thoughts, choices, and realizations make this a solid read. Smart, funny, and full of heart.”
—Teen Librarian Toolbox“Authentic and organically hilarious. . . A fresh, charming standout.”
—YALSA“At its heart, this breezy YA title is about trying to find love by pretending to be someone else when being yourself is all that matters.”
—Brightly“The ebullient, eponymous heroine of Olivia Abtahi’s novel
Perfectly Parvin—a prankster with a rambunctious wit . . . determines to remake herself as a demure, seen-but-not-heard young lady. The effort is doomed—if often hilarious—and has her trying but failing to tamp herself down through a friend’s quinceañera party and Farsi classes, through online makeup consults with her Iranian aunt and a tragic band audition.”
—The Globe and Mail
