This Is All Your Fault

by Aminah Mae Safi

Overview

Set over the course of one day, Aminah Mae Safi's This Is All Your Fault is a smart and voice-driven YA novel that follows three young women determined to save their indie bookstore.

Rinn Olivera is finally going to tell her longtime crush AJ that she’s in love with him.

Daniella Korres writes poetry for her own account, but nobody knows it’s her.

Imogen Azar is just trying to make it through the day.

When Rinn, Daniella, and Imogen clock into work at Wild Nights Bookstore on the first day of summer, they’re expecting the hours to drift by the way they always do. Instead, they have to deal with the news that the bookstore is closing. Before the day is out, there’ll be shaved heads, a diva author, and a very large shipment of Air Jordans to contend with.

And it will take all three of them working together if they have any chance to save Wild Nights Bookstore.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250242341
Publisher:	Feiwel & Friends
Publication date:	10/13/2020
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	292,526
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	HL720L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Aminah Mae Safi is a Muslim-American writer. Safi was the winner of the We Need Diverse Books short story contest, and that story appeared in the anthology Fresh Ink. She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her partner and cat. This Is All Your Fault is her third novel, following Not the Girls You're Looking For and Tell Me How You Really Feel.

Editorial Reviews

08/10/2020

A trio of unlikely friends rally their Chicago community to save a beloved independent bookstore in Safi’s (Tell Me How You Really Feel) quirky offering. When the staff of Wild Nights Bookstore and Emporium discovers that the shop is closing in just two weeks, they each try to find a way to prevent its going under, from flipping $9,000 worth of Air Jordans to crunching suspicious inventory numbers and breaking the strictly enforced “no photography, no phones” rule. The store unites its teenage co-workers: bubbly bookstagrammer Rinn Olivera, who is biracial (of Mexican and German descent), is perpetually camera ready; sarcastic bleached blonde Daniella Korres, who is white, secretly shares poetry online; and Lebanese American Imogen Azar is adept at hiding her inner turmoil. As they’re pushed to their limits with planning, mourning the loss of an institution while assisting customers, and dealing with an entitled popular author, each begins to appreciate and better understand the others, seeing beyond superficial assumptions. Using a rotating third-person perspective, Safi writes an energizing, character-driven celebration of belonging, acceptance, and sisterhood with a clear nod to the importance of community spaces. Ages 13–up. Agent: Lauren MacLeod, the Strothman Agency. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

07/24/2020

Gr 8 Up—A group of misfits must save the one place they all feel a special connection to, the Wild Nights Bookstore and Emporium. In essence, Safi's book is a retelling of the movie Empire Records: Eli steals petty cash in order to make more money to help the store, Imogen goes into work and shaves her head in the bathroom, a famous author comes on to a teenager and their partner quits because if it, and a fundraiser and rooftop party aim to save the struggling store. Safi sets her novel in a bookshop instead of a music store and brings the story into the 21st century as the store's employees are able to reach thousands of people in an instant with videos posted to social media. The main characters are from a range of backgrounds including Korean, Mexican American, and Lebanese, and all have some kind of defining trait that stands out: the artist, the bubbly social media influencer, the struggling manager, the math nerd, the screw-up, etc. Safi's writing style draws readers into the story and makes them feel as if they truly know the characters. VERDICT This book is a love letter to one of the most popular movies of the '90s and will be enjoyed by everyone who wants to fit in and fight for what they believe.—Lenore Catalano, Hammarskjold M.S., East Brunswick, NJ

School Library Journal

Praise for This Is All Your Fault:

"Safi’s writing style draws readers into the story and makes them feel as if they truly know the characters. This book is a love letter to one of the most popular movies of the '90s and will be enjoyed by everyone who wants to fit in and fight for what they believe." —School Library Journal

"Each brooding, sarcastic, and honest voice is entertaining. ... Readers who appreciate strong character arcs and character-driven stories with clashing personalities will eat this right up." —Booklist

"Safi writes an energizing, character-driven celebration of belonging, acceptance, and sisterhood with a clear nod to the importance of community spaces." —Publishers Weekly

Praise for Tell Me How You Really Feel:

"Wonderful and fulfilling—an enemies-to-lovers story that stands out all on its own." —NPR

"This well-written and supremely satisfying romance should be in all collections." —School Library Journal, starred review

"The best kind of rom-com: genuine and absorbing, with wonderfully over-the-top declarations of love." —Shelf Awareness

Praise for Not the Girls You're Looking For:

“Safi’s prose style has a lively staccato rhythm . . . Her story provides a candid perspective on female friendships that are full of conflict, love, and angst.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Delightful and funny but still giving voice to serious issues of sexual consent and xenophobia." —Kirkus Reviews

"These authentic teen girls are smart, complicated, sexual, and sensitive.” —School Library Journal

“Engaging and unexpected, voice-y and full of verve, this a whip-smart swan dive into all the messiness of best friendships and new romance, fitting in and growing up.” —Katie Cotugno, New York Times–bestselling author of How to Love

From the Publisher

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