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cleot's review
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Queer desi retelling of the movie "What a Girl Wants". If you enjoyed the movie, this book should scratch the same itch.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, and Classism
thaliareads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thanks to Scholastic and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC!
Since her parents split when she was 4, Mehar has grown up in the US. Now in high school, raised solely by her mother, she’s grown estranged from her father and grown apart from her family in India. All of that stands to change when her father announces his engagement and asks Mehar to come to India for the wedding. Suspicious of the intentions of her soon-to-be stepmother and stepsister, she agrees to make the visit. However, when the potential truth threatens to hurt her rekindling relationship with her father and her budding relationship with her grandmother’s assistant, will she make her fears known?
This was such an interesting read, and I really enjoyed it. While it had an incredibly cute and wholesome sapphic romance at the forefront, it was so much more than that. It was truly a story of familial connections. I thought the highs and lows of Mehar trying to reconnect with her dad felt very true to real life. Throughout the entire book it seemed that the big lesson she was learning was to slow down and put together the whole story. She had made assumptions about her father’s stance on being in her life, she made assumptions about why Naz wanted to marry her father, and she even made assumptions about Aleena’s life. Additionally, she didn’t look at the big picture of societal expectations in India when considering how her open behaviors could affect Sufiya if people found out they were in a relationship. However, the key to this book was Mehar learning and growing. I think this made for a really nice coming of age story that resonates well with how confident we can feel as teens and how we still had a lot to learn about the world.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Domestic abuse
There aren't any blatant instances of homophobia, but rather a general air of homophobia from the culture where Mehar's family is in India. The domestic abuse is discussed briefly in respect to a side character's history.
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