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theknitpick's review against another edition
2.0
It's difficult for me to rate this book, because compared to my other 2-star ratings, this is much closer to 3-star, but I honestly can't say I enjoyed reading it and, in the end, it was just okay for me. That being said, I'll break-down what I liked and what I didn't like.
What I liked:
Dimple's parents. Yes, it's true that I liked Dimple's parents more than I liked Dimple. They were fun, interesting, and really colorful people (although there was a bit of a "they might be racist moment that was a little iffy and unclear...). Dimple is an American-born Indian, but her parents are the typical traditional Indian parents, like you might see in a "Bend It Like Beckham" movie. Dimple's mother is worried about Dimple's future love prospects, cooks up a storm (but isn't afraid to pass off frozen as homemade), and used to be a dancer. Dimple's father is a doctor, also concerned for his daughter's future, and has been known to show a funny side (i.e. typing invitations to his daughter on a typewriter and having "secret" diner breakfasts with her). They are just two really dynamic characters and I love that they are so active and not just background - which can be typical of teen-angst stories.
Kavita. Kavita was such an interesting character - she first exists only as a memory of Dimple's childhood visits to India, her totally Indian cousin who thinks Dimple's a cowgirl because she lives in America. When she comes to visit, a fully grown woman in college, she introduces Dimple to the ABCD's or (American-Born Confused Desi - desi being someone who is Indian). In a way, she acts a bit like a deus-ex machina, in that she jump-start's Dimple's self-discovery, but she becomes more fleshed out as the story progresses. I found the sexual-orientation flexibility of Indian culture to be totally eye-opening.
The blending of Indian and American culture. I think this book did a good job of bringing Indian culture to an American audience. Granted, there were things I had to look up because I didn't get enough context from the book, but there was a lot of instances where Hidier used Dimple's identity crisis as an ABCD to bring the American reader into her world view without it seeming preachy or trying to hit the reader over the head with the "diversity is important" stick.
What I didn't like:
Dimple, Gwyn, and Karsh. Okay, the three main characters -the love triangle! Man, do I hate love triangles. Especially since I couldn't understand why the two "girl friends" had such difficulties understanding each other, since they've known each other since they were children. Gwyn was just an annoying character - selfish (reasonable, due to her upbringing), beauty-conscious, eager to please (if it's a boy), and a bit of a mess. Why are Dimple and Gwyn friends? I guess because they liked each other when they were children and decided to hold onto each other as they grew up because they literally had no other friends. At least that became my impression. Gwyn continues to take and take from her friendship with Dimple, and while they hash this out later in the novel, I feel that Gwyn's justifications and playing it as a two-sided thing are not really well founded, at least, not from my, as a reader, perspective. Gwyn is a really damaged person, but the things she does should not just be written off just because of this.
And Karsh is problematic in that he does not make clear his intentions with either girl. If he feels only friend feelings towards one, and she's clearly taking things in a more than friends direction, he should have made it more clear. He also isn't really great at being much more than just a stock "suitable boyfriend material" character. He is less developed and most of his feelings are told rather than shown.
And Dimple ends up more likable at the end of the story, but for almost the entire first half, she is very blah. She wanders around not knowing how she feels for most of the time, and it takes a LOT of explaining from other characters to help her shape her feelings about herself. She's a bit of a doormat, especially when it comes to Gwyn, who walks all over her the most, and always gets off scott-free. I understand that the entire novel is her "identity crisis" "confused Indian-American" coming-of-age story, but this book was way too long, in that case. 400 pages of a girl finally figuring herself out in the last 100 was just too much. Almost every character got their "I know what I'm about and here's how you can, too" spiel. It drove me crazy.
And that brings me to my last dislike about this book. The writing. I mean, this is marketed as a YA, but it reads like an adult novel. There are SAT words galore in almost every paragraph and not to mention every sentence runs on and on with metaphors, pop culture references, or a general poetic miasma of words. It was a struggle to read - and I have a Masters degree. That is why I had to rate this just as ok. For the type of book it was (a YA teen girl finding herself/love-triangle romance), it read like woman's philosophical take on the world and played it off as a teenage girl's musings. Dimple thought. A lot. Paragraphs and paragraphs of her thoughts on anything and everything. Honestly, this novel could have been 200 pages shorter if Hidier didn't provide so much cognitive pondering from Dimple. And cooled it on the flowery, borderline purple, prose.
There, that's my freaking too long take on why this novel got 2 stars instead of 3. There is a sequel, but I will not be reading it. I don't think I have the stamina nor the desire to check back in on Dimple and Co. Read it if you want a really serious, adult take on the angst of teenagers or if you want a more diverse story than your typical YA section has to offer. Just be prepared for a long journey and keep a dictionary handy.
What I liked:
Dimple's parents. Yes, it's true that I liked Dimple's parents more than I liked Dimple. They were fun, interesting, and really colorful people (although there was a bit of a "they might be racist moment that was a little iffy and unclear...). Dimple is an American-born Indian, but her parents are the typical traditional Indian parents, like you might see in a "Bend It Like Beckham" movie. Dimple's mother is worried about Dimple's future love prospects, cooks up a storm (but isn't afraid to pass off frozen as homemade), and used to be a dancer. Dimple's father is a doctor, also concerned for his daughter's future, and has been known to show a funny side (i.e. typing invitations to his daughter on a typewriter and having "secret" diner breakfasts with her). They are just two really dynamic characters and I love that they are so active and not just background - which can be typical of teen-angst stories.
Kavita. Kavita was such an interesting character - she first exists only as a memory of Dimple's childhood visits to India, her totally Indian cousin who thinks Dimple's a cowgirl because she lives in America. When she comes to visit, a fully grown woman in college, she introduces Dimple to the ABCD's or (American-Born Confused Desi - desi being someone who is Indian). In a way, she acts a bit like a deus-ex machina, in that she jump-start's Dimple's self-discovery, but she becomes more fleshed out as the story progresses. I found the sexual-orientation flexibility of Indian culture to be totally eye-opening.
The blending of Indian and American culture. I think this book did a good job of bringing Indian culture to an American audience. Granted, there were things I had to look up because I didn't get enough context from the book, but there was a lot of instances where Hidier used Dimple's identity crisis as an ABCD to bring the American reader into her world view without it seeming preachy or trying to hit the reader over the head with the "diversity is important" stick.
What I didn't like:
Dimple, Gwyn, and Karsh. Okay, the three main characters -the love triangle! Man, do I hate love triangles. Especially since I couldn't understand why the two "girl friends" had such difficulties understanding each other, since they've known each other since they were children. Gwyn was just an annoying character - selfish (reasonable, due to her upbringing), beauty-conscious, eager to please (if it's a boy), and a bit of a mess. Why are Dimple and Gwyn friends? I guess because they liked each other when they were children and decided to hold onto each other as they grew up because they literally had no other friends. At least that became my impression. Gwyn continues to take and take from her friendship with Dimple, and while they hash this out later in the novel, I feel that Gwyn's justifications and playing it as a two-sided thing are not really well founded, at least, not from my, as a reader, perspective. Gwyn is a really damaged person, but the things she does should not just be written off just because of this.
And Karsh is problematic in that he does not make clear his intentions with either girl. If he feels only friend feelings towards one, and she's clearly taking things in a more than friends direction, he should have made it more clear. He also isn't really great at being much more than just a stock "suitable boyfriend material" character. He is less developed and most of his feelings are told rather than shown.
And Dimple ends up more likable at the end of the story, but for almost the entire first half, she is very blah. She wanders around not knowing how she feels for most of the time, and it takes a LOT of explaining from other characters to help her shape her feelings about herself. She's a bit of a doormat, especially when it comes to Gwyn, who walks all over her the most, and always gets off scott-free. I understand that the entire novel is her "identity crisis" "confused Indian-American" coming-of-age story, but this book was way too long, in that case. 400 pages of a girl finally figuring herself out in the last 100 was just too much. Almost every character got their "I know what I'm about and here's how you can, too" spiel. It drove me crazy.
And that brings me to my last dislike about this book. The writing. I mean, this is marketed as a YA, but it reads like an adult novel. There are SAT words galore in almost every paragraph and not to mention every sentence runs on and on with metaphors, pop culture references, or a general poetic miasma of words. It was a struggle to read - and I have a Masters degree. That is why I had to rate this just as ok. For the type of book it was (a YA teen girl finding herself/love-triangle romance), it read like woman's philosophical take on the world and played it off as a teenage girl's musings. Dimple thought. A lot. Paragraphs and paragraphs of her thoughts on anything and everything. Honestly, this novel could have been 200 pages shorter if Hidier didn't provide so much cognitive pondering from Dimple. And cooled it on the flowery, borderline purple, prose.
There, that's my freaking too long take on why this novel got 2 stars instead of 3. There is a sequel, but I will not be reading it. I don't think I have the stamina nor the desire to check back in on Dimple and Co. Read it if you want a really serious, adult take on the angst of teenagers or if you want a more diverse story than your typical YA section has to offer. Just be prepared for a long journey and keep a dictionary handy.
ssohn's review against another edition
3.0
Overlong, but still very entertaining plotwise for fans of young adult fiction/ romance plots/ asian american immigant literatures...
danslalune's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
stephisbranded's review
3.0
I liked this book and it does a fantastic job of talking about culture, identity, friendship and family. I just felt it was a little wordy in some area. Beautiful, but for a teen book I could see teens getting a little bored.
panichistory's review
3.0
The whole love-triangle thing was a bit excessive, and I dislike how the issue of Gwen's appropriation is never really resolved, but it was a fun read, and I liked the main character a lot!
donnaisreading's review
3.0
it's nothing special or particular "epic" or "amazing" but there is something about this book that sticks with you...ad you're not entirely sure why, even at 26 every so often I think about going back to it...
minervareads's review
4.0
Although it took me a while to get into this book (the dialogue was very sweet [in a sticky, over-exaggerated way], and at first it sounded like any other teen romance), I really enjoyed this book. I think it takes a complicated look at growing up with dual cultural pulls, and I think Gwyn’s character posed some really interesting questions. She could have been a horrible character, and she had her moments, but I found myself empathizing with her despite finding her selfish. Overall, it was a great book - one is definitely recommend to readers who enjoy realistic YA.
thisgrrlreads's review against another edition
4.0
Starts out slow but amps up, giving you a page-turning story about a teenager mired in miscommunication from her best friend, her would-be boyfriend, her parents, everyone. Solid.