Reviews with content warning for Addiction - American Betiya

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

American Betiya by Anuradha D. Rajurkar

6 reviews

mslater116's review

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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loverofvenus's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

look, i found value in reading this book, but i had chosen it for my english class's independent novel study and my presentation was absolutely mortifying. it was, frankly, entirely my fault for being ill-prepared, but if you're doing a book report—don't choose YA. just choose a "classic" and read the sparknotes study guide like everyone else.

american betiya is about rani kelkar, a highschool student living in illinois. she's the daughter of indian immigrants. the book explores her struggle to reconcile american and indian values through her romantic relationship with a kid called oliver. rani, like many of us, isn't allowed to date, but when a guy finally takes interest in her, she decides to do so anyway. oliver is the tall, white, tattooed painter. his home life isn't great but for the most part, he seems like a sweet guy. they went on "dates" during their lunch period and bonded over their shared love of art. but, as the two fall further and further into love, oliver's microaggressions strain their relationship more and more.

from oliver calling rani "jaz," to dressing her in a sari for sex. this all culminates in the breaking point in their relationship—oliver invites rani to a showing of a mural of his and, as it turns out, the mural is of rani. rani in that sari from when they had sex in her father's car, her words written next to her, "my parents honestly wouldn't understand / i just really needed to see you / my family's super traditional / you know i love you / i couldn't let you in / my mom informed me that we're going to india / i take pride in my insecurities." oliver sees her & her family as oppressive. he refuses to have a nuanced perspective on the goings on of her life. and he defintely has a brown girl fetish. their breakup coincides with the death of rani's grandfather and, heartbroken, she travels to india for the mourning period. the book ties up with rani running into oliver at her photography display and rejecting him for the final time.

as a desi girl myself, i found this book quite interesting. indians are constantly de-sexualized, so seeing a brown girl being fetishized was new and offered an interesting experience for me to consider.

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library_kb's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This was a book I personally did not enjoy, but I think is a valuable book overall. It is a coming of age story about a inter-cultural relationship in high school. Rani is intrigued by Oliver's artistic vision and vibe and the way he makes her feel, and Oliver is obsessed with her cultural heritage (Indian American). From very early on, it is clear that some of the ways that he treats her is not great and can be kind of manipulative. It is a story about infatuation, intimacy, and identity. It was hard to listen to for most of it because the characters are so realistically flawed, but I really appreciated how the story wrapped up with clear identification of what about the relationship was not healthy about the relationship, but without getting preachy or placing "blame" (I mean, kind of, but it felt different for some reason). Definitely for older high schoolers--there is some mature content throughout.

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antonique_reads's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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katiemack's review

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dark emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a heartbreaking book that fully explores what it's like to be a South Asian teen (Rani) in a white-majority Chicago suburb (Evanston--as a side note, it brought me so much joy to read about places that are intimately familiar to me both in that area and in the city). I've read books before in which the love interest (in this case, Oliver) is too perfect and is the ideal partner, so I'm glad Rajurkar delved into some of the more subtle racist jabs white folks do to people of color. (Disclaimer: I am not a person of color and cannot, and will not, claim that I understand what it's like to be a person of color.) I also loved Rani's (imperfect) bond with her family and friends (especially her best friend Kate) and the way she learns to cherish and celebrate aspects of her own culture. I would have loved to know more about Rani's relationship with her grandpa, but I'm sure that could encompass a whole other book.

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dhwani's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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

4.5

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