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sonia1's review against another edition
1.0
I went into this wanting to love it. It has all of my favorite tropes, plus Indian representation, which is sorely lacking in mainstream YA lit. However, this sounded like a boomer trying to sound like a teenager. The slang was annoying to read, and Indian culture was over-stereotyped. It tries so hard to be relatable to the South Asian teenager, but it comes off as forced and phony.
ARC provided by NetGalley
ARC provided by NetGalley
beefore's review against another edition
3.0
i stopped reading at like page 60 but i think the writing was like good but i'm not a fan of watching ppl make out for like 200 or so pages also rani girlie you can do so much better than oliver i hate oliver so much he gives off freak vibes and i hate him anyways that's all i have to say solid 4 (update changed it to 3 stars) stars i guess!!! pacing is also a bit weird i don't want to hear abt ur ten different dates in a row
oh also just remembered something not to bring up the sex word in a review but also like when they had a very brief mention of a If Yk Yk scene and oliver was like off core abt it and i was like Ermmm looks around a bit idk it just felt weird to me !!! anyways ummm i put it down to a 3 star bc i didn't feel like it was a 4 star if i could i'd probably give it a 3.5
oh also just remembered something not to bring up the sex word in a review but also like when they had a very brief mention of a If Yk Yk scene and oliver was like off core abt it and i was like Ermmm looks around a bit idk it just felt weird to me !!! anyways ummm i put it down to a 3 star bc i didn't feel like it was a 4 star if i could i'd probably give it a 3.5
tiaschmidt's review against another edition
DNF at 27%
This one just wasn't for me. I went into it thinking it was going to be about a Desi girl falling in love with a white boy and them trying to navigate their relationship as an interracial/intercultural relationship. It was... the opposite. They do start a relationship, but then the entire book is like an Indian parent's warning of what will happen if you date outside of your culture/race. Oliver, the boy, fetishizes Rani and their relationship turns really toxic really fast. Now I'm not saying this doesn't happen, because it does A LOT, but even own-voices reviews (that I sought out) claimed the white characters were like caricatures of racism and were so overdone and over the top. Subtly was nowhere to be seen. I think it's definitely important to have stories about interracial relationships like this one where it highlights a power imbalance, but the way it was written was terrible in my opinion, and left an icky feeling.
Idk!!!!! Maybe it's because I'm white and my husband is Punjabi and getting to the point where we had blessings to get married was such a fuuuucking struggle that this message of warning about dating outside your culture frustrated me on such a personal level.
Not for me!
This one just wasn't for me. I went into it thinking it was going to be about a Desi girl falling in love with a white boy and them trying to navigate their relationship as an interracial/intercultural relationship. It was... the opposite. They do start a relationship, but then the entire book is like an Indian parent's warning of what will happen if you date outside of your culture/race. Oliver, the boy, fetishizes Rani and their relationship turns really toxic really fast. Now I'm not saying this doesn't happen, because it does A LOT, but even own-voices reviews (that I sought out) claimed the white characters were like caricatures of racism and were so overdone and over the top. Subtly was nowhere to be seen. I think it's definitely important to have stories about interracial relationships like this one where it highlights a power imbalance, but the way it was written was terrible in my opinion, and left an icky feeling.
Idk!!!!! Maybe it's because I'm white and my husband is Punjabi and getting to the point where we had blessings to get married was such a fuuuucking struggle that this message of warning about dating outside your culture frustrated me on such a personal level.
Not for me!
diyaagarwal's review against another edition
3.75
i think the book took it too far in a few places, but overall the ending wasn’t bad. but it wasn’t really a great representation of family/friendship and culture as described :(
eliizabvth's review against another edition
challenging
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
loverofvenus's review against another edition
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.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, and Suicide
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
fiafour's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
America Betiya was such a beautiful story of falling in love with oneself, ripping through the expectations others have on you to truly get to know who you are. Rani Keller as a first generation Indian American has lived most her life trying to live up to what her mother wants for her. When she meets Oliver, she is intoxicated by both his admiration of her and his representation as forbidden love. She begins to break the rules she’s grown up with and push the boundaries that have contained her.
It’s heartbreaking to see Rani fall from such love in the early stages of her relationship with Oliver to such hurt and shame from the racism and toxic aspects that slowly unravel. However, through it all, she finds someone she didn’t even know she was looking for, herself. It’s beautiful to watch Rani open up to self love in so many ways. By the end, the deeper bond and understanding she has created with her mother and seeing her stand up for herself in her last meeting with Oliver is so rewarding.
liralen's review against another edition
4.0
Read because I thought (wrongly) that most of the book took place in India—but this ended up being a wonderfully nuanced look at culture clashes and first relationships.
I'm reminded of [b:Dreamland|1083390|Dreamland|Sarah Dessen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328044427l/1083390._SY75_.jpg|7995], which I read and reread as a teenager and in which the protagonist starts what seems to be an exciting relationship only to find things falling apart. In Dreamland, the relationship turns abusive, with drugs a factor; in American Betiya, it's a bit more insidious. In some ways Oliver is a wonderful first boyfriend: he encourages Rani's artistic side, doesn't pressure her to move faster, sexually, than she's ready for, and is driven to make something out of himself. But he also tends to fetishise Rani's Indian heritage, to assume the worst of her parents, and to subject her to racist microaggressions that are enough to make her uncomfortable but not quite things she trusts she can call out and be heard. It's easy to look at this relationship from the outside and say she deserves better than this, but it's also clear that it's a slow shift from 'good with a few uncomfortable moments' to 'uncomfortable moments are outweighing the good but the good is still there', which is a much more complicated, realistic scenario than a lot of the YA-standard 'here's the jock who seems amazing but is a grade-A asshole and here's the boy next door who's secretly perfect for the heroine and is waiting in the wings'.
What I appreciate most is how understated the book is. Rani meets Oliver's mother, and yeesh, talk about microaggressions—but there's no, you know, screaming racist rant or catching them in bed. Instead there's an addition to this undercurrent of discomfort. Meanwhile, Rani's parents are firm on their no-dating perspective—but when they find out about Oliver, it's not a huge climactic moment (well, it sort of is, but not for that reason) in which they banish Rani to India; it's a moment in which their culture of upbringing and their culture of adulthood are colliding, and they're trying to make sense of that as much as Rani is.
I'm reminded of [b:Dreamland|1083390|Dreamland|Sarah Dessen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328044427l/1083390._SY75_.jpg|7995], which I read and reread as a teenager and in which the protagonist starts what seems to be an exciting relationship only to find things falling apart. In Dreamland, the relationship turns abusive, with drugs a factor; in American Betiya, it's a bit more insidious. In some ways Oliver is a wonderful first boyfriend: he encourages Rani's artistic side, doesn't pressure her to move faster, sexually, than she's ready for, and is driven to make something out of himself. But he also tends to fetishise Rani's Indian heritage, to assume the worst of her parents, and to subject her to racist microaggressions that are enough to make her uncomfortable but not quite things she trusts she can call out and be heard. It's easy to look at this relationship from the outside and say she deserves better than this, but it's also clear that it's a slow shift from 'good with a few uncomfortable moments' to 'uncomfortable moments are outweighing the good but the good is still there', which is a much more complicated, realistic scenario than a lot of the YA-standard 'here's the jock who seems amazing but is a grade-A asshole and here's the boy next door who's secretly perfect for the heroine and is waiting in the wings'.
What I appreciate most is how understated the book is. Rani meets Oliver's mother, and yeesh, talk about microaggressions—but there's no, you know, screaming racist rant or catching them in bed. Instead there's an addition to this undercurrent of discomfort. Meanwhile, Rani's parents are firm on their no-dating perspective—but when they find out about Oliver, it's not a huge climactic moment (well, it sort of is, but not for that reason) in which they banish Rani to India; it's a moment in which their culture of upbringing and their culture of adulthood are colliding, and they're trying to make sense of that as much as Rani is.
bluenicorn's review against another edition
4.0
As much as this should be lauded for representing Indian American/diverse characters and themes, I hope it doesn't get reduced to "just" that (as important as that is). Because this was a really solid work of young adult fiction, period. Rani is a well-formed, complex character and she finds her first romance to be wonderful, but complicated- as they so often are.
I really appreciated the exploration of micro-aggressions and the discussion of racism; so many books think they have to write about "big racism," but insidious, casual, subtly racist barbs (calling her "Princess Jasmine" (wtf?) are just as important to acknowledge. It's also useful for readers to see that just because someone like Rani "lets" others call her that, it doesn't mean she's okay with it and it doesn't mean it's okay to say. Hopefully it will make readers think and do some self-reflection.
Similarly, her complicated romance explores some issues that I don't see crop up very often, but are very realistic when discussing young/first relationships. There are issues of boundaries being disrespected, codependency, racial fetishizing, and sexual pressure/emotional manipulation. This is the kind of stuff that happens all of the time in new/young relationships, but I don't think it exactly comes up in "the talk" from parents (if you even get that!). I know I certainly acquired most of my (incredibly unrealistic) relationship expectations from magazines, movies, books and tv, so I feel it's really important to start introducing these topics in media young people are consuming.
Even new adults would probably get quite a bit out of this one, if interested in relationships, female empowerment, and Indian-American culture.
I really appreciated the exploration of micro-aggressions and the discussion of racism; so many books think they have to write about "big racism," but insidious, casual, subtly racist barbs (calling her "Princess Jasmine" (wtf?) are just as important to acknowledge. It's also useful for readers to see that just because someone like Rani "lets" others call her that, it doesn't mean she's okay with it and it doesn't mean it's okay to say. Hopefully it will make readers think and do some self-reflection.
Similarly, her complicated romance explores some issues that I don't see crop up very often, but are very realistic when discussing young/first relationships. There are issues of boundaries being disrespected, codependency, racial fetishizing, and sexual pressure/emotional manipulation. This is the kind of stuff that happens all of the time in new/young relationships, but I don't think it exactly comes up in "the talk" from parents (if you even get that!). I know I certainly acquired most of my (incredibly unrealistic) relationship expectations from magazines, movies, books and tv, so I feel it's really important to start introducing these topics in media young people are consuming.
Even new adults would probably get quite a bit out of this one, if interested in relationships, female empowerment, and Indian-American culture.