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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
I won this book in a giveaway a while ago - and finished it last night - I actually listened to When Dimple Met Rishi around the time it showed up at my door - and I must say that I much prefer that - either because of the listening aspect or because I liked the story more. For some reason I found Twinkle to be a bit annoying, repeating same things over and over (her feelings about what she was going through) and it was just not my cup of tea - perhaps if I would have listened to it I would have liked it more, and I intend to do that in the future. I have no ill words to say about any of the other characters and I quite enjoyed Maddie she seemed like she had her head on straight. Overall it was an OK read and had some funny moments but it definitely didn't hit all my wants in a book. Though I did enjoy the journal formatting/texts/emails, that was something I had never really read before.
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
It's not you, it's me. I hate it say it but I'm getting too old for things like this. This book is written really really young. Twinkle sounds and acts far younger than the 16 she is supposed to be and when she was getting weird and making a big deal about a girl rolling her eyes at her, I knew it was time for me to quit.
"But Jaye!" you say, "this is young adult, it's meant for a younger audience!" In which I'll say: just because it's YA doesn't mean it has to be immature and cringy. Just because it's YA doesn't mean it has to be like this. I've read so many YA contemporaries that have had teen and adult issues without making me want to throw the book and pretend I never saw it.
The journal format didn't help make Twinkle not seem like she was 12 and while writing to different female directors sounds like a fun idea, it didn't actually matter because she switched them every other time. Also Twinkle was impossibly annoying. Tiny pet peeve but DVDs aren't old school, they release new movies on DVD (and bluray, digital, and sometimes 4k) almost every week. Twinkle is a fake film fan.
"But Jaye!" you say, "this is young adult, it's meant for a younger audience!" In which I'll say: just because it's YA doesn't mean it has to be immature and cringy. Just because it's YA doesn't mean it has to be like this. I've read so many YA contemporaries that have had teen and adult issues without making me want to throw the book and pretend I never saw it.
The journal format didn't help make Twinkle not seem like she was 12 and while writing to different female directors sounds like a fun idea, it didn't actually matter because she switched them every other time. Also Twinkle was impossibly annoying. Tiny pet peeve but DVDs aren't old school, they release new movies on DVD (and bluray, digital, and sometimes 4k) almost every week. Twinkle is a fake film fan.
I have really enjoyed the other books by this author, and this had some of those same lovable elements: a strong female character who is sure of what she wants, fun friends, and just strong characters, overall, that you want to see succeed. Also, the audiobook is great (although I kept thinking of Aru Shah since it's the same voice actress!)- not only for pronunciations, but just for giving every character life.
What I didn't like about this book was that I literally had to stop listening to the audiobook and switch to the ebook because it became such a cringe-inducing teen melodrama (and came kind of out of nowhere?); I needed to give myself distance and read the text at my own pace. The literary equivalent of fast-forwarding through the embarrassing part of a movie. I think it's a really talented move to write a book where you eventually stop trusting the main character's perspective and start wondering if she is wholly reliable, but it's also like watching someone you like make a series of bad choices and not being able to stop them. Not entirely enjoyable.
What I didn't like about this book was that I literally had to stop listening to the audiobook and switch to the ebook because it became such a cringe-inducing teen melodrama (and came kind of out of nowhere?); I needed to give myself distance and read the text at my own pace. The literary equivalent of fast-forwarding through the embarrassing part of a movie. I think it's a really talented move to write a book where you eventually stop trusting the main character's perspective and start wondering if she is wholly reliable, but it's also like watching someone you like make a series of bad choices and not being able to stop them. Not entirely enjoyable.
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
twinkle you are an unhinged 16 year old who kinda sounds like a 12 year old (with high school stereotypes) but your story was so cute, wholesome, and inspiring
i love sahil he deserves the world 🥹
i love sahil he deserves the world 🥹
"Am I into films? Ha. Ha ha ha. Only like Bill Nye is into science."
Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy-a.k.a. Sahil's twin brother? Dream come true x2.
When mystery man N begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it's Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she's fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.
I’m softer inside than I look on the outside. Like a slightly stale jelly bean.
This was seriously a cute read. I haven't read the author's debut, but this one definitely hit it out of the park for me. I stayed up till 2AM reading this in one sitting...and if anyone knows me, it's that sleep is premium.
Twinkle wants to grow into a successful and recognized Indian-American female filmmaker who shakes the world with her powerful ideas and I am so behind this. Plagued by the usual insecurities of youth, she's afraid to shake up the status quo to reach for her big dreams — at first.
But while she's coming into her own, she's dealing with what she thinks she wants (popularity) vs. what she needs (self-confidence and love), friendships, mean girls, power trips, and missed boy cues. So while normally I'd be, "I'm too old for this," it was so relatable that I couldn't help feeling nostalgic.
(Also, I just can't even with how much I want to hug Sahil so tight.)
Recommended and absolutely perfect for teens. This is a must-read for working through the growing pains of life and having the strength to go for your dreams.
I'm somewhere in between 2-3 stars for my rating. I was gonna give it the benefit of the doubt and set it as 3, but I'm rewriting this beginning of my review after finishing typing this up and I don't feel it's worthy of a 3 anymore. 2 it is!
This book was alright. The story wasn't my favorite, and I'm not 100% sure if I can even say I liked it, but it had its good aspects too. I have mixed feelings about this book, but I still finished it, so that says something I guess.
Let's first cover the good parts of this book. The FMC is an ambitious & hard-working teenager whose determined to pursue and achieve her dream of being a filmmaker. Her drive to make something out of herself is definitely inspiring, and this book had good representation of an Indian-American FMC. This book also does a great job of showing just how complicated the life of a teenager can be, with friendship issues, family complexities, crushes, etc. I will admit that the friendship issues Twinkle went through lowkey touched home. In addition, Sahil Roy is a TOTAL GREEN FLAG of a boy. He's everything a guy should be when it comes to patience, kindness, attentiveness, and understanding. I rlly rlly liked his character :) The romance in the book was nice also, and I liked how raw teenagery everything in the story felt when it came to angsty emotions and conflicting thoughts.
However, despite all these good aspects that I have mentioned above, this story still fell kind of flat to me. Our FMC was often extremely frustrating. I get her emotions, and sure I've acted immature as a teen too, but she icked me a lot. Despite getting where she's coming from, I still felt icked by her actions and some of the stuff she said. She gets really cocky and there's a fine line between confidence and egoism. It's good that she gets character development, but that's another thing- the way the book ended also felt like a rushed HEA. Suddenly everything is good again and everybody lives HEA. It was satisfying to an extent sure, but also felt strange like ...oh now suddenly in just a couple of pages everything's alright? Also, Sahil deserved Twinkle, but Twinkle didn't deserve Sahil as much. She didn't appreciate him as much as she should have. Another thing is that when it came to the friendship issues she was experiencing, she could have communicated more with Maddie about it... now, ik that that's easier to say than done, but communication is key. Do you really think things between you and her will suddenly go back to normal or change back into how you want them to be if you don't talk to her about how you're feeling directly yourself?
I can say more but I'll end my review here. Overall, this book had good aspects and a lot of potential, but it was also somewhat a bit of a dumpster fire. It was ehh. Not my fav.
p.s. also not a fan of the name twinkle...
This book was alright. The story wasn't my favorite, and I'm not 100% sure if I can even say I liked it, but it had its good aspects too. I have mixed feelings about this book, but I still finished it, so that says something I guess.
Let's first cover the good parts of this book. The FMC is an ambitious & hard-working teenager whose determined to pursue and achieve her dream of being a filmmaker. Her drive to make something out of herself is definitely inspiring, and this book had good representation of an Indian-American FMC. This book also does a great job of showing just how complicated the life of a teenager can be, with friendship issues, family complexities, crushes, etc. I will admit that the friendship issues Twinkle went through lowkey touched home. In addition, Sahil Roy is a TOTAL GREEN FLAG of a boy. He's everything a guy should be when it comes to patience, kindness, attentiveness, and understanding. I rlly rlly liked his character :) The romance in the book was nice also, and I liked how raw teenagery everything in the story felt when it came to angsty emotions and conflicting thoughts.
However, despite all these good aspects that I have mentioned above, this story still fell kind of flat to me. Our FMC was often extremely frustrating. I get her emotions, and sure I've acted immature as a teen too, but she icked me a lot. Despite getting where she's coming from, I still felt icked by her actions and some of the stuff she said. She gets really cocky and there's a fine line between confidence and egoism. It's good that she gets character development, but that's another thing- the way the book ended also felt like a rushed HEA. Suddenly everything is good again and everybody lives HEA. It was satisfying to an extent sure, but also felt strange like ...oh now suddenly in just a couple of pages everything's alright? Also, Sahil deserved Twinkle, but Twinkle didn't deserve Sahil as much. She didn't appreciate him as much as she should have. Another thing is that when it came to the friendship issues she was experiencing, she could have communicated more with Maddie about it... now, ik that that's easier to say than done, but communication is key. Do you really think things between you and her will suddenly go back to normal or change back into how you want them to be if you don't talk to her about how you're feeling directly yourself?
I can say more but I'll end my review here. Overall, this book had good aspects and a lot of potential, but it was also somewhat a bit of a dumpster fire. It was ehh. Not my fav.
p.s. also not a fan of the name twinkle...
so yk how YA is like idk 16-25 or 13-25 or smn like that? this book is more on the 13yo end than the 25 yo end