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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
3.5, rounding up to 4, and second book for my Asian readathon 2020, checking off "3) Read a book featuring an Asian character or written by an Asian author who is different from you." I am Chinese American, and definitely need to broaden my reading range of the diaspora.
Cute standalone, with most annoyances coming from the realistic ughhhs of teenage life (it's been 15 years since but I'm sure if I peek at my diaries of the time they are similarly pressed about The Future but also how no one likes me, and how intense these feelings are).
Twinkle feels she is a total wallflower and her childhood bestie has seemingly moved on to the popular crowd. She aspires to be a filmmaker (and addresses each diary entry to a female director), but isn't sure how to peel herself off the wall and into where the people are, something that the protagonist of [b:There's Something About Sweetie|35583527|There's Something About Sweetie (Dimple and Rishi, #2)|Sandhya Menon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539796761l/35583527._SY75_.jpg|57017289] also shares. An encounter at a coffee shop leads her to work on a film for an upcoming school festival with Sahil Roy, identical twin brother of her crush, Neil Roy. Meanwhile, a mysterious suitor pops up in her email inbox... who was fairly obvious to figure out, but Twinkle's got going on, okay?? Our protagonist gets ugly with directatorial power, and that can be frustrating to watch but the journey to realizing where she crossed the line feels earned.
I have a feeling it will eventually be dated, but I enjoy books where the story is also told through texts and blog posts (fond memories of other YA books like [b:ttfn|301024|ttfn (Internet Girls, #2)|Lauren Myracle|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388205880l/301024._SX50_.jpg|1644362] being Super Cool to teenage!me) Twinkle and her anxieties about social circles felt real, though the continued metaphor of groundlings vs silk feather hats felt like a stretch (though again, this also feels like a very authentically teen thing to do).
Cute standalone, with most annoyances coming from the realistic ughhhs of teenage life (it's been 15 years since but I'm sure if I peek at my diaries of the time they are similarly pressed about The Future but also how no one likes me, and how intense these feelings are).
Twinkle feels she is a total wallflower and her childhood bestie has seemingly moved on to the popular crowd. She aspires to be a filmmaker (and addresses each diary entry to a female director), but isn't sure how to peel herself off the wall and into where the people are, something that the protagonist of [b:There's Something About Sweetie|35583527|There's Something About Sweetie (Dimple and Rishi, #2)|Sandhya Menon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539796761l/35583527._SY75_.jpg|57017289] also shares. An encounter at a coffee shop leads her to work on a film for an upcoming school festival with Sahil Roy, identical twin brother of her crush, Neil Roy. Meanwhile, a mysterious suitor pops up in her email inbox... who was fairly obvious to figure out, but Twinkle's got going on, okay?? Our protagonist gets ugly with directatorial power, and that can be frustrating to watch but the journey to realizing where she crossed the line feels earned.
I have a feeling it will eventually be dated, but I enjoy books where the story is also told through texts and blog posts (fond memories of other YA books like [b:ttfn|301024|ttfn (Internet Girls, #2)|Lauren Myracle|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388205880l/301024._SX50_.jpg|1644362] being Super Cool to teenage!me) Twinkle and her anxieties about social circles felt real, though the continued metaphor of groundlings vs silk feather hats felt like a stretch (though again, this also feels like a very authentically teen thing to do).
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very bingeable YA book. Stayed up late 3 nights in a row with this one (old person late, like 11pm). Sahlil will be your next book crush. ❤️
It took me a while to get into this book. I think that was probably because it was set up so you could see the train wreck that was coming thanks to Twinkle’s decision making and that always makes me uncomfortable. But Menon subverted my expectations there a little bit, which I appreciated.
While the first half of this book was pretty slow and had difficulty captivating me in the story, once things started progressing in second half I really enjoyed it. I love the relationship between Twinkle and Sahil, it is so adorable gives me a similar feeling as Lara Jean and Peter from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han. I enjoyed this book more than When Dimple Met Rishi. This irresistibly cute relationship made up for the slow plot and other issues that I had with this book.
This book was super cute. I relate to Twinkle and Sahil so much, not because their relationship was cute (it was), but because their personalities are so much like mine. An introverted shy groundling.
DNF @ 89%.
I genuinely and truly did not enjoy this book at all. The protagonist was like a character I would have written when I was 16 instead of an actual 16 year old. There were several instances where she was selfish and out of line and it seemed like the narrative wanted us to side with her? Idk man. It takes a lot for me to root for the popular, rich white girls over the poor child of immigrants.
I want to give this only two stars, but I rated it up because it did try. It's not often that you see stories of low income child of immigrants who are interested in the arts instead of science. The writing of letters to female directors felt very young and a little too on the nose, but I understand the choice.
I genuinely and truly did not enjoy this book at all. The protagonist was like a character I would have written when I was 16 instead of an actual 16 year old. There were several instances where she was selfish and out of line and it seemed like the narrative wanted us to side with her? Idk man. It takes a lot for me to root for the popular, rich white girls over the poor child of immigrants.
I want to give this only two stars, but I rated it up because it did try. It's not often that you see stories of low income child of immigrants who are interested in the arts instead of science. The writing of letters to female directors felt very young and a little too on the nose, but I understand the choice.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was almost veryyyy pissed at Twinkle there for a little bit when she refused to back down on showing those mean behind the scenes videos. It felt so out of character for her but I was glad she realized that quickly and saw how hypocritical she was being. Overall I really enjoyed this story. I've read several from this author before and they've all been really good so I was glad to finally read this one as well!
Loveable characters:
No