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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
adding 0.5 stars for my first time reading an indian girl protagonist
funny
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 enjoyed this book, but I had a few major problems with it. I really loved the representation and film aspects. I think having her be a young Indian filmmaker is awesome, and I think that’s displayed in a fun way in the letters to female filmmakers. I also think she does grow a lot throughout the book. I think there are a lot of fun movie/TV references throughout.
However, it annoyed me how focused she was on the class status in high schoolers. I know that’s a big thing in 90s movies and such, but since this book supposedly takes place when I was in high school in the 2010s, I feel like “popular” kind of became non-existent. There were people who were a bit more popular than others, but I never saw it is such a dividing line as she makes it. Everyone just kind of mingles and some mingle more than others. I also wish we had seen more build up of her as a filmmaker. I know she had her YouTube videos, but those all happened before the book so we didn’t get to truly see her grow in that area other than saying she was awesome at directing every time. Then suddenly at the end she became super popular from one film (which also meant the whole ending felt very rushed to me). It was also so frustrating how focused she was on Neil when he clearly didn’t even really know who she was and kept assuming the emails were from him and fantasizing about them being together. She just seemed very focused on herself a lot of the time and not how others were feeling and doing outside of her.
However, it annoyed me how focused she was on the class status in high schoolers. I know that’s a big thing in 90s movies and such, but since this book supposedly takes place when I was in high school in the 2010s, I feel like “popular” kind of became non-existent. There were people who were a bit more popular than others, but I never saw it is such a dividing line as she makes it. Everyone just kind of mingles and some mingle more than others. I also wish we had seen more build up of her as a filmmaker. I know she had her YouTube videos, but those all happened before the book so we didn’t get to truly see her grow in that area other than saying she was awesome at directing every time. Then suddenly at the end she became super popular from one film (which also meant the whole ending felt very rushed to me). It was also so frustrating how focused she was on Neil when he clearly didn’t even really know who she was and kept assuming the emails were from him and fantasizing about them being together. She just seemed very focused on herself a lot of the time and not how others were feeling and doing outside of her.
This was so cute! I think YA contemporary is gonna be one of my favorite genres to read, thanks to this!
Super cute, which is what I wanted. There are weird comments that come off as internalized racism (which I also found in When Dimple met Rishi), but those tapered off as the book went on. I know teens go through their own identity development, but I was hoping to see characters dealing with issues of skin color and racial/ethnic features as much as they were dealing with sexism and fighting the patriarchy (which is also important). This author just may not be where I get that, though i still plan to follow her career.
I didn't like Twinkle as a person as much as I did Dimple and Sweetie. Twinkle is an aspiring film director and the book is written as letters/diary entries to her favorite female directors. The one character flaw I found with Twinkle was her need to move up the social ladder at her high school. Fortunately, she realizes how her life was changing before she did anything really stupid or unforgettable to her new friends.
This story is very cute, but reminds me why YA books can be so frustrating. While this book is in a similar vein to When Dimple Met Rishi, I felt that book did the love story and premise far more successfully than this one. I didn't love the format of this story with the constant letters or diary entries and then random text or email conversations. This entire book reads as first person from our protagonist Twinkle, but then it's like Menon enjoyed the gimmick of the letters, it gave her a title after all, and it allowed to peak into Sahil's POV when it suited, but it just didn't really work for me. I would have much rather Menon commit to Sahil being the secondary lead and give him his own POV, like Dimple/Rishi, or just stick to Twinkle and have us find out later how truly love lorn and wonderful he is. It would definitely make for a more compelling story. As it is, I honestly just found everything that happened extremely frustrating. All the drama is caused by lack of easy communication which I suppose is typical of teens, but it's still insanely annoying. And Twinkle hanging onto her crush on Neil when it's beyond clear he has zero interest in her or even knows she exists is also beyond annoying. As a whole I really like the concept, especially her being an aspiring director, but I feel like we didn't get enough of that either because we're wrapped up in her personal drama and then she directs one high school film and bam, she's famous. It all felt a bit far fetched. I wish they threw in her making a bunch of mini films first and not having the support or budget to make something legit and her efforts going nowhere until Sahil joins her. That could've made a far more compelling story. While I enjoyed this and the bones are there, it just all felt a bit fluffy and silly. Definitely more enjoyable for a younger audience, which is something I run into with YA. I'm getting older, so that's just a fact lol. But I love the genre as a whole and will not let go!
What a fantastic book! Written in diary format and to iconic female directors, Twinkle finishes up her last few months of her junior year in high school. She's pining over Neil, she wants to work on her hard skills, and she's struggling over losing her best friend's attention to the popular girls in school. But when Sahil, Neil's twin brother, offers to produce a film project for the end of school creative project, she agrees to finally put herself out there and do what she's always dreamed about doing.
Her new film project is helping her regain her best friend and is helping her realize that maybe Sahil is the right twin for her, and not Neil. But the closer it is to finalization, the more her ego rises. She's recruited her best friend and other popular girls, everyone is finally admiring her talent, and she now has the opportunity to make something absolutely groundbreakig and truthful. But what if the truth ends up destroying friendships? Maybe it's better to be less mercilessly honest and to let bygones be bygones. Who knows--it's a hard lesson to learn.
I found this book to be so fun and engaging, especially as Twinkle struggles with her school, personal, professional, and love lives all at once. It's a true representation of being a creative in high school and not having originated in the limelight. Menon allows her characters to be geeky in their own ways and to live and learn, even when the going gets hard, which I hugely appreciate.
Overall, I definitely recommend this book--especially now that it's getting to be the summer. It's a feel good novel with just the right amount of tension and drama.
Review cross-listed here!
Her new film project is helping her regain her best friend and is helping her realize that maybe Sahil is the right twin for her, and not Neil. But the closer it is to finalization, the more her ego rises. She's recruited her best friend and other popular girls, everyone is finally admiring her talent, and she now has the opportunity to make something absolutely groundbreakig and truthful. But what if the truth ends up destroying friendships? Maybe it's better to be less mercilessly honest and to let bygones be bygones. Who knows--it's a hard lesson to learn.
I found this book to be so fun and engaging, especially as Twinkle struggles with her school, personal, professional, and love lives all at once. It's a true representation of being a creative in high school and not having originated in the limelight. Menon allows her characters to be geeky in their own ways and to live and learn, even when the going gets hard, which I hugely appreciate.
Overall, I definitely recommend this book--especially now that it's getting to be the summer. It's a feel good novel with just the right amount of tension and drama.
Review cross-listed here!
Twinkle is a quirky, smart, and funny narrator with enough vulnerability to be endearing. She's also laughably obtuse but I think that's part of her charm. Really liked the epistolary structure with journal entries to Twinkle's favorite female filmmakers, and the accompanying focus on breaking glass ceilings.
This book also does a great job of exploring the cultural elements of Twinkle's Indian immigrant working-class family without that being the central conflict of the story -- making the subtle point that while Twinkle is not exclusively defined by her ethnic heritage or her socioeconomic status, they're still important parts of her life, and these realities also set up some extra hurdles that her white counterparts don't face. I loved the cultural details and context clues that white readers will have to work just a little harder to understand.
While there are plenty of YA novels with themes of following your heart, aiming high, and making dreams a reality, there are far fewer that ask these questions about what happens along the way. Questions like: How do you stand up for yourself without putting other people down? What happens when achieving your dreams changes you into something you're not? How can we thrive in a competitive environment without sacrificing relationships and human decency? And how can you make a name for yourself while retaining your humility?
I love how Twinkle wrestles with these questions, engaging the complexities of life with honesty and good humor, and ultimately coming out a better version of herself. This book hits that rare mark of "light but not shallow" and "fun but with substance."
This book also does a great job of exploring the cultural elements of Twinkle's Indian immigrant working-class family without that being the central conflict of the story -- making the subtle point that while Twinkle is not exclusively defined by her ethnic heritage or her socioeconomic status, they're still important parts of her life, and these realities also set up some extra hurdles that her white counterparts don't face. I loved the cultural details and context clues that white readers will have to work just a little harder to understand.
While there are plenty of YA novels with themes of following your heart, aiming high, and making dreams a reality, there are far fewer that ask these questions about what happens along the way. Questions like: How do you stand up for yourself without putting other people down? What happens when achieving your dreams changes you into something you're not? How can we thrive in a competitive environment without sacrificing relationships and human decency? And how can you make a name for yourself while retaining your humility?
I love how Twinkle wrestles with these questions, engaging the complexities of life with honesty and good humor, and ultimately coming out a better version of herself. This book hits that rare mark of "light but not shallow" and "fun but with substance."
another cute story by sandhya menon! to be honest, the whole diary thing was a bit awkward at the beginning. i wasn't sure if we'd get the whole story but ohmygod, it was perfect! the narration weaved seamlessly and it didn't feel too awkward. i loved how the texts and blog posts from sahil showed us his perspective! and sahil and twinkle are so freaking adorkable together! i love how they just see each other for who they are and how they reminded each other that they don't have to change or compare themselves to someone else to be better. they just are. and i also loved the family stuff that they went through. i honestly cried at the end for what sahil did for them (i mean, technically, he just nudged it but it helped a lot to their whole family and get twinkle's talent seen–wow, i wanna cry just thinking about it.)
did you hear that i loved this story so much? :,-)) what a great way to end finals week!
did you hear that i loved this story so much? :,-)) what a great way to end finals week!