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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
Say hi to Twinkle. She calls herself an invisible wallflower and her biggest dream is to make movies that would touch people. Oh, and there is a certain boy on the school swim team, Neil Roy, who happens to be Twinkle's crush.
And then there is Sahil. A huge film fan and he has a crush on Twinkle since forever. Oh, and he is Neil's twin brother.
Twinkle lives a quiet life with her parents and her grandmother and thinks that no one is taking note of her and that her parents do not love her. So she writes letters into her diary to famous female directors like Sofia Coppola and Kathryn Bigelow and tells them about her dreams and feelings.
After her best friend Maddie spends more time with a new group of friends she made she feels more alone than ever and daydreams about being Neil's girlfriend.
One day she meets Sahil in a cafe and starts talking to him. The next day Sahil heard how she talked to Maddie about the school play of Midsummer Night. While Maddie encourages Twinkle to ask for permission to do a movie out of it, Sahil offers to be the producer of this project.
The book is written from the point of view of both of them - Twinkle and Sahid. So you learn fast that while Twinkle is caught up in the movie project and receiving e-mails from a secret admire called "N" of which she is hoping he turns out to be Neil you also learn that Sahid is madly in love with her since he was 11 and only thanks to his two best friends finds the courage to make the first step at the cafe to talk to her.
Sandhya Menon does it again. She takes you on a journey into a wonderful story with fun and a lot of nerdiness combine with a clash of American and Indian culture.
The story is perfect and I wish I could forget that I read it and read it again!
I am absolutely in love with her books.
Say hi to Twinkle. She calls herself an invisible wallflower and her biggest dream is to make movies that would touch people. Oh, and there is a certain boy on the school swim team, Neil Roy, who happens to be Twinkle's crush.
And then there is Sahil. A huge film fan and he has a crush on Twinkle since forever. Oh, and he is Neil's twin brother.
Twinkle lives a quiet life with her parents and her grandmother and thinks that no one is taking note of her and that her parents do not love her. So she writes letters into her diary to famous female directors like Sofia Coppola and Kathryn Bigelow and tells them about her dreams and feelings.
After her best friend Maddie spends more time with a new group of friends she made she feels more alone than ever and daydreams about being Neil's girlfriend.
One day she meets Sahil in a cafe and starts talking to him. The next day Sahil heard how she talked to Maddie about the school play of Midsummer Night. While Maddie encourages Twinkle to ask for permission to do a movie out of it, Sahil offers to be the producer of this project.
The book is written from the point of view of both of them - Twinkle and Sahid. So you learn fast that while Twinkle is caught up in the movie project and receiving e-mails from a secret admire called "N" of which she is hoping he turns out to be Neil you also learn that Sahid is madly in love with her since he was 11 and only thanks to his two best friends finds the courage to make the first step at the cafe to talk to her.
Sandhya Menon does it again. She takes you on a journey into a wonderful story with fun and a lot of nerdiness combine with a clash of American and Indian culture.
The story is perfect and I wish I could forget that I read it and read it again!
I am absolutely in love with her books.
2.5 stars? 2.25?
i honestly don't know what this was. it was made worse by the fact that i know a sahil, and he is really nothing like the sahil presented here...but i couldnt stop thinking about sahil saying nonsense like "chamatkar." i was beginning to skim this by the end because i had such a deep headache from how terrible twinkle is, but sahil was always a sweet bright spot. i like dadi and victoria too. everyone else made me want to throw the book away.
i honestly don't know what this was. it was made worse by the fact that i know a sahil, and he is really nothing like the sahil presented here...but i couldnt stop thinking about sahil saying nonsense like "chamatkar." i was beginning to skim this by the end because i had such a deep headache from how terrible twinkle is, but sahil was always a sweet bright spot. i like dadi and victoria too. everyone else made me want to throw the book away.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
Read in one sitting.
“Geeks are smart and talented and passionate. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
➣ Overall Story
This was such a cute read!! It's the exact feeling of drinking iced tea next to a pool in the middle of summer: it's sweet, light, and fun. I love the idea of having a protagonist interested in film and the fact that while some of the slang feels a little "how do you do, fellow youths?" I like seeing modern and up to date references to social media in a way that usually feels natural.
➣ The Good
The relationship between Twinkle and Sahil is the most adorable thing. Obviously, that is the driving factor in this story, but I still thoroughly enjoyed watching them fall for each other. I also liked the emphasis on friendships and the different kinds of friends we meet and lose in life.
I just appreciate how this, even more than When Dimple Met Rishi has fantastic representation. Thank you for the explicitly bisexual boy that we never get to see in literature, whether or not it's young adult, and a nice little side romance with him and another boy—as minor as it was, it was a super cute side romance.
Sahil is just a quintessential Good Boy and multiple times I found myself going, "Oh God you're so awkward, someone help this poor boy." Which is great, because that's what all his friends seemed to think too. I love that he stays consistently supportive of Twinkle and challenges her when she starts acting out.
➣ The Unclassifiable
This definitely reads younger, which isn't a bad thing, but I feel like there were definitely plot points that got glossed over. I was about halfway through the book, enjoying them getting their film props together when I realized: did they ever write a script? Who wrote it? Did they just never mention how they're actually creating this? Who is the screenwriter??
And while I get that Twinkle focuses more on modern film, it seems odd that a film buff who wanted to be a director hadn't seen the original Dracula, if only because it's considered such a classic. Even if it did provide the opportunity for a cute movie night.
Everything moves reeeeeeallly quickly in the second half and I would've liked to have a little more time spent on Twinkle learning her lessons about friends and relationships. The shift in "normal" Twinkle to "Diva" Twinkle comes and goes much quicker than I would've liked. And I wish we had a few more scenes with Sahil and Twinkle talking through all of their misunderstandings with her secret admirer and how much of a non-issue that ended up being.
➣ Final Thoughts
This book is the cotton candy of contemporary YA and I really enjoyed it. While contemporary romance is not my genre and reading about teens who really act like teens makes me feel old and frustrated with their lack of communication, this book kept me entertained. Menon is my go to for YA contemporary and has been since When Dimple Met Rishi, so I look forward to seeing what comes next. As long as someone trips on their own shoelaces or throws coffee on someone again.
Another fun story from Sandhya Menon. Can't wait to share it with my students!
After When Dimple Met Rishi I didn't think I could love another book quite like Menon's debut novel. However, From Twinkle, with Love proved me wrong. I also didn't know if I would like the format since it's mostly comprised of letters Twinkle is writing to her female director heroes, but I did. Menon has a way of pulling the reader into the story, particularly when it's written in a letter/texting style like this because you get a true sense of what the characters are thinking and feeling that way. I loved the entire premise of Twinkle doing a remake of Dracula from a female perspective and working with her crush's nerdy twin brother. A twist was that Twinkle is also receiving love letters from a secret admirer, one who she assumes in Neil, Sahil's brother whom she has always had a thing for. In the meantime her best friend is pulling away from her into a more popular crowd. Twinkle thinks hooking up with Neil will solve all her problems, taking her from a nobody, invisible groundling to a popular girl and winning her friend back in the process. This story put the family issues more towards the back instead of making them a forefront problem for the main character like in Dimple, but I still enjoyed learning about Twinkle's family dynamics. The ending made me cry and I was so happy with Twinkle's transformation throughout the story.
*Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC. All opinions are my own.
*Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC. All opinions are my own.
After When Dimple Met Rishi I didn't think I could love another book quite like Menon's debut novel. However, From Winkle, with Love proved me wrong. I also didn't know if I would like the format since it's mostly comprised of letters Twinkle is writing to her female director heroes, but I did. Menon has a way of pulling the reader into the story, particularly when it's written in a letter/texting style like this because you get a true sense of what the characters are thinking and feeling that way. I loved the entire premise of Twinkle doing a remake of Dracula from a female perspective and working with her crush's nerdy twin brother. A twist was that Twinkle is also receiving love letters from a secret admirer, one who she assumes in Neil, Sahil's brother whom she has always had a thing for. In the meantime her best friend is pulling away from her into a more popular crowd. Twinkle thinks hooking up with Neil will solve all her problems, taking her from a nobody, invisible groundling to a popular girl and winning her friend back in the process. This story put the family issues more towards the back instead of making them a forefront problem for the main character like in Dimple, but I still enjoyed learning about Twinkle's family dynamics. The ending made me cry and I was so happy with Twinkle's transformation throughout the story.
*Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC. All opinions are my own.
*Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC. All opinions are my own.
3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this! I really liked the characters, the plot, and the romance was cute. The one thing that really bugged me is that the main character, Twinkle, was SO OBLIVIOUS to everything that was happening, and she made a lot of really ridiculous decisions throughout.
I enjoyed this! I really liked the characters, the plot, and the romance was cute. The one thing that really bugged me is that the main character, Twinkle, was SO OBLIVIOUS to everything that was happening, and she made a lot of really ridiculous decisions throughout.
4.5 Stars!
I loved this book! I just read it in one day. It was so damn cute!!!! I honestly think I liked it more than When Dimple Met Rishi!
This book follows Twinkle (an Indian American main character) as she writes in her journal about her time at high school. Her best friend has ditched her for the cool kids, her crush has no idea she exists, she's starting to develop feelings for this brother, and she has a secret admirer who might just be her crush! On top of this she's finally living her dream and directing a movie and stepping out of the shadows.
This might sounds like a lot of plots going on, especially since it isn't an especially long book, but everything fit perfectly!
I loved Twinkle as a character. I could relate to her and was rooting for her to stand up for herself. I wanted her to tell Maddie off about being a shitty friend and to tell Hannah to go fuck herself to be honest. Then when she finally starts to stand up for herself she goes a tad bit far (I really didn't think it was that bad), but I fully understand why she does. She's been treated like trash for so long, she deserves to let it out. Honestly I wish she let Maddie have it more, and made her actually redeem herself. That was the one ending that didn't fully satisfy me.
Sahil was such a cute character!!! He was a sweetie and I loved when we got to see insights into his blog and text conversations! He was so into Twinkle for so long and I was so happy for him that he was finally getting the girl. And he was a genuinely good and understanding guy.
I enjoyed the insight we got into other characters as well, especially Twinkle's family.
I will say that the identity of 'N' was very obvious, but I was happy with that plot so I'm okay with it.
The one thing that annoyed me about this book was that basically the entire format was Twinkle's journal entries. I wish we got to see more moments and conversations instead of Twinkle just reflecting about them later.
Overall a great book and an adorable romance! If you're looking for some cutesy fluff I would definitely recommend this book!
I loved this book! I just read it in one day. It was so damn cute!!!! I honestly think I liked it more than When Dimple Met Rishi!
This book follows Twinkle (an Indian American main character) as she writes in her journal about her time at high school. Her best friend has ditched her for the cool kids, her crush has no idea she exists, she's starting to develop feelings for this brother, and she has a secret admirer who might just be her crush! On top of this she's finally living her dream and directing a movie and stepping out of the shadows.
This might sounds like a lot of plots going on, especially since it isn't an especially long book, but everything fit perfectly!
I loved Twinkle as a character. I could relate to her and was rooting for her to stand up for herself. I wanted her to tell Maddie off about being a shitty friend and to tell Hannah to go fuck herself to be honest. Then when she finally starts to stand up for herself she goes a tad bit far (I really didn't think it was that bad), but I fully understand why she does. She's been treated like trash for so long, she deserves to let it out. Honestly I wish she let Maddie have it more, and made her actually redeem herself. That was the one ending that didn't fully satisfy me.
Sahil was such a cute character!!! He was a sweetie and I loved when we got to see insights into his blog and text conversations! He was so into Twinkle for so long and I was so happy for him that he was finally getting the girl. And he was a genuinely good and understanding guy.
I enjoyed the insight we got into other characters as well, especially Twinkle's family.
I will say that the identity of 'N' was very obvious, but I was happy with that plot so I'm okay with it.
The one thing that annoyed me about this book was that basically the entire format was Twinkle's journal entries. I wish we got to see more moments and conversations instead of Twinkle just reflecting about them later.
Overall a great book and an adorable romance! If you're looking for some cutesy fluff I would definitely recommend this book!
Agreeing with most of these reviews, the storyline contained a wonderful diverse set of characters, an inspiring passion for filmmaking, and tons of laughter.
I grew EXHAUSTED from Twinkle’s constant childish actions and her unrealistic view of ‘future Twinkle’ who was a character built on everything she hated. I really did not like her character in any sense except for her passion for filmmaking.
Also, Neil who. He was a character built off such praise yet we only ever heard “pretty girl” out of him. Nada.
Sahil made this book. His constant down to heart soul and reality checks are what pulled me through this book. As well as the occasions that Aaron and Skid were brought in.
Having read When Dimple Met Rishi, I see similarities between Rishi and Twinkle in that their character development is lacking common sense and thought processing.
I give three stars because the story line still intrigued me and the culture and diversity that I found I enjoyed in When Dimple Met Rishi was present.
I grew EXHAUSTED from Twinkle’s constant childish actions and her unrealistic view of ‘future Twinkle’ who was a character built on everything she hated. I really did not like her character in any sense except for her passion for filmmaking.
Also, Neil who. He was a character built off such praise yet we only ever heard “pretty girl” out of him. Nada.
Sahil made this book. His constant down to heart soul and reality checks are what pulled me through this book. As well as the occasions that Aaron and Skid were brought in.
Having read When Dimple Met Rishi, I see similarities between Rishi and Twinkle in that their character development is lacking common sense and thought processing.
I give three stars because the story line still intrigued me and the culture and diversity that I found I enjoyed in When Dimple Met Rishi was present.