Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the relationship more than When Dimple Met Rishi. I’m just not a fan of epistolary novels, I think.
Above all, I think this was really cute and would recommend it if that's what you're looking for. Mostly light and fun, and the characters are really great. In fact, I would love to read about them in other stories.
There was quite a bit where I was really frustrated and cringed really hard, and I didn't like or understand Twinkle and had to force myself to keep reading. I think Twinkle spends a lot of time in her head, somehow not interacting enough with other characters that could shake her out of some obviously terrible thoughts or plans.
I don't think it's fair to factor that into the rating because I'm older than the intended readers, but it was rough. Even so, I'm still glad that this book is out there. I can imagine it will mean a lot for many people.
There was quite a bit where I was really frustrated and cringed really hard, and I didn't like or understand Twinkle and had to force myself to keep reading. I think Twinkle spends a lot of time in her head, somehow not interacting enough with other characters that could shake her out of some obviously terrible thoughts or plans.
Spoiler
Of course they do, but it takes a long time to get there.I don't think it's fair to factor that into the rating because I'm older than the intended readers, but it was rough. Even so, I'm still glad that this book is out there. I can imagine it will mean a lot for many people.
I love a female feminist character of color succeeding in a predominantly male industry. I don't like when the format takes away from the story, which is what happened here. There was no reason for this story to be told in letters the way it was, and these are not the kinds of things that a teenage girl would write to her role models. Twinkle makes some incredibly unrealistic decisions and assumptions, and they just didn't ring true. Like Dimple's interest in coding, her interest in film felt so shallow. There was nothing about why her movies where insightful, or real, or true, just talk that they were.
Meh. 6th grade (age 12) & up. I had high hopes because I loved When Dimple Met Rishi, but this just fell a bit flat for me. On almost every page, Twinkle reminds us that she HAS to date Neil to elevate her social status, which just felt redundant and unnecessary. The whole thing felt very repetitive. The story could have been trimmed down to be much more interesting. I did enjoy the romance between Twinkle & Sahil, but I found most of the other story lines (her friendship with Maddie, the mean girl popular group, her newfound friendship with Victoria, and her issues with her parents) lacking in depth. I wanted more character development and less of Twinkle endlessly telling us the same things again and again.
This was a super cute young adult romantic comedy that at it's base was mindless and fun but had some important, inspiring subjects as well. Twinkle Mehra is a 16-year-old aspiring filmmaker who is at multiple crossroads in her life. She writes about her feelings and encounters to her heroes, female filmmakers such as Sofia Coppola and Mira Nair. She is juggling her own place on the high school social ladder - a groundling - as well as a best friend who is spending more time with the popular crowd, a student producer she is falling in love with, and a secret admirer that may or may not be the twin brother of her producer. Sprinkle in some familial drama with her immigrant, blue collar parents and you have the perfect YA mixture.
Menon perfectly captures a young woman who is discovering herself. Twinkle knows her passions and what she wants to do, though it may not fully resonate with her family. She recognizes herself in her heroes but also the disparity of females filmmakers and the struggles they must've gone through to reach success. You get the usual dose of teenage stupidness and drama but in the end, I definitely teared up watching Twinkle come out happily on the other end. I loved the examination of race and class within the high school setting and the examination of the parent/child relationship with immigrant parents and the divide between raising children in a more prosperous USA and the hard personal consequences that decision might have. I usually eyeroll at romance in YA books (why do we always have to have it?? It so often feels forced) but the relationship between Twinkle and Sunil felt really natural to me and I rooted for it the entire way through.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself listening to this! Soneela Nankani was fabulous. Having previously heard her narration in middle grade form, it took me a bit to center myself on the ages of the characters (she does skew slightly young to my ear) but in then end, I thought she was a fabulous voice for Twinkle. With the audiobook format, the addition of Sunil's perspective felt superfluous. I assume in writing these segments served as email, text, and blog posts interjected throughout which may act as a more natural way to have another side of the romance and plot. However, with the addition of a second narrator, it made the sections feel too sparse and unnecessary.
Menon perfectly captures a young woman who is discovering herself. Twinkle knows her passions and what she wants to do, though it may not fully resonate with her family. She recognizes herself in her heroes but also the disparity of females filmmakers and the struggles they must've gone through to reach success. You get the usual dose of teenage stupidness and drama but in the end, I definitely teared up watching Twinkle come out happily on the other end. I loved the examination of race and class within the high school setting and the examination of the parent/child relationship with immigrant parents and the divide between raising children in a more prosperous USA and the hard personal consequences that decision might have. I usually eyeroll at romance in YA books (why do we always have to have it?? It so often feels forced) but the relationship between Twinkle and Sunil felt really natural to me and I rooted for it the entire way through.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself listening to this! Soneela Nankani was fabulous. Having previously heard her narration in middle grade form, it took me a bit to center myself on the ages of the characters (she does skew slightly young to my ear) but in then end, I thought she was a fabulous voice for Twinkle. With the audiobook format, the addition of Sunil's perspective felt superfluous. I assume in writing these segments served as email, text, and blog posts interjected throughout which may act as a more natural way to have another side of the romance and plot. However, with the addition of a second narrator, it made the sections feel too sparse and unnecessary.
Twinkle lonely at school. Her ex-best friend, Maddie has left her to hang out with the popular kids. Twinkle longs to become one of them so that she and Maddie can be friends again. Twinkle think that the best way to do this would be to date Neil Roy, a popular pre-Olympic athlete. Twinkle is an aspiring film director, so when Neil's twin brother Sahil approaches her to collaborate for a movie project, she thinks this is her chance. Twinkle spends more time with Sahil, working on the movie and begins to see him in a new light. She also meets his friends and begins spending time with them. To complicate matters further, Twinkle gets an anonymous admirer sending her emails, only signing the name 'N'.
This book was AMAZING. Seriously, if you loved When Dimple Met Rishi, definitely check this one out! It's cute, it's fluffy, it's full of obscure film references! OK, so I didn't get all the film references, but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the book at all. The book is written as a series of letters between Twinkle and her favourite female directors. Twinkle is lovely and insecure and watching her grow over the course of the book was amazing. Sahil was completely adorkable. He was like the most wonderful guy and I just wanted him to be happy forever. There was a wonderful cast of characters who were fleshed out. This book was like a wonderfully adorable contemporary romance and you need it in your life.
This book was AMAZING. Seriously, if you loved When Dimple Met Rishi, definitely check this one out! It's cute, it's fluffy, it's full of obscure film references! OK, so I didn't get all the film references, but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the book at all. The book is written as a series of letters between Twinkle and her favourite female directors. Twinkle is lovely and insecure and watching her grow over the course of the book was amazing. Sahil was completely adorkable. He was like the most wonderful guy and I just wanted him to be happy forever. There was a wonderful cast of characters who were fleshed out. This book was like a wonderfully adorable contemporary romance and you need it in your life.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Twinkle is an aspiring filmmaker, who only makes films for her unknown Youtube channel. If she is ever going to work on the skills she will need for college and her future, she will need to take on more widely publicized projects. Shy Twinkle is given the opportunity when the brother of her crush, Sahil, offers to work with her on a video project for the school’s upcoming Summer Festival. Twinkle is excited about the prospect showing the world her film skills and potentially getting closer to Neil, by working with Sahil. As the filming of the gender bended Dracula begins, Twinkle’s identity begins to change. She is forced to confront her feelings for Sahil and how she treats him.
Twinkle is an a$$hole. However, I totally got into this story. I did scream at Twinkle and feel completely terrible for the people she trampled on. It took her forever to get her life together and realize what she was doing to the people around her, but I think she got there eventually. I laughed at various points throughout the novel and had fun going on the Dracula journey.
Twinkle is an aspiring filmmaker, who only makes films for her unknown Youtube channel. If she is ever going to work on the skills she will need for college and her future, she will need to take on more widely publicized projects. Shy Twinkle is given the opportunity when the brother of her crush, Sahil, offers to work with her on a video project for the school’s upcoming Summer Festival. Twinkle is excited about the prospect showing the world her film skills and potentially getting closer to Neil, by working with Sahil. As the filming of the gender bended Dracula begins, Twinkle’s identity begins to change. She is forced to confront her feelings for Sahil and how she treats him.
Twinkle is an a$$hole. However, I totally got into this story. I did scream at Twinkle and feel completely terrible for the people she trampled on. It took her forever to get her life together and realize what she was doing to the people around her, but I think she got there eventually. I laughed at various points throughout the novel and had fun going on the Dracula journey.
This was an amazing book! I loved it from beginning to end.
I'm a big fan of Sandhya Menon's books - I've loved both When Dimple Met Rishi and There's Something About Sweetie, so I thought I was onto a winner here. As always with Menon's books, the characters in this were vibrant, I got hooked on the plot and fell a little in love with the main male character.
Twinkle is an aspiring teen filmmaker struggling with high school after her best friend starts hanging out with the popular girls. She's hoping the film she's making will be her path to popularity, and that hanging out with Sahil will give her the opportunity to spend time with his twin Neil, her ultimate crush. But, the film actually forces her to hold up a lens to her own actions, and realise that she's perhaps becoming someone different to who she'd like to be.
The reason why I struggled with this book was also one of the reasons why it was so good. Menon captures what it's like to be an insecure teen so well, and it felt like holding a mirror up to my uncomfortable truths. I've not related to any teen character like this in a long time, in a way that brought me back exactly to all my big fears, nasty thoughts and distance from who I wanted to be.
I gave this four stars because there were parts I really struggled with, and I felt like my lack of interest in filmmaking and directors meant a few bits of the book were lost on me. However I got totally wrapped up in the writing and the plot.
Twinkle is an aspiring teen filmmaker struggling with high school after her best friend starts hanging out with the popular girls. She's hoping the film she's making will be her path to popularity, and that hanging out with Sahil will give her the opportunity to spend time with his twin Neil, her ultimate crush. But, the film actually forces her to hold up a lens to her own actions, and realise that she's perhaps becoming someone different to who she'd like to be.
The reason why I struggled with this book was also one of the reasons why it was so good. Menon captures what it's like to be an insecure teen so well, and it felt like holding a mirror up to my uncomfortable truths. I've not related to any teen character like this in a long time, in a way that brought me back exactly to all my big fears, nasty thoughts and distance from who I wanted to be.
I gave this four stars because there were parts I really struggled with, and I felt like my lack of interest in filmmaking and directors meant a few bits of the book were lost on me. However I got totally wrapped up in the writing and the plot.
Just remember not to lose yourself.
This book was the cute romance I was looking for. Really funny and it can speak a lot to you.
This book was the cute romance I was looking for. Really funny and it can speak a lot to you.