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booksandladders's review against another edition
4.0
See this review and more on Books and Ladders!
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and chose to review it. This in no way impacts my opinion.
See my full review as part of the blog tour on April 12, 2019!
This was so good! It was a little slow to start but once it got going, I really enjoyed it. It looked at the trials and tribulations that immigrants have coming into Canada and I loved the realism to it. The look at the new girl/bad boy relationship was actually really sweet and I loved seeing the nuances in culture, family, and relationships in general. Bhathena's writing is amazing, as always, and I highly recommend this.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and chose to review it. This in no way impacts my opinion.
See my full review as part of the blog tour on April 12, 2019!
This was so good! It was a little slow to start but once it got going, I really enjoyed it. It looked at the trials and tribulations that immigrants have coming into Canada and I loved the realism to it. The look at the new girl/bad boy relationship was actually really sweet and I loved seeing the nuances in culture, family, and relationships in general. Bhathena's writing is amazing, as always, and I highly recommend this.
miszjeanie's review against another edition
5.0
5⭐️ for this strong YA novel following an Indian girl, Susan, who moves from Saudi Arabia to Canada where she forms a friendship with certified “bad boy,” Malcolm.
This one surprisingly grew on me! I loved that the main characters form a genuine friendship and that this novel addresses so many themes. Susan is a talented artist whose immigrant parents want her to pursue a “professional” degree, and Malcolm’s issues with his dad are serious issues I haven’t seen tackled by many YA books.
I also enjoyed all the minor characters and their storylines, especially how Susan’s parents navigate their marital relationship. Refreshingly, also, the characters in this novel deal with problems more important than the romance in this book.
Overall, a remarkable YA novel! And I stayed up until 2am to finish this. For someone with a 10pm bedtime, that says a lot.
This one surprisingly grew on me! I loved that the main characters form a genuine friendship and that this novel addresses so many themes. Susan is a talented artist whose immigrant parents want her to pursue a “professional” degree, and Malcolm’s issues with his dad are serious issues I haven’t seen tackled by many YA books.
I also enjoyed all the minor characters and their storylines, especially how Susan’s parents navigate their marital relationship. Refreshingly, also, the characters in this novel deal with problems more important than the romance in this book.
Overall, a remarkable YA novel! And I stayed up until 2am to finish this. For someone with a 10pm bedtime, that says a lot.
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Ahhhh, my favorite type of young adult story! Smart, fierce female lead with a complex life outside of her romantic life, BUT there's romance too. And such a great cast of characters! The storyline of an Indian teen who moved from Saudi Arabia to Canada for her senior year of high school addresses being an outsider and fitting into a new world, but not so much the "POC vs white" dynamic that is typically written. The community she lands in has a very diverse population, and the discussion of all the differences among this multicultural community, as well as within the Indian community, is so welcome. Highly recommended for readers of YA and for purchase for libraries serving teens.
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NOTE: while this is about a high school senior and does have several mentions of drugs and alcohol, these are not shown in a positive light and there is not sexual content. Definitely appropriate for middle school readers who like YA as well.
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NOTE: while this is about a high school senior and does have several mentions of drugs and alcohol, these are not shown in a positive light and there is not sexual content. Definitely appropriate for middle school readers who like YA as well.
raeanne's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book for free from Fantastic Flying Book Club in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The Beauty of the Moment is Tanaz Bhathena's sophomore novel starring a sarcastic troubled boy and a too good girl. Perfect for fans of To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han and When Dimple Met Rishi, releasing this Tuesday the 26th. Find all the info and links below for purchase, my review and a tour wide giveaway.
The Beauty of the Moment reminds me of To All the Boys I Loved Before, but with only one boy, one little sister, one book, and immigrant parent complications. There's still the great sibling relationship, the trouble with driving, the compelling relationship between opposites, and the mean girl ex-girlfriend that gets to mature with her own arc.
I really love having it switch between Susan and Malcolm's POV. I wasn't sold on Peter K until the very last book of TATBILB and even then, reluctantly. Malcolm getting to tell his story made it super easy to understand and believe him during the rocky relationship portion.
Susan and Malcolm come from unhappy homes with wildly different set ups. The contrast and balance between the two situations is fantastic. They may each console and vent to each other, but all the progress is made individually.
I do wish we saw more of Susan's mom's changes first hand as well as finding out what happened to Malcolm's crew.
Prize:Win a finished copy of THE BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT by Tanaz Bhathena (US Only)
Start Date:19th February 2019 Ending Date: 5th March 2019
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This review was originally posted on The Layaway Dragon
About the Beauty of the moment:
IMHO: The Beauty of the Moment
The Beauty of the Moment reminds me of To All the Boys I Loved Before, but with only one boy, one little sister, one book, and immigrant parent complications. There's still the great sibling relationship, the trouble with driving, the compelling relationship between opposites, and the mean girl ex-girlfriend that gets to mature with her own arc.
I really love having it switch between Susan and Malcolm's POV. I wasn't sold on Peter K until the very last book of TATBILB and even then, reluctantly. Malcolm getting to tell his story made it super easy to understand and believe him during the rocky relationship portion.
Susan and Malcolm come from unhappy homes with wildly different set ups. The contrast and balance between the two situations is fantastic. They may each console and vent to each other, but all the progress is made individually.
I do wish we saw more of Susan's mom's changes first hand as well as finding out what happened to Malcolm's crew.
I also loved:
- anger management boxing lesson
- the concert
- girl trio
- boy trio that doesn't suck
- The last scene + sentence
Top 5 Non-Spoilery Quotes:
This is the part of her love story that Amma never tells our relatives: the bit where her Happy Ever After turns into a Lifetime of Drudgery.
My knuckles strain against my skin. Let the old man try. This time Mahtab isn't here to stop me.
"Oh yeah, bunking. That's what the Brits call it. Or brown people colonized by Brits."
"I don't know what happened between you and that boy, Susan. but love isn't easy." She stares at the closed bathroom door. "You just need to decide if it's worth the trouble."
Love should not be one-sided.
Giveaway:
Prize:Win a finished copy of THE BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT by Tanaz Bhathena (US Only)
Start Date:19th February 2019 Ending Date: 5th March 2019
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Schedule:
This review was originally posted on The Layaway Dragon
fionak's review against another edition
4.0
Totally charming and emotionally satisfying.
Nothing ground-breaking or amazing is presented, merely an adorable romance with a couple of non-white kids told in alternating points of view. The characterization is solid, the pacing perfect, but the dialogue is weak at times. Overall, the book's strengths outweigh its flaws by a wide margin and I highly recommend it.
A big fat thank you to MacMillan who kindly sent me a copy of this book for review.
Nothing ground-breaking or amazing is presented, merely an adorable romance with a couple of non-white kids told in alternating points of view. The characterization is solid, the pacing perfect, but the dialogue is weak at times. Overall, the book's strengths outweigh its flaws by a wide margin and I highly recommend it.
A big fat thank you to MacMillan who kindly sent me a copy of this book for review.
misterintensity's review against another edition
4.0
Susan has just moved to Canada from Jeddah, Saudi Araba where she meets bad boy Malcolm. Malcolm is everything Susan is not, yet they quickly form a connection. While they may have a connection, both of their unresolved issues may threaten relationship before it begins. This novel is a balanced portrait of two teens and how both their baggage affects their developing relationship. Susan is adjusting to a new place; to a new school where she realizes some things don't come that easy; and to a realization that she wants to pursue a different career path than the one her parents want her to pursue. While Malcolm is still mourning his mother's death; has an estranged relationship with his father and stepmother; is a recovering from substance abuse; and has little interest in school. A recurring theme is the realization that their parents are human. This novel is told in alternating chapters by Susan and Malcolm their perspective of themselves and the people around them shifts throughout the story. While there are loose connections to Bhathena's previous book, A Girl Like That -- Susan went to the same school as Zarin -- this is a standalone. Highly recommended to those who enjoy character-focused realistic fiction.
popthebutterfly's review against another edition
2.0
Disclaimer: I received this e-book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Beauty of the Moment
Author: Tanaz Bhathena
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 2/5
Publication Date: February 26, 2019
Genre: YA Contemporary
Recommended Age: can’t recommend, dnf-ed
Publisher: Farrer, Straus, and Giroux
Pages: 354
Synopsis: Susan is the new girl—she’s sharp and driven, and strives to meet her parents’ expectations of excellence. Malcolm is the bad boy—he started raising hell at age fifteen, after his mom died of cancer, and has had a reputation ever since.
Susan’s parents are on the verge of divorce. Malcolm’s dad is a known adulterer.
Susan hasn’t told anyone, but she wants to be an artist. Malcolm doesn’t know what he wants—until he meets her.
Love is messy and families are messier, but in spite of their burdens, Susan and Malcolm fall for each other. The ways they drift apart and come back together are testaments to family, culture, and being true to who you are.
Review: Had to DNF at 23%. The story is great and so fun, but the trope-y plot is not interesting to me and I don't really like bad boy/good girl stories.
Verdict: It was good, but trope-y
Book: The Beauty of the Moment
Author: Tanaz Bhathena
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 2/5
Publication Date: February 26, 2019
Genre: YA Contemporary
Recommended Age: can’t recommend, dnf-ed
Publisher: Farrer, Straus, and Giroux
Pages: 354
Synopsis: Susan is the new girl—she’s sharp and driven, and strives to meet her parents’ expectations of excellence. Malcolm is the bad boy—he started raising hell at age fifteen, after his mom died of cancer, and has had a reputation ever since.
Susan’s parents are on the verge of divorce. Malcolm’s dad is a known adulterer.
Susan hasn’t told anyone, but she wants to be an artist. Malcolm doesn’t know what he wants—until he meets her.
Love is messy and families are messier, but in spite of their burdens, Susan and Malcolm fall for each other. The ways they drift apart and come back together are testaments to family, culture, and being true to who you are.
Review: Had to DNF at 23%. The story is great and so fun, but the trope-y plot is not interesting to me and I don't really like bad boy/good girl stories.
Verdict: It was good, but trope-y
sc104906's review against another edition
4.0
Find my original review on my blog: https://wp.me/p8jcuj-2p8
Susan and her family move from Saudi Arabi to Canada seeking better opportunities. Susan's mother is overbearing, constantly pushing her to become the perfect daughter. Susan's father is more lenient and the one she can turn to for comfort, however, he has returned to Saudi Arabi without them and hasn't returned in months. There are cracks in her parent's marriage, which ultimately lead in Susan taking the brunt of their anger with each other. Susan uses her art as an outlet and wants to make it a career, however, her parents insist that it is only a hobby and can't even understand why she would want to take an art class in school.
When Susan shows up to her new school in Canada, she finds that priorities are different. While she was popular enough at her old school, now she struggles with the culture shock of being in Canada. Susan quickly catches the notice of bad boy, Malcolm, and his vengeful ex girlfriend.
Malcolm is a terror in the classroom and at home. After being dealt a raw hand, he assumes that everyone is out to get him, though really some are trying to help him. Malcolm loves his sister, but can't stand his father and stepmother. Malcolm can't believe that his father quickly replaced his dead mother with a new woman. While these beliefs direct his actions, they may not be entirely true.
Together Malcolm and Susan push each other to take a hard look at their life and be open to new experiences.
I really liked the characters of this book, they were strong. I found the discussion of culture/culture shock to be interesting and layered. The romance was exactly what I was looking for. It was a fluffy book with some meat on its bones.
Susan and her family move from Saudi Arabi to Canada seeking better opportunities. Susan's mother is overbearing, constantly pushing her to become the perfect daughter. Susan's father is more lenient and the one she can turn to for comfort, however, he has returned to Saudi Arabi without them and hasn't returned in months. There are cracks in her parent's marriage, which ultimately lead in Susan taking the brunt of their anger with each other. Susan uses her art as an outlet and wants to make it a career, however, her parents insist that it is only a hobby and can't even understand why she would want to take an art class in school.
When Susan shows up to her new school in Canada, she finds that priorities are different. While she was popular enough at her old school, now she struggles with the culture shock of being in Canada. Susan quickly catches the notice of bad boy, Malcolm, and his vengeful ex girlfriend.
Malcolm is a terror in the classroom and at home. After being dealt a raw hand, he assumes that everyone is out to get him, though really some are trying to help him. Malcolm loves his sister, but can't stand his father and stepmother. Malcolm can't believe that his father quickly replaced his dead mother with a new woman. While these beliefs direct his actions, they may not be entirely true.
Together Malcolm and Susan push each other to take a hard look at their life and be open to new experiences.
I really liked the characters of this book, they were strong. I found the discussion of culture/culture shock to be interesting and layered. The romance was exactly what I was looking for. It was a fluffy book with some meat on its bones.
missprint_'s review against another edition
4.0
"Nothing lasts forever. Not this snowflake. Not our homes, not our families. But it doesn’t mean you can’t live in the beauty of the moment."
Susan Thomas doesn't cause trouble. She does well in school and she always meets her parents exacting expectations. Maybe that's why she goes along with her family's move to Canada without much fuss. Now, instead of spending her senior year with her friends in the familiar surroundings of Saudi Arabia, Susan is in Canada dealing with winter, a school that-- while less demanding--is co-ed, not to mention her mother's depression while they both wonder if Susan's father will actually make the move to join them in this new country.
According to almost everyone in his life, Malcolm Vakil is trouble. He remembers when he used to care about things like school and making his parents proud but it was a while ago. Before his mother died, before Malcolm found out about his father's affair, and long before his father finally stopped hitting him and his younger sister. He knows what people see when they look at him. He doesn't care enough to prove them wrong.
Susan and Malcolm have nothing in common except for wanting desperately to run away from their lives and, maybe, finding a welcome distraction in each other. But the problem with running away is that eventually you have to figure out somewhere--and maybe someone--to run to in The Beauty of the Moment (2019) by Tanaz Bhatena.
Bhatena's sophomore novel is a contemporary romance set in the same world as her critically acclaimed debut novel A Girl Like That.
The Beauty of the Moment is a light story but don't make the mistake of thinking that means it is slight. Bhatena effectively contrasts Susan and Malcolm's points of view to highlight their differences as well as the common threads that draw them to each other in this story about perceptions and expectations.
This novel is as self-aware as its two main characters. Bhatena artfully explores typical conventions found in romantic comedies while subverting the familiar trope of the smart girl meets bad boy to move the story in unexpected directions. Like all of the best comedies, The Beauty of the Moment isn't afraid to make fun of itself even drawing its title from a line that Malcolm himself recognizes as being incredibly corny seconds after he shares it.
The Beauty of the Moment is everything you could want in a romantic comedy. As with many things, it's easy to ignore the work--the strength of Bhatena's writing-- because so much of it is hidden behind well-drawn characters and an engrossing plot. Not to mention beautiful sentence level writing that is sure to immediately draw readers into Susan and Malcolm's world.
The Beauty of the Moment is a breezy, sweet story about an unlikely romance, complicated families, changed circumstances, and perception. Highly recommended for fans of the genre, readers looking for a new take on some familiar tropes, and anyone looking for a genuine story with authentic, intersectional characters.
Possible Pairings: Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo, Emergency Contact by Mary HK Choi, The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandy Colbert, 96 Words for Love by Ava Dash and Rachel Roy, 29 Dates by Melissa de la Cruz, To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han, There's Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon, The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon, Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*