A review by emileereadsbooks
That Thing About Bollywood by Supriya Kelkar

emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Thank you to Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

If the TV show Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist was Bollywood and middle grade, it would be this book, and that means that this book is pure magic. When Sonali's world shifts and has a Bollywood makeover, she suddenly can't stop singing and dancing her feelings even though she would prefer to keep all her emotions locked up inside. Sonali has to deal with school, friendships, family, and her parents splitting up in this book and it's a great message about sharing your feelings and about community.

This is an example of a book that is probably spectacular in print, but just SHINES on audio. Hearing all the Indian words pronounced correctly and the emotion and inflection included in the musical numbers were stellar.

I tried finding out if this has been optioned for the screen yet and couldn't find anything. But this would be a SPECTACULAR movie. It would introduce kids not only to the wonderful messages in this story, but a great Indian American main character and the culture of Bollywood. 
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