averywindyday's profile picture

averywindyday 's review for:

From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon

Sandhya Menon describes From Twinkle, with Love as the "spiritual successor" to her debut novel When Dimple Met Rishi and it is easy to see why this is a fitting description. Both novels feature charming and diverse characters. Both protagonists are passionate about their crafts--film directing and web developing, respectively-- and realize their love for the male main characters as the romantic leads help them complete projects that will pave a path for their future careers. Both characters ultimately aim to empower others.


From Twinkle, with Love is a fun read with just the right amount of angst-- angst that promises that the ending will ultimately be a happy one-- for a young adult novel full of fluff. Yet, the novel also has its own clever points. It is an epistolary novel, which cohesively emphasizes how Twinkle's own film is a feminist retelling of the 1931 classic film Dracula. The narrative form is a refreshing one for the genre, and serves to highlight how shockingly and humorously emotionally unperceptive the protagonist can be, despite being an insightful director and being paired with a character who demonstrates a rare trait in YA fiction: the ability to maturely communicate his own feelings.


Overall, I enjoyed From Twinkle, with Love because of its careful balance of maintaining and reversing key tropes within YA. I am eagerly waiting for Menon's upcoming YA novel There's Something About Sweetie.