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A review by valpyre
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.
[audiobook]
[minor spoilers]
DNF'd at 31%. I was really surprised at the subpar writing of this -- overall, the book felt very "high school", if that makes sense. Yes, they are teenagers, but this is a book set at a transitional stage in both main characters lives (summer before college), and I don't think that that explains away the simplicity of what happens in this book. Considering it was set at a programming/coding program, it started off very laissez-faire, and pretty much no app development occurred as far as I read. Everything simply seemed set up for Dimple and Rishi to have conveniently romantic experiences.
The meeting between the characters created conflict that immediately disappeared when things were explained and turned almost immediately to insta-love/insta-attraction. And, okay, maybe Rishi was not to blame for their creepy introduction, and Dimple rightly realised her parents were at fault, but she honestly continued to treat Rishi (and a lot of others) really harshly. There was a moment where she thought she really felt like punching something, and Rishi's ribs were right there, but wow she certainly exhibited great restraint.
I think Dimple's impulsivity and passion are great characteristics, but not when they're aimed to be derogatory to others (this book's NLOG energy was off the charts). And I could've gotten on board with Rishi's romantic nature (which I think would've shown the good aspects of the culture of arranging marriages), but he ended up being more creepy than not.
[minor spoilers]
DNF'd at 31%. I was really surprised at the subpar writing of this -- overall, the book felt very "high school", if that makes sense. Yes, they are teenagers, but this is a book set at a transitional stage in both main characters lives (summer before college), and I don't think that that explains away the simplicity of what happens in this book. Considering it was set at a programming/coding program, it started off very laissez-faire, and pretty much no app development occurred as far as I read. Everything simply seemed set up for Dimple and Rishi to have conveniently romantic experiences.
The meeting between the characters created conflict that immediately disappeared when things were explained and turned almost immediately to insta-love/insta-attraction. And, okay, maybe Rishi was not to blame for their creepy introduction, and Dimple rightly realised her parents were at fault, but she honestly continued to treat Rishi (and a lot of others) really harshly. There was a moment where she thought she really felt like punching something, and Rishi's ribs were right there, but wow she certainly exhibited great restraint.
I think Dimple's impulsivity and passion are great characteristics, but not when they're aimed to be derogatory to others (this book's NLOG energy was off the charts). And I could've gotten on board with Rishi's romantic nature (which I think would've shown the good aspects of the culture of arranging marriages), but he ended up being more creepy than not.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Sexism