by Sandhya Menon
“Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?
Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.
The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?”
The thing I liked best about this book was reading about characters that do NOT look like me and knowing kids can both read books with characters who are like themselves AND not like themselves. Books are a fantastic way for young readers to learn about cultures other than their own. I felt this story was a great blend of doing-your-own-thing balanced with familiar responsibilities and cultural expectations.
I found this book to be nerdy and adorkable. It was delightful and laugh-out-loud hilarious! There are many cultural references and words sprinkled throughout the story but the author has made it very easy for the reader to understand what they meant.
Fave quote that sums up the book: “This is our life. We get to decide the rules. We get to say what goes and what stays, what matters and what doesn’t.”
Heidi Y.