Review: An author with a gift for comedy
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 16, 2012
I occasionally read young adult books and am fascinated by Indian culture so when I read this novel had a young Indian protagonist I decided to give it a go. The story itself is quite straightforward and doesn't differ significantly from standard set-in-the -West YA fic.Veena is a great, believable protagonist and the scenes where she's either with or talking about her mum are particularly amusing and had me laughing out loud on occasion. Both characters are really well written and I'd love to see them dramatised. I could imagine the whole family with their own weekly TV show on kid's TV here with Veena encountering mishap after mishap and her mother perpetually pessimistic. A brilliant double act.Obviously this isn't the crux of the novel as it's billed as a `young adult romantic comedy set in the Middle East' and that's exactly what you get. There's nothing unpredictable or unexpected as the novel pans out however, each twist and turn is easy to foresee but this doesn't detract from the pure hilarity and enjoyment I had from the novel. The author covers many key issues in a light-hearted but not jovial way include race issues, bullying and self-confidence, all of which are of utmost importance to Veena and her colleagues and are dealt with sensitively without adding too much heavy realism to a light, funny read.4.2 StarsBeth Townsend - The Kindle Book Review