Review: Good read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 23, 2012
This book looks at a classic clash of cultures. Nisha and Vinita live under the thumbs of their parents who believe very much in the very traditional Indian ways. When their American cousins, Amber and Lauren, come to visit, their lives are turned upside down.India has always been a fascinating place for me. I would love to go there and visit someday. I think that it would definitely be an awesome experience. There are a lot of things that are unfamiliar to Americans as Amber and Lauren find out. In parts, I kind of wanted to kick Amber and Lauren as they seem to be checking all of the boxes as the ugly American tourists, a stereotype that I really, really hate. Although, I think a lot of times it's hard to keep in mind that you have to accept other places for what they are and that the world would be a very boring place if every single place were exactly the same. That being said, I think that the reactions that the cousins had were very realistic. Even if I didn't share them out loud, I recognized some of the same things that I thought about when I was in Ukraine last year (I don't know how it compares directly to India but it was definitely the roughest country that I had ever been in).One thing I didn't like in the book was the mystery of Nisha and Vinita's origin. The mystery didn't come in until sort of the end of the middle of the book. It seemed like it was put there for some unknown reason and then the mystery ends pretty quickly. I can see how it resolved some issues in the minds of the characters but I wasn't really sure how it fit into the "big picture" of the book.I loved the writing of the book. Samson really makes you care about the characters, especially the main character, Nisha. You get to feel what she's dealing with and you get to experience first hand the transition that she makes throughout the book, which I really liked.Bottom line: I think that readers who like books about different places and cultures will really enjoy this one!