Header Image

Review: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Title: When Dimple Met Rishi
Author: Sandhya Menon
Year Published: 2017


Genre: YA fiction
Pages: 378
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Location (my 2017 Google Reading map)USA (CA)

FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my school's library


Summary (from the inside flap of the book): Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she's more than ready for a break from her family--and 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 young developers... right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romatnic. So when his parents tell him that he and his future wife will be attending the same summer program--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 part of something much bigger than himself.

The Shahs and Patels don't mean to start turning the wheels on this "suggested arrangement" so early in their children's lives, but when they notice them both gravitating toward the same summer program, they figured, why not?

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.

Review: In the midst of living in a hotel because we've been evacuated from the fires roaring through Santa Barbara, I thought this book seemed like a fun, romantic, and light-hearted book. It turned out to be just the thing to counter the intensity of my life right now. I read this book in two sittings, the second one in my own bed--the evacuations have been lifted!

I don't have a lot to say about this book except that it is light, fun, a bit predictable (which I didn't mind) and I think could be a hit with teenagers. 

Dimple is a great kid: smart, confident, and directed. She is going to Stanford in a couple months and wants to spend six weeks of her summer at a coding camp. Very now and a great message to girls. Rishi is also smart (he's off to MIT), but he has this artistic side that is just dying to come out and dominate his life. Together they are fun. I liked that they weren't sure of each other, but then couldn't resist falling deep in like. 

I also think it's important that Dimple and Rishi are not white. They were both born in the US, but have strong ties to their families' cultures, traditions, and ethnic backgrounds from India. There are so many students in our schools with similar situations that it would be nice for them to read about teens that are making it work. I think the cover does a nice job of showing both sides of Dimple: she has a nose ring and henna on her hands, but she is drinking what looks like a Starbucks drink (without the logo).

Challenges for which this counts:

No comments