Review | When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Title: When Dimple Met Rishi
Author: Sandhya Menon
Expected Publication: June 1st 2017 by Hodder & Stoughton
Genre/s: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
When Dimple Met Rishi, is such a brilliant, lighthearted contemporary. A perfect read for the Spring and Summer seasons and I really enjoyed it. We get two very humorous original perspectives and I really adored both Dimple and Rishi, they were very different from any characters I have previously read about in the contemporary genre. When Dimple Met Rishi follows two Indian protagonists at a computer programming summer camp and their struggles with their parents expectations of marriage and their futures while also looking to what they personally want their future to hold.
This is an own voices novel and I loved how Indian culture was wonderfully presented and I found it extremely brilliant that Sandhya Menon was able to both challenge stereotypes and dive deeper into the complexities of Indian traditions. I feel like she was really able to explore a different side to arranged marriage by delving into both negatives and positives of the situation. It was interesting to read from Dimple's point of view and of her opinions against it and then read the contrast from Rishi's point of view. It was really excellent.
"It's like you have this paintbrush, dipped in brilliant mauve's and teals and golds, and you just totally redid my monochromatic life. I need you; I need your paintbrush."
One of my favourite moments was in the beginning when Dimple and Rishi first meet it was absolutely hilarious I could not stop laughing. The banter between both of them was excellent and the misinterpreted situation was brilliant, it is one of my favourite moments from all of the books I have read I just found it so funny and Sandhya Menon did it in such a clever way. The romance in this book is so cute and I enjoyed how it was done in less typical YA way, it was a very realistic representation that was lovely to read. While being cute and heartwarming it was also really deep and interesting. The plot was really fast paced and I didn't get bored while reading at all.
"She wept for her hardheadedness, and for a world that couldn't just let her be both, a woman in love and a women with a career..."
There were a couple of things that I didn't really like. Firstly I felt a little uncomfortable reading the talent show parts. Mainly because I find that talent shows are really cringe-worthy and I personally felt awkward for the characters. I had to have a little break in between reading those parts because it was a little too much. But honestly it was funny and made for a great read. I also feel like the beginning and middle parts seemed so well developed and put together that I then found the ending to be a little anti-climatic and rushed however I did enjoy the conclusion and feel like it was a great way for the book to end. I just wish the last three weeks of Insomnia con were more spaced out like the first three instead of just skipping them and going straight to the end. Or at least a few scenes in between would have been nice.
Overall this was a wonderful read, I only had a few problems here and there mostly I found this to be really funny and fast paced and I am really excited to see what Sandhya Menon might come out with in the future. Definitely recommend!
4.25/5 Stars
Thank you to Hodder and Stoughten and Sandhya Menon for sending me an early digital copy via NetGalley.
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