Jill's Book Blog

Title: There’s Something About Sweetie
Author: Sandhya Menon
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 14, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ashish Patel didn’t know love could be so…sucky. After he’s dumped by his ex-girlfriend, his mojo goes AWOL. Even worse, his parents are annoyingly, smugly confident they could find him a better match. So, in a moment of weakness, Ash challenges them to set him up.

The Patels insist that Ashish date an Indian-American girl—under contract. Per subclause 1(a), he’ll be taking his date on “fun” excursions like visiting the Hindu temple and his eccentric Gita Auntie. Kill him now. How is this ever going to work?

Sweetie Nair is many things: a formidable track athlete who can outrun most people in California, a loyal friend, a shower-singing champion. Oh, and she’s also fat. To Sweetie’s traditional parents, this last detail is the kiss of death.

Sweetie loves her parents, but she’s so tired of being told she’s lacking because she’s fat. She decides it’s time to kick off the Sassy Sweetie Project, where she’ll show the world (and herself) what she’s really made of.

Ashish and Sweetie both have something to prove. But with each date they realize there’s an unexpected magic growing between them. Can they find their true selves without losing each other?

Review:

This was another amazing story by Sandhya Menon.

I loved the characters in this book. Sweetie was adorable and loveable. She was extremely talented, yet her mother criticized her for being “fat.” Ashish was also a great character. He was going through a lot of pain from a recent breakup, yet he was open to meeting a new girl that his parents picked out for him.

The narrative alternated between Sweetie’s and Ashish’s perspectives. It was third person, yet limited to both Sweetie’s and Ashish’s thoughts. I liked this style, because both characters were given equal time to show their stories.

This story features some of the characters from When Dimple Met Rishi, but it isn’t a sequel. The ending of that book may be spoiled if you read this book first, because Dimple and Rishi appear in the story. Rishi is actually the older brother of Ashish, the main male character in this story. However, it isn’t necessary to read that book first.

I loved this story! I’m so glad to see a body positive, “fat” girl featured in a book! I would have loved to read this kind of story when I was a teen, so I’m happy that teens today can see themselves in this book.

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Dumplin’ (Dumplin’ #1) by Julie Murphy

From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon

Have you read There’s Something About Sweetie? What did you think of it?

Title: Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have)
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 7, 2011
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Praised by New York Times bestselling author Lauren Myracle as “hilarious, moving and flat-out fun,” and Kirkus as a “pitch-perfect rendering … of the teen experience,” Ten Things I Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have) has captured the hearts of critics and readers alike. Fans of Sarah Dessen, E. Lockhart, and Maureen Johnson will love this hilarious and heartwarming tale of a girl on her own for the first time.

If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn’t jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe “opportunity” isn’t the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: “Lied to Our Parents”). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up “Skipping School” (#3), “Buying a Hot Tub” (#4), and, um, “Harboring a Fugitive” (#7) is a mystery to them.

To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn’t-have-done at a time.

Review:

This book surprised me. It wasn’t as light as other Sarah Mlynowski books I’ve read. There were some heavy topics in this high school story.

April moves in with her friend while her dad moves away to Cleveland during her junior year of high school. They got up to lots of trouble, since her friend’s mom was out of town as well. I can’t imagine moving in with friends because my parents moved out of town. Some parts of that storyline were sad, since both of April’s parents moved away from her, rather than keeping her with them.

There were different kinds of relationships explored in this novel. There were new secret romances that some people didn’t want to share. There were also affairs and cheating. Lots of people denied their feelings. I don’t want to give away exactly what happened, but it made for some serious scenes. It got kind of dark and depressing near the end, which I was not expecting.

This book wasn’t like other Sarah Mlynowski books, which usually have a cheerful theme. However, if you like teen romances, this would be a great book for you.

What to read next:

I See London, I See France by Sarah Mlynowski

Have you read Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have)? What did you think of it?