writehollydavis
Written on Sep 28, 2019
Menon is a bright new talent' Bustle
The next heartwarming YA romcom from Sandhya Menon, bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi.
Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories to tell and universes to explore - if only the world would listen. So when nerdy classmate and fellow film-obsessive Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a film for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle can't wait.The chance to showcase her artistic voice? Dream come true.
The opportunity to get closer to longtime crush, Neil Roy-aka Sahil's twin brother? Dream come even truer.
When Twinkle receives an email from a secret admirer - the mysterious 'N' - she is sure it's Neil, finally ready for their happy ending.
The only problem is that, in the course of their movie-making, she has found herself falling for Sahil - the wrong brother.
Twinkle soon realises that resistance is futile: the romance she's got isn't the one she scripted...
But will it be enough?
'A celebration of artistic sensibilities and a fun romantic mystery' Entertainment Weekly
*****************
Praise for When Dimple Met Rishi:
'Funny, warm, and utterly charming, When Dimple Met Rishi is the modern rom-com YA we've all been waiting for . . . Sandhya Menon is a welcome and needed new voice in YA' Katherine Webber
'Menon wrote an utterly delightful novel and broke my heart by writing an ending because I want nothing more than to keep reading about Dimple and Rishi forever . . .' Book Riot
'Sandhya Menon's When Dimple Met Rishi is a refreshing Young Adult romance, providing the reader with much-needed delight . . . this story is a laugh riot and utterly heartwarming.' Times of India
- ISBN10 1481495410
- ISBN13 9781481495417
- Publish Date 14 May 2019 (first published 22 May 2018)
- Publish Status Active
- Publisher Simon & Schuster
- Imprint Simon Pulse
- Edition Reprint ed.
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 352
- Language English
Reviews
alisoninbookland
Written on Jun 28, 2019
I initially didn’t love the letter/diary format of the story. It’s a very narrow way to see the larger story. You’re only seeing things through Twinkle’s perceptive. It does help you to see why she feels the way she does. I felt the burn of tears being held in when the mean crowd makes an appearance. I felt the anxiety of not being sure how to handle feelings for different boys. You really understand her.
Twinkle’s growth through the story was great. I love how she evolves. Much like Menon’s other protagonist, Dimple, I found Twinkle to be relatable but bratty at times. Unlike with Dimple, I thought Twinkle had a great character evolution. She begins to recognize how her behavior is hurtful (yes, it does take some prompting from others to get to to this point) and makes an effort to make amends. Yay for character growth!
The love triangle (square?) is a bit obnoxious. It’s cliche because you can see who Twinkle is meant to be with so seeing her be oblivious is annoying. I suppose we’ve all been oblivious about things like this before.
I love the diversity of the novel. It’s so fun to read a small snapshot of a different culture and life. I would have appreciated a glossary of terms. I could figure out most the words but exact definitions are always appreciated.
All in all, a cute romance that’s wonderfully diverse.
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jeannamichel
Written on May 21, 2019
Berls
Written on Mar 19, 2019
leahrosereads
Written on Jul 30, 2018
It was pretty much what I expected - fluff without any real substance. The main character was pretty intolerable in her thoughts, but I really liked Sahil. He was the best thing about this book, and I'd actually read a story just about him, if this author ever chooses to write it.
He was exceptional. Everything else, wasn't.
Kelly
Written on Jul 15, 2018
I admired her fortitude but Twinkle is often unable to compromise. Whether a necessity for perfection or to control her environment, she describes it as not having her voice heard, often accompanied by feelings of being a woman of colour within a patriarchal system. It intensifies the need to raise marginalised voices but often excuses her demanding behaviour throughout the narrative. Twinkle's journey of realisation is difficult as her popularity cultivates, friendships are constrained as her world becomes increasingly more exclusive, alienating Hannah her childhood companion.
Sahil Roy is a film aficionado, a connoisseur of stories told. Dissimilar to sibling Neil, Sahil is an academic who is determined to be recognised for his own achievements. Serendipitously, Twinkle and Sahil collaborate on a film tor the Pikes Peak Charter Midsummer Night, an annual event celebrating cinematography.
The tentative companionship is lovely, Sahil encouraging Twinkle foremost as a creative young woman and professionally, financing the film. I appreciated that Sahil was incredibly gentlemanly throughout the process, allowing Twinkle freedom of creativity. Through interactions with friends and an anonymous online journal, Sahil is incredibly attracted to Twinkle. Unfortunately, although Twinkle has developed a fondness for Sahil, she believes Neil Roy is the ideal brother to enhance her social status, unbeknownst to Sahil. The romance is convoluted, tumultuous but entirely authentic as Twinkle discovers Neil represents an ideal, rather than the connection she shares with Sahil.
Sandhya Menon is an exceptional author, creating vibrant and diverse characters and beautifully imperfect narratives of adolescent exploration and actualisation. In a series of letters written to accomplished female filmmakers, From Twinkle, With Love will captivate and delight readers until the final page.
Sam@WLABB
Written on Jun 8, 2018
After two delightful books, I think it's official - Mennon owns me. Once again, she delivered a charming and heartfelt story that simply put, made me happy.
• Pro: Twinkle was an introvert, who dreamed of making films. Her passion was contagious, and I admired her drive and determination. At one point in the story, her feelings of inadequacy, abandonment, and isolation push her to make some poor choices, but Twinkle owned up to her mistakes and atoned for what she did. She learned from her errors, and moved in the direction of being a better person, which is a positive thing.
• Pro: Menon writes the the best and sweetest little cupcake boys. I adored Rishi in her last book, and couldn't get enough of Sahil in this one. Sahil was sweet, kind, generous, sometimes suave, and very swoony. But, Menon did give him a few flaws, which kept him from being too perfect. I felt for him as he struggled to step out from under the shadow of his more popular twin brother, and I was glad he never compromised who he was to do so.
• Pro: My love of grandmother's continues! Twinkle's dadi was such a delight. She was a little out there, but she showered Twinkle with her love and dropped lots of knowledge when necessary. I adored her and looked forward to every scene she was in.
• Pro: Sahil's family was pretty amazing. We didn't get to spend a ton of time with them, but the meal we shared with Roy's spoke volumes as to why Sahil was such a wonderful human.
• Pro: This book was a lot of fun. I agree with people, who call it a "rom-com", because it had many elements that would place it in that sub-genre, but it wasn't all fluff. This book had a lot of depth too, and I appreciated the exploration of sibling rivalry, isolation, fading friendships, and parents with depression.
• Pro: I am a fan of the epistolary format, and I thought Menon used it really well. I thought I would only be getting Twinkle's POV, but Menon surprised me with group texts between Sahil and his two best friends, as well as entries from Sahil's blog. These snippets gave me a peek into Sahil's head, and I was so grateful for it.
• Pro: The romance was so sweet. Sahil and Twinkle were so adorable together. They made my heart skip with joy as their affection for each other grew.
• Pro: Gold star for that ending. It left me filled to the brim with giddiness.
Overall: This book was a joy to read. It gave me all the feels, but most of all, it left me drunk on happiness with a big grin plastered across my face.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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liz089
Written on Jun 7, 2018
Only... well, the reason it is not a 5 star for me is the whole director part and how everybody reacts to it. Yes people can have talent.. but for me this was a bit too much to make it realistic.
But a very fun and cute novel ! Worth reading ;)
girlinthepages
Written on May 23, 2018
What's not to love about From Twinkle, With Love? The title is adorable, the cover is STUNNING, and the epistolary format was really fun to read. In some ways, I loved Menon's sophomore novel even more than her first, because it was just so much fun. Twinkle's personality coupled with some of the tried and true YA tropes and laugh out loud writing had me itching to pick up the story at every spare moment I had the week I read it. However, there were a few elements that bothered me throughout the novel, a background sort of annoyance that I found hard to shake and ultimately lessened my enjoyment of the story a bit.
Unlike Menon's debut novel which is set on a college campus, From Twinkle, With Love is very firmly a high school book, with the drama and tropes to go along with it. While I find I sometimes get bored with high school narratives, I found this one to be really funny, especially Twinkle's internal dialogue which was cringe-y and hilarious- groundlings and silk feathered hats and all that. The variation in format was also really fun to read and helped the story keep up a quick and fun pace- the letters Twinkle writes combined with the text messages and emails from other characters helped really round out the story, and give the secondary characters some life and vibrancy (especially the guys- their texts were hilarious). I loved loved LOVED Sahil, and I think Menon has a talent for writing positive, respectful YA romances that are still swoony in their own way without being obvious. And I totally felt Twinkle's angst about her feelings for Sahil- as a teenager you totally want to be with the popular, athletic, well known guy but by the time you're in your mid-twenties you're #TeamSahil all the way. I can see how Twinkle's fickle heart may have irked some readers, but it's actually not the part of the story I had a problem with.
My main issue with this book is I feel like there were a LOT of mean girl stereotypes and bullying that seemed rather one dimensional, or didn't get the page time/context it deserved to make sense. At the beginning of the story, Twinkle is very blunt about having had a fall out with her lifelong BFF Maddie, and the whole premise of their now strained relationship felt really flimsy and took way too long to reveal. Honestly, in my opinion people were super mean to Twinkle and when she goes through her period toward the end of the book of self-righteousness I really didn't mind considering how awful the other characters had been to her for so long. But then everyone blames her for not taking the high road. And I get it, as the protagonist in a YA, high school set novel it's probably expected for the protagonist to be the bigger person and extend the olive branch, etc., but it just really irritated me that everyone sort of put the onus on Twinkle for that, like it was her responsibility. It was great and all that she chose to reconcile instead of being bitter, but I personally think that sometimes the expectation of the YA heroine being "nice" and doing the right thing in contemporary novels is tiring. #ilikedroguetwinkle #twinkletellsitlikeitis
Other than Maddie and Hannah and all of the other mean girl drama, this book was a lot of fun to read. The gender-bent movie theme that Twinkle and Sahil go for is clever, and I love how coming together to create the film brought down a lot of the social barriers and boundaries at the school. I also of course loved seeing Twinkle's Indian culture integrated into the story. While her culture wasn't as central to the overall plot as in When Dimple Met Rishi, it was still woven into the story and I absolutely ADORED Twinkle's Dadi and her fusion of Indian tradition and new age American mysticism (and YAY for books that feature grandparents!!)
Overall: From Twinkle, With Love is definitely fluff, but it's the fun, feel good kind fluff that will warm you while reading and make you remember your groundling high school days a little more fondly.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
layawaydragon
Written on Oct 20, 2017
From Twinkle, With Love did feel on the younger side of YA. It would make a good transition between MG and YA with Twinkle’s POV. I think this is a good thing and works for a couple reasons.
1.>>There are “late bloomers”.
2.>>There’s a need for bridges between the age ranges for the stradlers and grey areas.
3.>>There are kids still being left behind by their peers and jealous of the popularity hierarchy. This being ignored in YA as narratives favor the victors isn’t a good argument against it.
4.>>It maybe young, but it’s still YOUNG Adult.
Further, I think she feels so young and immature is because we’re so used to YA being matured beyond their years. Don’t get me wrong, I love mature YA and campion for it ALL the time. BUT there’s definitely been an invasion and co-opting of YA by NA, which is skewing the genre maturity level up.
~>>I love the idea of writing letters for journaling. That’s really smart. I have a hard time writing to myself, so I just might use this tip soon.
~>>Twinkle & Sahil are adorable!
~>>I think the family aspect gets overshadowed in reviews. The hard-working well-meaning absent parents, the old school superstitious grandma, and their growth is wonderful. Kids today REALLY connect with the at least one if not both of these family members. I can’t wait to see more of this honestly. I think it’ll really help kids feel less lonely and talk to their own oblivious adults.
~>>Menon does a fantastic job showing Twinkle’s POV. I love the moments were it’s clear to the reader what’s going on but Twinkle’s oblivious in a way that’s endearing and clear WHY she’s misunderstanding the obvious-to-everyone-else.
~>>I love how their movie remake is gender swapping Dracula! The difference between #ownvoices and white people fucking shit up: a white person/non-Indian would’ve made their movie a Bollywood remake. Don’t @ me.
~>>I will admit to not seeing the problem with Twinkle’s original plan of attack re:bonus footage. I do think the path she chose makes a better ending and her explanation for it is enough to satisfy me.
~>>I love how Sahil had to get over his own insecurities and it wasn’t Twinkle’s fault or responsibility to PROVE shit to him. That seems to be a good trend in YA lately.