YA Book Pick: WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI by Sandhya Menon

Once a month, we choose an outstanding YA book to review. We want to spotlight books of interest to aspiring writers, as well as highlight some of our favorite books and authors!

This month's book pick is When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon.

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, 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 web developers…right?

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

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate 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.

First Line: "Dimple couldn't stop smiling." 

This is a good intro to the story, which is, at its core, a romantic comedy. You immediately want to know what's making her smile, right?

Highlights: I'm a rom-com junkie from way back, so I have high expectations for the genre. This book definitely delivered! It managed to be light and funny while tackling some heavier topics (parental expectations vs. following your passion, feminism, first love, etc.). I loved the trope-busting detail that the guy was the one looking for a long-term commitment, not the girl. It's easy to see why this book was a NYT bestseller.

Notes for Writers: This is a great example of a "diverse" book that isn't about diversity—the protagonists happen to be Indian-American, but the themes are universal. One thing I loved, though, was that the author didn't shy away from peppering the story with plenty of interesting details about Indian culture. I was glad I read this book on my Kindle app and could easily click a word or phrase to read more about things that interested me.

A Good Read For: Romantic comedy fans and anyone looking for a light, fun read.

So years ago, my boys and I were all in the grocery store waiting in the checkout line.  It was nearing Valentine's day and the store was decked out for the holiday.

My middle son (who at the time was probably in second grade) looks at me and says that he must be romantic.  We all looked at him and asked why.  He proclaimed that he was romantic because his favorite color was red and that he liked strawberries and chocolate.

  I told him that wasn't romance, so the boys then asked what romance was.  I'm ashamed that I gave them terrible advice.  I said limos, flowers, all the things a girl my age grew up watching on TV.

 My youngest set me straight right away.  He looked at me and said, "So you have to spend money to be romantic?"

I totally started back pedaling, but still my stale advice hung in the air like a deflated balloon.

The conversation and the idea of romance still haunts me to this day.  Everyone has a different idea of romance and it really doesn't even have anything to do with gender.  Everyone has different ideas.  Some people want small, daily affirmations, others want grand gestures, and then there are those that want both.  Romance is also further ever changing.  Sometimes romance flows naturally other times it must be hunted down.

 So what then is romance and why is it so hard to pin down?  I'm going to have shift my brainwashed ways and go with today's prevailing ideology that romance can be found in small and simple gestures, but the little girl in my who grew up with fairy tales, I'd still like the occasional grand gesture too.  So, I'm guessing today's YA lit.  must follow this pattern too.  And I guess if I had to tell my boys about romance, I'd say it is all about wanting to spend time with other person, share experiences with that special someone, and maybe even surprise that person.  Romance I would say is the moments that take your breath away and the gift of one's time.

So romance and love are not exactly the same thing, but closely entwined.  Romance implies flowers, candles, candy, red, pink, heat, gifts, love, longing, wanting, sharing, surprise, jewelry, and togetherness.  In the end, romance is about love and wanting to do something special and meaningful for the other person.  Romance is knowing the other person so well that you catch the person off guard.  Romance is smart!

So challenge . . . how do you define romance?

Characterization Questionnaire Template: Bachelor/ Bachelorette Edition

Confession: I may (or may not) have filled out a Bachelor application for one of my friends in the past...possibly without his permission. In doing so, I might have learned that through answering the questions a strong sense of who a person is romantically comes across in the answers. 

Soooo....if you're feeling a bit of post-Bachelor depression and missing all the Juan-puns of the past few months (Juanuary, anyone???), and are looking to up the romance in your novel, feel free to run your characters through one of these little applications (the first few pages you'll need to skip or shrink down to YA, though, as they probably have not been married with children yet :) ). 

Here is a link to the actual application

And here are a some additional questions I'm going to add for you to answer from the perspective of your character:

1. Do you like Pina Coladas (virgin or not)?

2. Thoughts on getting lost in the rain?

3. When you daydream about a perfect first kiss where is it? 

4. During said kiss, what would you be thinking about?

5. Have you ever lied and told someone you loved him/her when you didn't?

6. Most romantic movie of all time?

7. Describe your parents' relationship. Do you want to be with someone like your mom/dad?

8. That secret thing you're sure he/she will dump you for if he/she finds out?

9. When was the first time you realized you liked someone? Grade? Why?

10. Thing a guy/girl could do to lose your love faster than you can say you "love pina coladas and getting lost in the rain"?