Title: When Dimple Met Rishi
Author: Sandhya Menon
Type: Fiction
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Imprint: Simon Pulse
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date published: May 30, 2017
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 380
Source: Publisher

A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Summary: 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.

– MY REVIEW –

I received a copy of this book long before I had it scheduled for reading, and therefore had a lot of time to be exposed to feedback from those who read it long before its publication date! I did not hear or read one bad comment about this book, as everyone raved about how good it was, and I am glad to say that they were all completely right!

When Dimple Met Rishi was a joy to read from start to finish because it had a good story, interesting and relatable characters, it discussed aspects of a culture which I have not had much exposure to (but have always been interested in), and it addressed some of the issues faced by immigrants and the children of immigrants in their new home (an issue which my family and myself also deal with). I have not read many books which talk about immigration, and what happens afterward (maybe because its all a touchy subject for me, or I am not entirely sure why), but it was definitely refreshing to come across a number of phrases which described my life, and the life of my family, with such accuracy.

The story itself was a contemporary romance, but with some factors which I had not come across before, such as the fact that both of the characters in the romance plot (Dimple and Rishi) come from immigrant families, and also the fact that the male is romantically driven, while the female character is decidedly not. Dimple is very focused on her career path, and doing everything in her power to make it all happen for her, career-wise. And while finding love was a little bit higher on my goals list than a successful career, the latter is definitely a very close second, and I therefore understand her drive! I was definitely rooting for her, and hoping for the best turn out for her.

What I did not expect was to also relate quite a bit to Rishi as well! I really like how Menon alternated between Dimple and Rishi’s perspectives, as it gave us both sides of the story that way. I liked that I was able to understand where Rishi is coming from, as well as seeing how he thinks, and what drives him to do the things he does. Both of the main characters had different relationships with their families, as well as with other characters in general, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more and more about the both of them as the story progressed.

Being an immigrant myself (twice at that), I found it interesting to see how other immigrant families adjust and live their lives in the new country which they have settled in. And it was especially intriguing to me that although the families which we encounter in When Dimple Met Rishi come from an original country (India) which is very far from my own country of origin (Romania), but that we share a few similarities in how we integrate, or don’t integrate ourselves into the country and culture of the new place we have immigrated to. It is my belief that more such narratives are necessary in both the U.S.A. and Canada because there are so many immigrant families, and because they are a very prominent aspect of both countries. I think that it is especially important for young people to read about and understand people which are like time, and also unlike them.

We need more books with not only the story and content, but also the quality of like When Dimple Met Rishi! I highly recommend this book (and have been recommending it before I even go to the last page), and am also eagerly awaiting any of the books which Sandhya Menon is / will be writing in the future!

– ABOUT THE AUTHOR –

Sandhya Menon is the author of WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI (Simon Pulse/May 30, 2017) and a second YA contemporary coming in the summer of 2018. She currently lives in Colorado, where she’s on a mission to (gently) coerce her family to watch all 3,221 Bollywood movies she claims as her favorite. You can visit her at www.sandhyamenon.com or on Twitter (@smenonbooks) and Instagram (@sandhyamenonbooks)!

– PURCHASE LINKS –

THANK YOU FOR READING MY REVIEW! HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT DID YOU THINK? AND IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, DO YOU WANT TO, OR NOT? HOW COME? LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!