Book Review of The Hate U Give

“Brave doesn't mean you're not scared. It means you go on even though you're scared.”

Starr Carter balances two separate worlds: one where she’s Black and lives in a poor neighbourhood surrounded by people of her community, and another where she attends an elite school and has to make sure no one gets to see the ‘real’ Starr. These two worlds collide when her childhood best friend Khalil gets shot at the hands of a White police officer. He was unarmed, and Starr is the sole witness of his innocence. Khalil’s death soon becomes the cause of a national protest, and Starr has to decide whether to keep her mouth shut for the sake of her loved ones, or speak up and avenge her friend’s murder. What will she do?

Firstly, I want to say that if you read just one book this year, please make sure it’s this one. And secondly, I’m still flabbergasted at the fact that this is Angie Thomas’ debut novel, because it really does seem like she’s been writing her entire life. I can’t possibly begin to explain how much I loved this book, but I shall try.

Starr is someone you’ll like even before the author reveals the various aspects of her personality. She’s amiable, sassy, spunky, and genuinely flawed, and that’s what makes her so relatable. Her growth and transition from a normal 16-year-old to a girl who’s brave and confident even amidst the scary circumstances is so commendable that you can’t help but root for her wholeheartedly. Angie Thomas does a brilliant job in creating a whole array of diverse characters, not just in terms of race and background, but also traits and temperament. From her family to her boyfriend to her friends at school, there isn’t one character who isn’t solid. I basically want to have dinner with this entire kickass gang.

The real hero of this book is definitely the story. The Hate U Give starts off as a seemingly normal YA novel, and soon spirals and expands into a national phenomenon, a protest whose echo ripples across the globe, and sends chills down your spine. This is an extremely crucial and relevant story, especially in today’s day and age, and will remain so for centuries to come. The pacing is seamless and perfect, and the writing is fresh and witty. The author touches upon extremely sensitive subjects, and deals with them with extreme subtlety, sensitivity, and brutal honesty. This is a story of identity, belongingness, the power of family and friendship and love, and above all, it’s a reminder that your voice matters no matter who you are or where you come from, and that nobody has the right to forbid you from speaking up. I bow to you, Angie Thomas; for giving us a powerful story and such unforgettable characters. I hope you never stop writing.

Rating: A big and loud 5/5.  

Book Review of We Are Okay

“There are many ways of being alone. That’s something I know to be true.”

Marin hasn’t talked to anyone from back home ever since she left everything behind. But now her best friend, Mabel, is flying all the way from California to New York just to see her. Will Marin be able to tell her the truth? Will things ever be the same again?

You know how you read a book, and you just know it’s going to stay with you for a really long time? Well, this was one such book. It gripped me from the very beginning, and kept me hooked until the very end. The author deals with the mysteriousness of the protagonist’s past in an extremely subtle manner, without ever letting it get pretentious. Marin is someone we all know; perhaps she is someone you already are. And that’s precisely the reason why her confusion, suffering, and vulnerability is so relatable. Nina LaCour gives her the perfect best friend in the form of Mabel, and you can’t help but smile at the friendship of these two beautiful girls; a relationship as raw and broken as life itself.

The one thing that had me awestruck was LaCour’s impeccably lyrical writing. It was like poetry flowing through each and every corner, page, and chapter. There were lines that made me stop and marvel at her ingenuity. Each and every character was so well-written and introduced for a purpose. This isn’t a novel that boasts about plot twists, but one that makes you reflect and contemplate. The author knew better than to stretch this story till it became stale, and that’s why I’m so glad it ended the way it did. One thing I know for sure is that I can’t wait to pick up more of  LaCour’s books.

Rating: 4.5/5.

Book Review of They Both Die at the End

“You may be born into a family, but you walk into friendships. Some you’ll discover you should put behind you. Others are worth every risk.”

Imagine a world where something called the Death-Cast exists, a company that calls to warn you that you’re going to die in the next 24 hours. On the 5^th of September, two boys named Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio get this call a little after midnight, and they now have only a day to live their lives. In a weird turn of events, the two end up crossing paths via an app called the Last Friend, that lets you meet people on your End Day. Will Mateo and Rufus’ last day be the adventure they both deserve?

Firstly, this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2017, mainly because I absolutely loved History is All You Left Me, and that’s why it thoroughly disappointed me when I struggled to get through the first few chapters of this book. But once I got invested in the story, it became easier to fly through it. The pacing is definitely slow initially, but Silvera manages to balance it out with his effortlessly effective and almost poetic writing. He not only gives us two strikingly different and immensely amiable protagonists, but also a bandwagon of diverse characters who manage to bring the eclectic touch the literature of today desperately needs. The alternative, first-person narration intermingles with the third person narrative of the other characters sharing similar fates, and herein lies the brilliance of the writer in putting together these jumbled pieces of the puzzle. I did have an issue with some of the passages with overly long dialogues, and perhaps the development of Mateo and Rufus’ relationship could have been worked on a little more.

Adam Silvera is famous for his heartwrenching stories, and this one was no different. Throughout the novel, we’re slowly introduced to the individual worlds of Mateo and Rufus while they get to know each other better, and just when you get emotionally attached to these vulnerable beings does it hit you that you have to say goodbye soon, and that in particular is a punch your heart isn’t prepared for. You root for their new experiences, cry over their last bits of goofiness, and can’t help but pray that these boys had more time than they got. Kudos to Silvera for blatantly stating the ending in the very title and yet spinning a story of friendship, hope, and life out of it; one that actually makes you want to read through it all just to see how the events pan out.  

Rating: 3.5/5. 

Book Review of Home Fire

“Grief needed company, grief craved solitude; grief wanted to remember, wanted to forget; grief raged, grief whimpered."

After having spent years being a devoted elder sister to her twin siblings, Isma Pasha is finally free to live her own life. But even this freedom is tainted with anxiety about her sister Aneeka’s safety, and haunting memories of her brother Parvaiz who embarked on the dangerous path their jihadist father had followed years ago. Amidst all this, the handsome Eamonn, who’s the son of the newly appointed home secretary of the United Kingdom, enters their lives, and sends everything into a whirlpool, and thus begins a tale that explores the lengths we go to for the ones we love.

            

Longlisted for this year’s Man Booker Prize, Home Fire is a contemporary retelling of Sophocles’ Antigone. Kamila Shamsie wonderfully manages to add her own new elements to this Greek tragedy, while maintaining the core issues of the original. The characters created by the writer are immensely powerful; ones you get mad at, pray for, and sympathise with. With Isma and Aneeka, Shamsie weaves two starkly different women with such headstrong views and determination that you can’t help but admire their courage.

            

The novel is far from being devoid of flaws, but what it lacks in unity, it more than makes up for with its fluidity. The feature that sparkles the most about Home Fire is Shamsie’s effortlessly marvellous writing. It grips you from the very first page, and keeps the pace flowing. The story with its amalgamation of love, loss, betrayal, and sacrifice packs an evocative punch that’s bound to move you. Considering the political turmoil currently surrounding the world, this novel couldn’t have been released at a better time.

Rating: 4/5.

Book Review of Turtles All the Way Down

“Our hearts were broken in the same places. That’s something like love, but maybe not quite the thing itself.”

Aza Holmes is not your usual 16-year-old. She suffers from OCD, and it seems to control not just her thoughts, but her existence as a whole. When her wild best friend, Daisy, suggests that they should investigate the disappearance of the fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett in order to win the hundred-thousand-dollar reward, by getting in touch with his son, Davis, she’s apprehensive about it. But they do it anyway. And so begins their journey.

Turtles All the Way Down is a book I’d been waiting for, for five years. So, when it was announced, I was beyond exultant, and before I started reading it, I was beyond nervous. Now having finished it, I can safely say for the gazillionth time that John Green truly never disappoints. He indeed is a master of creating not just great and relatable Young Adult literature, but also extremely interesting and complex female protagonists.

We’re immediately introduced to the chaos that pervades Aza’s head, and not once does the author attempt to sugarcoat or romanticise her mental illness. Her anxiety and paranoia are presented in such a raw form that you almost feel like you’re being sucked into her spiralling thoughts; but this is done all while maintaining the wit and humour in the background.

Daisy as Aza’s extroverted best friend and Davis as her love interest are characters that add the necessary colour to her black canvas. Like always, Green never lets the age of his characters affect the bandwidth of their intellectual conversations. They discuss science, poetry, history, and give us a glimpse into the vast knowledge the author himself possesses. The story is gripping, evocative, and includes passages that make you stop and think. The dialogues are crisp, and the writing is supremely lyrical and seamless. The pace might seem a little slow at the start, but that’s a hurdle you overcome pretty quickly. In true John Green style, the open ending leaves the reader feeling both helpless and hopeful.

I closed this book with tears in my eyes, wishing to thank John Green, both for giving us a precious book after so long, and for creating Aza; a girl filled with flaws and insecurities and love. I want to give her a long, tight hug.

Rating: 4.5/5.

Basorexia

You think you know her just because you
Smeared her mascara last night?
Darling, her hips hold stories
That will tear down the walls of your
Hollow chauvinistic pride.
The lips you kissed incorrectly
Are ones she painted with the blood in her bucket
And then woke up to change the curtains.
Her purse carries dust, smoke, glitter, portals
And knives she sharpens before your morning coffee
On the same table you attempted to break
Unaware that she let the steel loose.
Don’t be fooled by her quivering eyelashes
They hold clouds darker than
The dress your hands are itching to tear off,
Storms that will nibble your tongue
And pinch your neck
All while she’s swirling her drink
With her one hand between your legs
And the other balancing her smirk.
Are you convinced that
Her moans are for you
And so are the half breaths
And fresh flowers
And old musk?
Sweetheart, she has read too much
To fall down the rabbit hole
She has doors in her backyard
To graffiti you’d never want to see.
The wooden clock will
Strike hellfire
Against your weak spider webs,
And soon you’ll be gorging
On perfect buttery toasts
As your delusions believe it’s you
Who wanted to ruffle her sheets
While she redecorates
With newer curtains,
Higher stakes,
Deeper talons,
And her smile carved in
A darker shade of red.

- Sayantani Sarkar.

Fireworks

Have you ever fallen asleep listening to music? When the song is slowly fading away into oblivion and the world stops being so noisy? That peace, is what I feel with you. Like I'm standing in front of the sea; like the sand is tickling my feet and not gulping me in. Like there aren't enough seconds or long sunsets for me to kiss you because oh my god I want to kiss you through it all; movie nights, grocery shopping, airy blanket forts, ice creams; all of it. Like there will never be too many metaphors to describe the cotton candy my tummy swallows every time you look at me, or the marbles in my throat when I have to say goodbye. Like the maps and continents could shrink and expand like the trampolines I want to jump on to reach the farthest horizons with you. Like finally being home and crashing on my favourite couch after a very, very long day. Because I've never really belonged anywhere, but the prism of your arms is exactly where I fit in. Because you've transformed my heart into a parachute plummeting and flying among snowstorms and fireflies. Because maybe, I might just be falling in love with you.