When Dimple Met Rishi, by Sandhya Menon, out now

If you follow any YA readers (and not just YA) anywhere online, no doubt you’ve seen the cover of When Dimple Met Rishi flow through your timeline a number of times in the last six months. The longlasting excitement for this book has been impressive and telling of how needed it is to the contemporary YA genre. While at its core, it is another cute teen romance, it’s not just any other cute teen romance, because the teens that are falling for each other are Indian, and they’re dealing with issues in their families that have to do with their race. This is huge, because this is part of YA publishing growing up and becoming more inclusive. When Dimple Met Rishi falls alongside of the Lara Jean Covey books in that the story includes POC characters at the forefront, and it’s just about their normal kinds of teenage lives, rather than a tough story about society vs their race (don’t get me wrong – those books are super important, too). I was thrilled every time I saw someone tweet about how they finally see themselves on a book cover/in a book. And all the build-up and talk about how important this book is proved more than worth it, when it cracked onto The New York Times bestsellers list for YA hardcover fiction in its first week of publication. Huzzah!

Here’s a quick gist of the book: Dimple has just graduated high school and is thrilled to be going to university, but she can’t get her mom off her back about needing to have an arranged marriage. When her parents quickly say OK to letting her go to a summer camp for coding, she’s skeptical as to how fast they’re letting her go, but too excited to care about it. But when she arrives on campus, she’s soon greeted by a boy that shouts “hello, future wife!” This is Rishi – he’s been signed up for the camp, too, except he’s 100% aware that his parents planned with Dimple’s parents to sneakily set them up there, and more than aware, this is what he wants, whereas Dimple doesn’t want to think about marriage until she’s much older. So of course things start out tense and uncomfortable, but soon enough, the two are paired together in class, and Dimple starts to let her guard down, falling for Rishi, even though she still doesn’t want to marry him.

I had fun reading When Dimple Met Rishi. The two of them are fantastic characters and enjoyable to follow through their awkward situation, and on their own. We’ve got an ambitious girl and a guy who respects his elders. They feel pretty real, and their family relationships do, too. They’re responsible but still have fun. The interaction between the two is electric, adorable, and sexy. I liked how Rishi won Dimple over, and how he thought about her; he makes the perfect book boyfriend being all feminist, respectful, and all that. He was quick to pick up on when classmates were treating her wrongly and would defend her without a beat of thought. (Not saying Dimple needed that, but as she’s shy and grew up not used to defending herself, it was nice to have someone there for her.)

There were a few things that bothered me, though, and I just want to point them out. I understand that this story is a love story, but, it made me really wish for a story about an ambitious girl that doesn’t include her falling in love and thus distracted. A girl that wants to go to college for a specific career and works her way there. I could still enjoy this book while reading, but I did have that thought in the back of my mind the whole time. And even though Dimple came for coding camp, it’s a rare mention in the book, and it doesn’t read like the author did any research on the topic – there’s nothing specific, and I felt like that could have been a great addition. And then the camp story gets totally sidetracked by a weird talent contest that doesn’t feel like it fits, but it serves as a way for the couple to get even closer as they learn how to dance Bollywood together (bow wowwww). I just felt disappointed in that.

Overall, I’m so happy this book is here and doing so much for the teens who need it. It’s an sweet, light story, perfect for summer, and will continue to be a big heavyweight in the camp of adorkable YA contemporary romance for a long time.

An advanced reading copy of the book was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster, in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion.

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han, out now.

Everyone was surprised when Jenny Han announced that her Lara Jean duology would become a trilogy, even Jenny herself. But she made a really good decision when she started typing up Lara Jean’s life again, providing a conclusion readers (and herself included) could be satisfied with. I’m satisfied, as P.S. I Still Love You never quite felt like an ending to me, and it gave me another few days with the delightful Covey/Song family. When Jenny was recently in Toronto on her book tour, she said how writing this book felt like getting another round of drinks (or desserts), like she was having that last sweet taste, and then saying goodbye, and that she’s happy with the way things went.

Always and Forever, Lara Jean brings our charming protagonist into a cycle she’s been familiar with as an observer. Now she’s experiencing it first hand. In the first book, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Lara Jean watches as her big sister Margot breaks up with her long-term boyfriend Josh when she goes away to university. The girls’ late mother had always told them, ‘don’t be the girl that goes to college with a boyfriend.’ Which is kind of harsh, but it does have some truth to it. Lara Jean couldn’t understand why Margot would cut ties with the one she loved, but never really thought about what she would do in the same situation. Which is where we are for book three: Lara Jean is inches away from university, but her and Peter are closer than they’ve ever been. Lara Jean and Peter have planned that they would both go to UVA, and life would be grand, full of pastel colours and sunshine and wind through their hair. But something happens, and those plans are turned into painful dreams. Lara Jean’s faced with difficult decisions for the future.

Lara Jean doesn’t really ask for help when her normally strict composure unravels. She distances herself, tormenting herself with uncomfortable thoughts, and doesn’t talk it through with those who could provide advice. Instead she takes her stress out on baking and hyper-planning her dad’s wedding to their neighbour Trina. There are times when she doesn’t listen to what her sister, dad, and Trina have to say about cooling off (because they can at least tell something is wrong) and it’s frustrating to read, because we’ve all been there. I know I’ve been that stubborn teen who doesn’t know how to process stress or take advice without being a brat about it. Lara Jean can be immature and selfish, she makes mistakes, and she doesn’t think clearly. These are the kinds of characteristics that could bug you about a main character in a book, but with Lara Jean it feels just fine, because it’s so real, it’s endearing. I appreciated the way that Jenny made sure Lara Jean wouldn’t be the picture of perfection, and have her face some true tough choices.

Peter and Kitty are back in their wonderful characteristic forms, sweet and sassy respectively, and we get to see more of Margot, which is nice. We also see the introduction of Trina into the family, and how the Covey/Songs handle such a big change. This book carries along the awesome sisterly dynamic that Han’s readers enjoy so much. I was interested to see how things would develop with Peter, and how the relationship could be tested. Lara Jean has these moments where she sort of looks at Peter as if she’s in the future, and she assumes a lot about how he acts or will react, which if you’ve ever been in a relationship, you know that can cause some problems! But overall, I had lots of swoons over their cute and loving interactions, and how sweet Peter was to Lara Jean. They’ve definitely come a long way since the first book!

Since it’s been a while since P.S. I Still Love You came out, I have had a hard time remembering most of the first two books. While I know I really liked them, only the big plot points stuck. So I felt a little fuzzy going into this book, even though there were lots of references of ‘remember when this happened?’ Which were probably there for exactly this reason. This didn’t hinder me at all but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I read it closer to the others, or had time to re-read them. This book was meant to be a conclusion, and it’s obvious. Sometimes it reads slow and other times, too rushed, as it feels like it’s being fast-forwarded through the school year to get to what has to happen. Lara Jean’s life isn’t as exciting as lots of other YA protagonists, but that’s okay. It’s quieter, so sometimes it feels like not much is happening. But then I remind myself that again, this is more realistic.

The Lara Jean Covey books also mean having more books with Asian girls, and with their representation on the cover, something Jenny was really conscious about. She was also conscious that so many books that have to do with a teen’s race have to do with their racial struggle, but she didn’t want to do that. It’s not that she’s not interested in speaking up about that stuff – she definitely does do that on her own – but I’m thinking it’s just as influential for teens to see representations of themselves having normal teenage experiences in love, family, and going to university. She mentioned on her book tour that the first book was the first YA contemporary book to have an Asian girl on the cover in North America (or at least I think that’s what she said, feel free to correct me).

While I’m sad we won’t get any more Lara Jean Covey books, I feel a warmth in how the series came full circle, and they have a special touch as this cute set all tied up in a pretty bow. Lara Jean has so intricately woven her way into so many readers’ hearts, and will continue to do so, so really, she’s not going anywhere.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Ramona Blue, by Julie Murphy, out now, via Balzer + Bray

Ramona Blue brought me so much joy. Not only is this story an important one about a girl figuring out her sexuality, but it’s also about friendship, family, race, class, and societal standards. Julie Murphy, author of Dumplin’ and Side Effects May Vary, has yet again crafted a novel that will be a source of power and comfort to so many teens for many years to come. You can practically feel the sighs coming from all the adults reading Ramona Blue around the world wishing they had something like this when they were a teen.

Ramona lives in a tiny town in Mississippi in a trailer park with her sister Hattie and her dad. It’s been the three of them for a while; the parents divorced, and both daughters stayed with their father. Ramona is used to taking care of her overworked dad and her sweet but dependent sister. But now Hattie is pregnant, and since the baby daddy doesn’t seem like he will be in the picture forever, even though he’s moved into the crowded trailer, Ramona assumes that she will have to forgo college in order to help raise the child. She works hard at her two jobs delivering newspapers and working at a restaurant. One day, on her delivery route, as she throws a paper onto a yard, she hears someone call her name, which ended up forever changing her life: it was Agnes, an old neighbour from when they lived in Baton Rouge. Ramona finds out that Agnes’s grandson Freddie (of course her childhood best friend) still lives with her, and the two reconnect their friendship quickly.

The idea that I’m someone’s best friend fills my rib cage with summer.

Ramona is strong and has a good sense of herself – she is completely fine with being one of the two out lesbian teens in the town, and nobody seems to bother her about it. Over the summer, she fell for a vacationer named Grace who still had a boyfriend and wouldn’t come out of the closet. When Grace goes back home, Ramona is heartbroken, but not weak. Ramona finds solace in her friendship with Freddie as they spend more and more time together, and soon enough, Freddie is going through a breakup of his own. Eventually, Freddie reveals his feelings for Ramona, even though he knows she likes girls. Things get confusing for a while, as they would, but Ramona knows she feels something for Freddie, too, and it freaks her out at first because Freddie isn’t a girl. When they kiss, Ramona’s doubts float away, leaving her to enjoy her moment and just feeling good before the unnatural-for-her questioning of self begins.

My first thought isn’t that I’m gay or that Freddie is a boy or that he’s one of my best friends. His lips are lips. They’re soft and they taste like pumpkin pie and whiskey.

When I first heard of the plot for this book, I figured some people would get upset, because it’s a girl who likes girls, and yet now she likes a boy. (I was right, it did kind of blow up for a bit, but we’re not going to put any more attention on that.) I can see how it can come across as offensive if one was to briefly read the description and not think about it for a second. But this book is not offensive. Ramona’s story is very real. It’s totally acceptable to worry that a book would put out the idea of a girl not being gay ‘anymore,’ but also, bi-erasure is a thing, and bisexuality is something that the young adult community is trying very hard to put more attention on these days. This kind of situation has happened to many people. And in this case, just because Ramona gets with a guy after thinking she was a lesbian doesn’t mean she’ll never like girls again. And because she labeled herself as a lesbian in the past doesn’t mean she must forever call herself a lesbian. In fact, Julie has been vocal about how she identifies with Ramona as a bisexual person and that she put a lot of herself into Ramona. While Julie labels herself, Ramona does not, and I admire both of their decisions. It means the reader can’t label Ramona either, that Ramona is still figuring things out but knows it doesn’t have to happen right away, that acknowledges that you know what, she doesn’t need a label.

Life isn’t written in the stars. Fate is ours to pen. I choose guys. I choose girls. I choose people. But most of all: I choose.

I did really like Ramona and Freddie together. They had a good jive, and yes, those make-out scenes were hot! But they also just understood each other, and Freddie never pressured Ramona to label herself or their relationship. I enjoyed reading their dynamic. I also must note that Ramona’s friends – the queer brother and sister duo Saul and Ruth – were great secondary characters, and though flawed, I liked reading of Ramona’s relationship with her sister. One thing that I thought was a bit odd was that it’s mentioned a couple times that Ramona and her family moved after Hurricane Katrina. I thought this would factor into the story more, but it barely did. I don’t think that’s wrong, but it kind of felt like ‘why mention it, then.’ There’s an opportunity to write about a family that escaped a terrible hurricane, but that went nowhere in the story, which is just as well, because the plot would probably feel crowded.

Here are three of my other favourite quotes from the book. Oh Julie, I love your dreamy style.

“I hate this idea that boys are thinking about sex nonstop and girls are thinking about – what? Stationery and garden gnomes? No.”

“Because just the feeling of being touched – being held – is the release of a pent-up sigh.”

“I feel like I’ve sprouted a magic seed, causing flowers to sprout up in my belly, and now they’re swelling against my rib cage.”

An advance review copy of the book was provided by HarperCollins Canada in exchange for an honest review.