Even as the demographics of this country are slowly shifting, the YA genre has been almost criminally slow to embrace the changing face of America (as well as other places around the world). Worse, the constant instances of whitewashing covers proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that publishers are still being dictated to by a small backwards contingent of people who more than likely don't even read. Also most novels featuring characters of color tend to be heavy-handed socio-politcal treatises centered around the issues of poverty, crime and other social ills, which limits both the scope and the appeal.Hence, Bindi Babes is a wonderful breath of fresh air, even as it lightly deals with issues teens can relate to, all the while immersing the reader in the sounds, sights and smells of Indian-British culture. Reading Bindi Babes is like watching a Bollywood movie in glorious and riotous technocolor, 3D and THX. The Bindi Babes are the Dhillion sisters--Amber, Jazz and Geena--who are literally the coolest and cutest girls in their school. They're smart, fashionable and funny. They're the darlings of the teachers at their school and one would think all this attention would make them less than interesting. In spite of all the attention, the three sisters are quite down to earth, and like most teen girls into clothes, makeup and of course, boys. There's only one BIG problem: their mother passed away, and by unspoken rule the girls pretend that everything is just peachy. They maintain the house in her place while their workaholic father gives them free reign and buys them whatever they want. That is, until their Auntie from India arrives to help take care of them. For the Bindi Babes who think they've been doing just fine on their own, thank you very much, Auntie's presence is totally unwelcome and they set out to send the sari-wearing interloper packing--firstly by trying to marry her off, then by misbehavior--all with comedic and unexpected results.I love how author Narinder Dhami doesn't waste time trying to explain what samosas are or the practice of arranged marriages. She just assumes teens (and adults) are interested enough in Indian culture to want to discover these things for ourselves. This is a fun book with a lot of heart and like any good Bollywood movie, everything turns out great in the end for all parties involved. She shows us the multiracial Britain that many people do not see, how vibrant and fast-paced it is. I definitely plan to read more of the adventures of Amber, Jazz and Geena.
This was a quick, easy read. Things I like: it's about non-white, non-Christian characters; there is a non-traditional family (dad raising 3 girls alone, until Auntie steps in to help); there are mentions of people from multiple religions; it takes place in England with characters who originated in India. Things I didn't care for: the ending was a touch predictable (with a plot twist that I admittedly did not see coming), the author spent a looooong time talking about how perfect the girls are. Like, she beat me over the head with how perfect they are. I get that she is trying to create a contrast in that the girls are acting perfect to cover up the hurt they have at losing their mom, but it comes across as 50 pages of Amber bragging about how great they are great, with occasional reminders throughout. I think that some aspects of the girls were quite believable (wanting to do well, eating fast food every day, not wanting their Aunt to come in and enforce rules) so that was good. I could also tell that the author has some experience in education based on the characters of the story who are teachers and their interactions with non-teachers. Overall, it was a nice, easy read but nothing I'm crazy about.
What do You think about Bindi Babes (2005)?
Three sisters, Amber, Geena, and Jazz, try to be perfect at everything so that no one will know that they are grieving for their mother, who recently died. When their aunt comes from India to help their father raise them, they decide to take matters into their own hands. By observing their own relatives, it becomes clear to them that the only way to get rid of her is to marry her off. Chaos insues. This book actually turned out to be not so bad after the first couple chapters. The writing was so poor, I felt like I had read every adverb and cheesy dialogue trick in the English language before the book got interesting.
—Allison
'Meet Amber, Jazz and Geena, the coolest chicks on the block.'Narinder Dhami signed my copy of this book years ago, for my grandmother who originally owned it.This is fun book that I'd read during my days at school. 'Bindi Babes' is about three Indian-British sisters who are model students. But then their auntie comes to stay and intrudes their comfortable lives, and cramps their style. They band together to find ways of getting rid of her, even if it means - gulp - behaving badly at school and getting into trouble!Told from the POV of Amber, the middle sister, much of what happens to the girls - particularly in school - I could relate to. They are young, spoilt and selfish despite being seen as good girls outside of their home. But they learn valuable lessons by the end of the book.'Bindi Babes' is a bit cliche now that I remember it, with a few dated pop culture references, but it's still funny with memorable scenarios and likable, human characters. A realistic depiction of English tact, friendship and family importance.Overall, good middle school entertainment.Final Score: 4/5
—Artemis
This book is a really good book to read why? Because is about these 3 girls named amber, Jazz and Geena Dhillon also known as the Bindi babes that they want to dress really good. One of them has to work really hard so that her sisters and she can dress good. They want to be the popular girls in school. Their mom died one year ago and they miss her a lot but nobody knows in school only them. The dad told them that they need to stop buying new things and expensive because he does not have that much money to be baying them a lot of things. They also have a aunty is from India is inviting herself to go and live a couple of months in their house. She is saying a lot of things that she doesn’t like from that house. The only thing that they need to do is try to get her married with someone so that she could just live the house. :)
—Tania
