Moving to L.A. from Bangalore, India, doesn't prove to be that easy for some members of this Indian family. Shalini finds High School difficult as her schoolmates make fun of how she looks and talks, she misses her big family as well as the young man she is engaged to marry, and she is worried about her mother who has become depressed and unresponsive to her family. Enjoyable for the depiction of high school action as well as life and customs in India. 3.5 In Lovetorn by Kavita Daswani, Shalini has only known one world: India. She lives in a massive house with 37 of her relatives and loves it. She has been engaged to Vikram, the man of her dreams, since she was three years old. Nothing could spoil her wonderful life…except when her father decides to take a new job and uproot her family to L.A. How could she possibly adjust to this completely different lifestyle? Her little sister seems to jump right in, while her mother struggles more and more with these new surroundings. As Shalini adjusts to live in California, will she be able to hold onto the world she has always known and the person she has always known herself to be? I instantly gravitated to Lovetorn because of my unhealthy obsession with anything related to India. This was a pretty easy and straightforward read. The author provides a glossary to help the reader understand the different foods, phrases, and words that Shalini uses. This is a great reference tool and I was really glad it was included. Daswani creates a storyline around Shalini’s mother that I thought was very well written and crucial to Shalini’s struggles to accept this new lifestyle. Some of Shalini’s actions and feelings did not seem genuine to me. I think the author could have spent more time on Shalini’s transition from being completely in love with Vikram to realizing that she might feel different. I mean seriously half the book was spent reinforcing Shalini's love for Vikram then BAM she doesn't know what she is feeling. I would have liked to have seen the author develop more into the secondary characters, especially Sangita, Shalini’s little sister and Toby, an American boy who makes Shalini rethink everything she knows. Other than that, Lovetorn provides an insightful look at the lifestyles of India and the transition that many teen immigrants face.
What do You think about Lovetorn (2012)?
interesting. not exceptional, but it was a nice change of pace from the last few books I've read.
—canotrul
I'm a bit dismayed by the ending. Let me think on this a while.
—Mangatang
