When Dimple Met Rishi

When Dimple Met Rishi was one of the breakout Young Adult contemporary books of this summer. Everyone who is anyone has been reading and raving about this novel over the past few months. I felt it only proper to read it before the summer drew to a close.

This is a novel about family values and culture versus the need to break out and find yourself and your own voice. Dimple is about to go off to college to study her love of coding but her family are keen for her to make an arranged marriage and become a good wife who will be there to support her husband and family. Dimple is independent and strong-willed and while she loves her family she loves coding more and she is not ready to give up her dreams just yet. She is surprised when her parents agree to her attending a summer coding programme at San Francisco University and she heads off determined to give it her all and win the coveted prize at the end of the programme, hence showing everyone that she is as good as she thinks she is and has a bright future.

On her first day Dimple is thrown when a young man comes up to her and tells her he is her future husband. You see Rishi has already been told all about Dimple, he's going to the summer programme at SFU for the sole purpose of meeting the girl his parents have told him he is going to marry at the agreement of all their parents. The only problem is that no one told Dimple!!

This story was really funny, from the time when Dimple meets Rishi we fall in love with Rishi immediately. He is in a really difficult position as he likes Dimple, a lot, and he has been told that she is aware of their marriage and so when he finds she has no idea he has to backtrack and pretend that it doesn't matter to him and he enters that dreaded ‘friend zone'. He's such an endearing character, he's instantly likeable and you feel for him as he is trying to be the devoted Indian son, making a marriage and going off to study a subject he doesn't necessarily love in order to provide for his family in the future.

The way in which Dimple and Rishi impact each other's lives is lovely, from a misunderstanding they grow into friends and from friends into a relationship which will change their lives for the better. They are each other's biggest cheer squad, they learn about what it means to see life through the other's eyes. Dimple to learn that complying with her cultural values needn't mean giving up her dreams and Rishi in living his own dreams doesn't mean he cannot be a good son and make his family proud.

This was such a quick book to read, the chapters are all quite short and snappy and we flick from Dimple to Rishi's perspective every page or so to ensure we are aware of both points of view throughout. It's nice to see how they each view their blossoming relationship and how they help each other to grow throughout the narrative.

It's a great contemporary summer read, funny and emotional and with great characters leading the story.