Thank you for allowing me to read this book. It was cute and I enjoyed it, but there was something that just felt off about it.
Arjun and Madhuri have been best friends since they were 11 and both have some major trauma and issues surrounding their ethnicity. It was really great to have these subjects represented and have some dialogue about their feelings. Madhuri's mother does an astrological reading for them both that reveals that Arjun is going to have a stellar senior year while Madhuri, a perfectionist in everything, is going to fail in school and in love. There's also a bit about Madhuri's "family curse" in which they all marry their first romantic partner and live happily ever after. Madhuri rebels against this, but in doing so, is just so unbelievably selfish. She creates the Kismet Experiment in order to have a fake relationship with Arjun and "break" the family curse. She does this without caring about anyone's feelings. Not Arjun who has been in love with her for the better part of a decade; her family who already love him like a son/brother; her friends who are also his friends; and herself--because what is going to happen when she loses her best friend? Everyone tap dances around Madhuri because of her feelings. If she gets upset, she shuts down and it's not healthy for her or for her friends. She's definitely someone who you're a better friend to than she is to you.
Overall the story was cute, but it both felt like it moved too fast and too slow and I wish that Madhuri had a bit more character growth, or at least therapy.
Arjun and Madhuri have been best friends since they were 11 and both have some major trauma and issues surrounding their ethnicity. It was really great to have these subjects represented and have some dialogue about their feelings. Madhuri's mother does an astrological reading for them both that reveals that Arjun is going to have a stellar senior year while Madhuri, a perfectionist in everything, is going to fail in school and in love. There's also a bit about Madhuri's "family curse" in which they all marry their first romantic partner and live happily ever after. Madhuri rebels against this, but in doing so, is just so unbelievably selfish. She creates the Kismet Experiment in order to have a fake relationship with Arjun and "break" the family curse. She does this without caring about anyone's feelings. Not Arjun who has been in love with her for the better part of a decade; her family who already love him like a son/brother; her friends who are also his friends; and herself--because what is going to happen when she loses her best friend? Everyone tap dances around Madhuri because of her feelings. If she gets upset, she shuts down and it's not healthy for her or for her friends. She's definitely someone who you're a better friend to than she is to you.
Overall the story was cute, but it both felt like it moved too fast and too slow and I wish that Madhuri had a bit more character growth, or at least therapy.