ALA Booklist (Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Patel's second novel (after Rani Patel in Full Effect, 2016) is another bittersweet, Hawaii-set story involving gender, class, and love. Jaya has always felt more tied to the male stars of the Bollywood movies Jaya's mother watched than to the body Jaya was born in. Rasa, meanwhile, in order to keep her family alive, has taken on her mother's trade of prostitution. A serendipitous meeting allows Jaya and Rasa to discover a love that helps them cope with the harsh, upsetting realities of their daily lives. For instance, Jaya's mother, refusing Jaya's claim that he's a man, wants him to take a traditional Indian husband. And Rasa is afraid to leave her pimp, as it might put her little siblings in harm's way. Patel's captivating prose and memorable characters immerse readers in a tense situation. Though the book admirably tackles a myriad of issues, it does seem to rush near the end. Readers' hearts will ache to know more about the aftermath. A moving story of the healing powers of unconditional love.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Jaya Mehta and Rasa Santos are an unlikely pair, but when they meet in the mountains of Hawaii, an -honest love- flourishes between them. Jaya, a transgender teen from a wealthy Gujarati Indian family, finds solace in the heavy guitar riffs of Nirvana, which provide an escape from bullying, his parents- dysfunctional marriage, and his loneliness. Rasa, raised in a shack by a mother who works as a prostitute, has had to scramble to provide for her younger siblings, resorting to prostitution herself at age 13. Both Jaya and Rasa find understanding and acceptance in their whirlwind romance, even as the expectations and maneuverings of the adults in their lives loom large. Patel-s third-person narration shifts between the two teenagers, though the brutal details of Rasa-s story-including that her mother groomed Rasa to follow in her footsteps-sometimes overshadow Jaya-s perspective. Readers may be surprised that half the book goes by before Rasa and Jaya even meet, but Patel (Rani Patel in Full Effect) writes with fierce simplicity throughout, allowing the gritty beauty of her story to shine. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Kirkus Reviews

Rasa and Jaya live totally different lives in Hawaii, each struggling to find themselves when they find each other. Teenage Rasa supports herself and her younger siblings by doing the sex work she was groomed to do by her mother. When they are abandoned, Rasa is put into a separate foster home from her siblings. A sense of stability begins to take hold in her until her carers sell her to a sadistic, wealthy pimp who terrorizes and gaslights her until her identity is obliterated. Meanwhile, Jaya lives a life of privilege in a wealthy Gujarati family, but their picture-perfect life is a lie he detests. His father cheats on his mother, they both drink excessively, and they pressure Jaya to be the ideal daughter. Jaya knows he's trans but isn't sure how to tell them that he's a boy and is never going to marry a wealthy man. One day, Jaya sees Rasa picking liliko'I fruit and is sure he's seen a goddess. A budding romance turns dark as Jaya's paranoia about Rasa's caginess and dishonesty comes to a head and they learn the truth about each other. Readers may find it difficult to reconcile how they feel about Jaya toward the end after rooting for him the whole way through, as there's some unanswered abuse in his reaction to finding out who Rasa really is. Nevertheless, Patel has written a book so intense and messy that it may just reflect real life in a way that neither fairy-tale endings nor outright tragedies can do. (Fiction. 14-18)

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

[add subjects: emotional problems; abuse]Jaya is a transgender boy from a wealthy Gujarati family in Hawaii. Devoted to protecting her siblings, beautiful Rasa is a victim of sex-trafficking. Each protagonist's childhood has been riddled with different kinds of pain and abuse, but their love provides each teen with hope and maybe even a path forward. The romance is ultimately underdeveloped, but Patel's novel tackles difficult issues without flinching.