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Arranged marriage. Fiction.
Dating (Social customs). Fiction.
East Indian Americans. Fiction.
Family life. Fiction.
A clash of perspectives sparks this romantic comedy about two first-generation Indian-American teens whose parents set an arranged-marriage plan in motion, but it backfires big time—or maybe not? In the alternating voices of her two protagonists, Menon explores themes of culture and identity with insight and warmth. Seamlessly integrating Hindi language, she deftly captures the personalities of two seemingly opposite 18-year-olds from different parts of California and also from very different places regarding life choices and expectations. Insomnia Con, a competitive six-week summer program at San Francisco State focused on app development, is where this compelling, cinematic, and sometimes-madcap narrative unfolds. Dimple Shah lives and breathes coding and has what she thinks is a winning and potentially lifesaving concept. She chafes under her mother's preoccupation with the Ideal Indian Husband and wants to be respected for her intellect and talent. Rishi Patel believes in destiny, tradition, and the "rich fabric of history," arriving in San Francisco with his great-grandmother's ring in his pocket. He plans to study computer science and engineering at MIT. But what about his passion for comic-book art? They are assigned to work together and sparks fly, but Dimple holds back. Readers will be caught up as Rishi and Dimple navigate their ever changing, swoonworthy connection, which plays out as the app competition and complicated social scene intensify. Heartwarming, empathetic, and often hilarious—a delightful read. (Fiction. 14-adult)
ALA BooklistIt's not always as easy as boy meets girl. In the case of Rishi Patel and Dimple Shah, it's more like boy is arranged to marry girl, and girl attacks boy with iced coffee. In her delightful debut, Menon tells the story of two Indian American teenagers, fresh from high school and eager for adulthood. While Rishi's version of growing up involves happily following his parents' life plan (giving up art for engineering and accepting an arranged marriage to Dimple), Dimple sees college as her chance to escape her immigrant parents' stifling expectations (which include little more than wearing makeup and finding a suitable Indian husband). And yet, when Dimple and Rishi finally meet, they are both shocked to realize what it is they truly want d what they're willing to sacrifice to get it. While Menon's portrayal of the struggles of Indian American teens is both nuanced and thoughtful, it is her ability to fuse a classic coming-of-age love story with the contemporary world of nerd culture, cons, and coding camp, that will melt the hearts of readers.
Horn BookRishi is excited to meet Dimple, a girl his parents have chosen for him to marry; fiercely independent Dimple knows nothing of the arrangement. After a bad first impression, the two, with differing attitudes toward their religion and Indian American culture, fall in love at their summer web development program in San Francisco. Alternating narration provides deep character insight in this delightful, observant rom-com.
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)A clash of perspectives sparks this romantic comedy about two first-generation Indian-American teens whose parents set an arranged-marriage plan in motion, but it backfires big time—or maybe not? In the alternating voices of her two protagonists, Menon explores themes of culture and identity with insight and warmth. Seamlessly integrating Hindi language, she deftly captures the personalities of two seemingly opposite 18-year-olds from different parts of California and also from very different places regarding life choices and expectations. Insomnia Con, a competitive six-week summer program at San Francisco State focused on app development, is where this compelling, cinematic, and sometimes-madcap narrative unfolds. Dimple Shah lives and breathes coding and has what she thinks is a winning and potentially lifesaving concept. She chafes under her mother's preoccupation with the Ideal Indian Husband and wants to be respected for her intellect and talent. Rishi Patel believes in destiny, tradition, and the "rich fabric of history," arriving in San Francisco with his great-grandmother's ring in his pocket. He plans to study computer science and engineering at MIT. But what about his passion for comic-book art? They are assigned to work together and sparks fly, but Dimple holds back. Readers will be caught up as Rishi and Dimple navigate their ever changing, swoonworthy connection, which plays out as the app competition and complicated social scene intensify. Heartwarming, empathetic, and often hilarious—a delightful read. (Fiction. 14-adult)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)In this bright and funny debut novel, Menon introduces two intellectually gifted teens from traditional Indian families who meet at a summer tech conference in San Francisco. The twist: Dimple and Rishi-s parents have arranged their marriage. Rishi is aware of the arrangement; Dimple is not. Rishi longs for a traditional marriage like the one his parents have, but Dimple is adamantly opposed to her parents- efforts to push her toward the same, favoring a career and education over family. After a disastrous initial meeting (Dimple throws iced coffee at Rishi), the two creep toward friendship and love, a slow process recounted through their alternating points of view (often switching multiple times within a single chapter). This frequent back and forth provides a detailed play-by-play of the teenagers- shifting emotions as Menon vividly conjures the joy, self-doubt, and humor of first love. Romance-loving readers will celebrate the ways that Rishi and Dimple learn to respect and appreciate their Indian heritage and traditions but also manage to go their own way. Ages 12-up. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (May)
School Library JournalGr 7 Up-imple is a headstrong girl who is passionate about coding and web development much to the chagrin of her parents, who wish she would focus more on her appearance and attracting a husband. Basking in her acceptance to Stanford, Dimple is surprised when her parents agree to let her attend a six-week "Insomnia Con" in San Francisco. Not long into her convention, Dimple discovers why her parents were so willing to let her go. She has been set up to meet a potential husbandthe very traditional yet charming Rishi. The plot is moderately paced as the romance between the pair flops, then flourishes. The characters are refreshing, even if familiar. Rishi has a hidden love of comics, Dimple is a feminist who secretly yearns to please her parents, and the "Aberzombies" are the superficial prep school kids who get their jollies by making Dimple and Rishi feel like outsiders. The strength of the story comes from its blending of Indian culture and values into a modern-day romance that scores of readers can enjoy. This novel touches on issues of identity while remaining light and fun. VERDICT A strong choice for any young adult collection.Christina Vortia, Hype Lit, Wesley Chapel, FL
Voice of Youth Advocates (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)Dimple Shah is so excited to attend the summer web development conference Insomnia Con that she is not even suspicious when her parents are equally keen for her to go. When Rishi Patel walks up to her and jokingly says, Hello, future wife, the only thing Dimple can do is dump her iced coffee on him. It turns out that both Dimple and Rishis parents have been hoping love would spark between the two teens for a long time. After their meet cute gone awry, they begrudgingly get to know each other, even though both are focused on their own futures. The more they hang out, the less romance seems like a bad idea Menon weaves a vibrant, joyous, funny love story between two smart, strong, sexy, funny, wonderful people who happen to be first-generation Indian American. Dimple and Rishi resist, but it is clear, virtually from the start, that this is a perfect match. They are purely equals, and each bolsters the other. Menon does not fall into any stereotypical trapsno lame, interfering third parties, no stupid misunderstandings. Conflicts arise naturally; Dimple and Rishi are perfectly able to think through them and come up with solutions, on their own and as a team. Some readers may dislike that Dimple and Rishi decide to have sex (with special emphasis on the word decide) but it is handled beautifully and movingly. Menon is firmly in Jane Austen territory here and proves superbly adept at handling her charactersand readershearts.Matthew Weaver.
Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)
ALA Booklist
ALA/YALSA Best Book For Young Adults
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Horn Book
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
School Library Journal
Voice of Youth Advocates (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)
Wilson's High School Catalog
Wilson's Junior High Catalog
CHAPTER 1
Dimple couldn't stop smiling. It was like two invisible puppeteers, standing stage left and stage right, were yanking on strings to lift up the corners of her mouth.
Okay, or maybe something less creepy. The point was, the urge to grin felt irresistible.
Dimple clicked on the e-mail again and read it. Stanford. She was going to Stanford. Even though the acceptance letter had come in the mail weeks ago, she hadn't allowed herself to really, fully believe it until her student log-in details had come via e-mail. She'd thought that, at the last minute, Papa would have second thoughts and renege on the deposit. Or that Mamma would call and tell them Dimple had changed her mind (and if you didn't think Mamma would do something like that, you'd never met her).
But no, it had all actually worked out. Everything was settled. She was officially enrolled.
Now, if only . . .
Dimple clicked over to the other window she had open, her smile fading just a tad.
Insomnia Con 2017:
A fabulous opportunity for rising high school seniors or recent grads! Come learn the basics of web development on the sunny SFSU campus this summer!
Just shut up and take my money, Dimple thought.
But it wasn't that easy. It would be an incredible opportunity--this was true. She'd have a leg up on everyone else when she started Stanford in the fall. And think of the contacts she'd make! Some of the biggest names in web development had gone through Insomnia Con: Jenny Lindt, for instance. The woman was a genius. She'd basically designed and coded the billion-dollar Meeting Space app and website from the ground up. It made Dimple salivate just to think of sitting through the same classes, participating in the same activities, walking the same campus as she had.
But she didn't know if she could push her luck with the parental unit.
The summer program cost a thousand dollars. And while Papa and Mamma were solidly middle class, they weren't exactly flush. Not to mention she'd already stretched her luck about as far as it could go, she was sure, by asking--nay, haranguing--them to let her go to Stanford. She was sure the only reason they had agreed was because they were secretly hoping she'd meet the I.I.H. of her--no, their--dreams at the prestigious school.
I.I.H., for the uninitiated, stood for Ideal Indian Husband.
Uggghh. Just thinking about it made her want to banshee-scream into a pillow.
"Diiiiimpllllle?" Mamma sounded screechy and frantic as usual.
When Dimple was younger, she'd go running downstairs, heart pounding every single time, terrified something awful had happened. And every single time Mamma would be doing something mundane like rummaging in the kitchen cupboard, greeting her casually with, "Have you seen my saffron?" Mamma never understood why it made Dimple so livid.
"Just a minute, Mamma!" she shouted back, knowing full well it would be more than a minute. Dimple now knew better than to rush when she heard her Mamma call. They'd arrived at an uneasy truce--Mamma didn't have to modulate her tone if Dimple didn't have to drop everything and rush to her aid for saffron emergencies.
She clicked through the photo gallery on the Insomnia Con website for another five minutes, sighing at the building's giant glass and chrome structure, at the tech nerds grouped together in inviting clusters, at the pictures of previous, jubilant winners of the legendary talent contest that gave them extra seed money for their apps or websites. Dimple would kill to be one of them someday.
Participants of Insomnia Con were tasked to come up with a concept for the most groundbreaking app they could conceive during their month and a half at the SFSU campus. Although no one could actually code an entire app in that time frame, the idea was to get as close as possible by the judging round. There were rumors that, this year, the winners would get the chance to have their concept critiqued by Jenny Lindt herself. Now that would be epic.
Dimple said a little prayer that she'd win a thousand-dollar lottery, turned off her monitor, adjusted her ratty gray salwar kameez, and made her way downstairs.
* * *
"Woh kuch iske baare mein keh rahi thi na?" Papa was saying. Didn't she mention this?
Dimple stopped, ears perked. Were they talking about her? She strained to hear more, but Mamma pitched her voice too low, and Dimple couldn't make out anything else. Of course. When she actually wanted to listen, Mamma decided to be quiet and reserved. Sighing, she walked into the living room.
Was it her imagination or did her parents look a little flushed? Almost . . . guilty? She raised her eyebrows. "Mamma, Papa. Did you need something?"
"Dimple, tell me again about--oh." The guilty look disappeared as Mamma pursed her magenta lipsticked mouth, taking Dimple's appearance in. "Wearing specs?" She pointed to Dimple's glasses, perched on the end of her nose like usual. Mamma's eyes roamed, squinting with disapproval at Dimple's unruly black curly hair (which she refused to let grow past her shoulders), her face so completely unadorned with makeup, and sadly, in spite of Mamma's optimistic naming, nary a dimple in sight.
She should be thankful I brushed my teeth this morning, Dimple thought. But Mamma would never understand Dimple's aversion to makeup and fashion. Every other week one of the aunties from the Indian Association came over to help Mamma dye her roots black while Papa was at work. He was under the impression she still had her youthful color.
"Where are your contacts? And remember when I showed you how to do kaajal?" Kaajal was the potted eyeliner that was hugely popular in Mamma's youth, a trend which she apparently hadn't noticed had died away sometime in the '70s.
"Vividly," Dimple muttered, trying to tamp down the annoyance in her voice. From beside Mamma, Papa, ever the peacemaker, was making a surreptitious please let it go face. "I just graduated three days ago, Mamma. Can't I have this week to relax and be lazy?"
Papa's face now resembled a roti that had been left in the pan too long.
"Relax and be lazy!" Mamma thundered. Her glass bangles jangled in synchrony. "Do you think you're going to find a husband by being lazy? Do you think, for the past twenty-two years since marrying your father, I've had a minute to myself to be lazy?"
Of course not, Dimple thought. Because you've been too busy hovering. She bit her tongue and sank down on the sofa, knowing that once Mamma got started, she'd be at it for a while. It was better to let her talk until the words petered out, like those windup chattering teeth you could buy at the joke store. There were a million things she could say in acerbic response, of course, but Dimple still hadn't ruled out asking to enroll in Insomnia Con if the opportunity presented itself. It was in her best interest to hold back.
"No, I haven't," Mamma continued. " 'Lazy' shouldn't be in a woman's vocabulary." Adjusting the violet dupatta on her gold and pink salwar kameez, Mamma settled against the couch. She looked like the brilliant Indian flower Dimple knew she herself would never be. "You know, Dimple, a grown daughter is a reflection of her mother. What do you think others in our community will think of me if they see you . . . like this?" She made a vague gesture at Dimple's person. "Not that you aren't beautiful, beti, you are, which is what makes it even more tragic--"
Dimple knew she shouldn't. But the flare of temper that overtook her made it all but impossible to stop the flood of words leaving her mouth. "That is such a misogynistic view, Mamma!" she said, jumping up, pushing her glasses up on her nose. Papa was muttering something under his breath now. He might've been praying.
Mamma looked like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Misogynistic! You call your own mother misogynistic?" Mamma darted an indignant look at Papa, who appeared to be extremely invested in a loose thread on his kurta. Turning back to Dimple, Mamma snapped, "This is what I'm worried about! You lose sight of the important things, Dimple. Looking nice, making an effort . . . these are the things girls value in our culture. Not this"--she made air quotes, which up until now Dimple hadn't realized she knew how to use--" 'misogyny' business."
Dimple groaned and clutched her head, feeling like that ancient pressure cooker Mamma still used when she made idli cakes. She was sure there was an actual chance she would explode. There was no way she and Mamma were related; they may as well have been two entirely different species. "Seriously? That's what you think I should be relegating my brain space to? Looking nice? Like, if I don't make the effort to look beautiful, my entire existence is nullified? Nothing else matters--not my intellect, not my personality or my accomplishments; my hopes and dreams mean nothing if I'm not wearing eyeliner?" Her voice had risen incrementally until it echoed off the high ceilings.
Mamma, caught up in the moment, stood to meet her glare. "Hai Ram, Dimple! It is not eyeliner--it is kaajal!"
Dimple's temper flashed, the heat tempered only slightly by the dampness of disappointment. This was an argument they'd had so many times, she and Mamma could probably say each other's lines. It was like they were constantly speaking two different languages, each trying to convince the other in an alien lexicon. Why couldn't Mamma make the smallest effort to understand where Dimple was coming from? Did she really think Dimple had nothing valuable to contribute besides her looks? The thought made Dimple's pulse skyrocket. She leaned forward, face flaming, ready to speak her mind about how she really felt--
The doorbell chime echoed through the house, bringing them to a standstill. Dimple's heart still raced, but she felt all the million old arguments stall, unspoken behind her lips.
Mamma adjusted her dupatta, which had begun to fall off during the argument, and took a deep breath. "We have guests," she said demurely, patting her hair. "I trust you will behave for them, Dimple?"
Papa looked at her with big, pleading eyes.
Dimple managed a curt nod, thinking, Saved by the bell, Mamma. You don't know how lucky you are.
Excerpted from When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
The inspiration for the Netflix original series Mismatched!
A New York Times bestseller
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)
An NPR Best Book of 2017
A BuzzFeed Best YA Book of 2017
A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of 2017
A School Library Journal Best Young Adult Book of 2017
A Bustle Best YA Novel of 2017
A PopSugar Best Young Adult Novel of 2017
A Book Riot Best Book of 2017
A Paste Magazine Best Young Adult Novel of 2017
“Utterly charming.” —Mindy Kaling
“Effervescent.” —Chicago Tribune
“Full of warm characters and sweet romance.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Get ready to fall in love with Dimple Shah and Rishi Patel.” —HelloGiggles
The rom-com everyone’s talking about! Eleanor & Park meets Bollywood in this hilarious and heartfelt novel about two Indian-American teens whose parents conspire to arrange their marriage.
Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?
Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.
The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?
Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.