ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

The summer before entering high school, Karthik makes deliveries for his family's struggling Indian grocery store in Boston. He befriends some of the customers, stopping to visit with elderly ones who need a little company as well as food. When a graduate student notices his uncanny memorization skills, she offers him the lead in the one-act play she's written, which is to be performed later that summer. With no acting experience, Karthik is doubtful but intrigued, hopeful that theater could become an alternative to a career in medicine, his mother's unwavering choice for him. Karthik's older sister and several classmates round out the list of characters. Levelheaded and smart, though sometimes reluctant to let others know what he's thinking, Karthik narrates the story with a winning combination of wit and angst. From his tight-knit, immigrant family to the girl he admires to the grad student/playwright, the characters are convincingly portrayed. Changes come when Karthik and his equally reticent family members become more open with one another. A perceptive, enjoyable novel of self-discovery within expanding circles of family and community.

Kirkus Reviews

It's the summer before high school starts, and Karthik is miserable.Forced to deliver orders for his parents' struggling grocery store, pining after Juhi Shah, and harassed by neighborhood bullies, Karthik Raghavan can't think of a worse way to spend his vacation. But Shanthi, a Boston University graduate student and aspiring playwright with a weakness for the Raghavan family store's spicy chips, asks him to play the lead role in her play about the early life of Leonard Bernstein. Karthik starts to imagine himself as more than just a rising ninth grader: The more he learns about acting, the more he likes it, and it doesn't hurt that his stunning memory helps him quickly master his lines. Karthik isn't sure if he wants to grow up to be an actor, but he is sure that he wants to explore the possibility of doing so, a wish he's positive his parents won't support. The more he rehearses, and the faster the summer rolls on, though, the more the people in Karthik's life surprise him-and the more motivated he feels to find himself. The book's narratorial voice deftly shifts between sarcasm and pathos, creating a three-dimensional protagonist who values his Indian American family's identity without being wholly defined by it. The author successfully avoids tired tropes about unsupportive immigrant parents by telling a multigenerational story that, most notably, examines how Karthik's parents grapple with their own dreaming.A refreshingly nuanced novel about what it means to chase your dreams. (Fiction. 10-14)

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

Overflowing with love, Chari’s (the Mars Patel series) heartfelt novel is an intersection of art, community, and friendship that absolutely delivers. Set in Boston amid a recession, 14-year-old Karthik Raghavan spends his summer reluctantly delivering groceries for his parents’ struggling store, but he’d rather grab ice cream and pine for his crush, Juhi Shah, who frequents his favorite local haunt, Carmine’s Ice Cream Parlor. When one of his parents’ devoted customers, graduate student Shanthi, asks Karthik to be the lead in her play about his hero, composer Leonard Bernstein, he readily accepts, but only in secret. His Indian immigrant mother stresses academic work and “safe” professions (such as a career at “a big software company”), and Karthik’s worried that his parents won’t support his artistic exploration. As he juggles rehearsals with his family responsibilities, Karthik learns to trust others and take chances, and begins to find himself. Chari’s large cast features representatives across the Indian diaspora, including bohemian Shanthi, Karthik’s entrepreneurial father, and enigmatic Juhi, showcasing a multilayered, multigenerational community. Karthik is a compassionate and deeply funny narrator, and his journey of self-discovery while balancing familial obligation and chasing his dreams endears and inspires. Ages 10–14. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Apr.)

School Library Journal (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Gr 5 Up It's 2009 during the economic downturn, and Karthik is an Indian boy growing up in Boston. He is working this summer at his Dad's Indian grocery store, and is not thrilled about giving up his summer to deliver groceries on his cousin's bike in the heat. Karthik has a fantastic memory and makes lists in order to remember everything. One day, he happens to deliver items to a woman in grad school working on a play about Leonard Bernstein. She begs him to be Lenny in her play and he agrees, as long as it doesn't get him in trouble with his parents. This is the start of a wonderful journey for Karthik, where he learns about music, love, and how to decide your own future. Clocking in at over 200 pages, this longer middle grade book moves surprisingly fast and will hold readers' attention; it could easily be added to hi-lo collections. The text is occasionally broken up with lists and play dialogue. Chari's prose has a very conversational tone, which adds to the book's authenticity and ease of reading. VERDICT A wonderful realistic fiction title about a young Indian boy following his heart; a solid addition to young readers' collections.Kristin J. Anderson