There's Something about Sweetie

March 1, 2019
When Sweetie Nair embraces her identity as a fat person, the results lead to a Bollywood-style romance.Indian-American Sweetie is fat. She's also a star athlete, a talented singer, and a straight-A student, but somehow, her body always seems to eclipse everything else. So when handsome, wealthy star basketball player Ashish Patel's mother approaches Sweetie's mother to set the two teens up on a date and Sweetie's mother turns her down because of Sweetie's weight, Sweetie decides that it's time to take her life into her own hands. Step No. 1 in the Sassy Sweetie Project: Date Indian-American Ashish behind her parents' backs. At first, Sweetie does this to prove her self-worth, but when the teens begin to fall for each other, she realizes that Ashish's baggage, rather than her own, might be the real obstacle. Although it is refreshing to see a fat person of color as a romantic lead, Sweetie's intuitive wisdom makes her seem almost magical, masking opportunities for nuance in her journey. At times, the prose is pedantic, listing the trials and tribulations of being a fat person rather than weaving it into the action. The contradiction is particularly visible since, by contrast, Ashish's character trajectory delves deeply and believably into his vulnerability. The romantic scenes are a lot of fun to read but are not enough to carry the book.An entertaining romance that could have benefited from more character development. (Romance. 14-18)

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May 1, 2019

Gr 7 Up- Ashish Patel is the handsome star basketball player who could get any girl he wants, but all of that changes when his girlfriend, Celia, dumps him and he can't seem to find his mojo. Though it's not his usual style, he decides to take matters into his parents' hands and asks them to arrange a suitable date for him. Sweetie Nair is intelligent, beautiful, and an amazing athlete who happens to be fat. She is filled with confidence but is constantly knocked down by her mother who believes that Sweetie can't be happy until she is thin. When Ashish's mother decides that Sweetie is the right girl for him and Sweetie's mother declines the arrangement, Sweetie goes against her mother's wishes and dates Ashish. They both have their reasons for dating each other, but neither expects it to end in love. This is a companion to Menon's popular book When Dimple Met Rishi and is also told in alternating perspectives. Fans of Menon will not be disappointed and will be excited to see cameos of Rishi and Dimple. VERDICT Give this entertaining read to romantic comedy fans everywhere.-Kristyn Dorfman, The Nightingale-Bamford School, New York City

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2019
Grades 7-12 *Starred Review* Seventeen-year-old, swoonworthy Ashish Patel is the basketball star of Richmond Academy. Bummed after being dumped by his college girlfriend, he challenges his parents to make good on their constant threat to find him an Indian American girl to date. Their choice is Sweetie Nair, Piedmont High's track star. When Ashish's mother proposes the match, Sweetie's mother adamantly insists that their children aren't compatible?namely because Sweetie is fat. Furious with her mother's constant ragging about her weight, Sweetie takes matters into her own hands and agrees to the Patels' four-date contract without telling her parents. Ashish and Sweetie accept the arrangement, each feeling they have something to prove, wondering if this arranged match will work, and not knowing what will happen when Sweetie's parents find out. Ashish and Sweetie share narrative duties, and both are flanked by supportive friends and caring parents?even if their approaches to love can be painful at times. Menon, as always, champions teens by allowing them the space and pace to make decisions, succeed or fail, learn, and blossom. This companion book to her successful debut, When Dimple Met Rishi (2017), hits all the right notes and delivers a joyful relationship that discards society's dictates about appearance in favor of loving the whole person. Give this to readers who love a good rom-com with a message.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Menon's debut won readers' hearts, and her fans will turn out in droves for its sequel. An author tour will add to the frenzy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)