My So-Called Bollywood Life

March 26, 2018
Winnie (Vaneeta) Mehta and her family are obsessed with a prophecy from an Indian priest about the New Jersey teen’s romantic future. They believe she’s destined to marry Raj, her longtime boyfriend and childhood friend. But over the summer, Raj hooked up with another girl, and he no longer shares her Bollywood filmmaking dreams either—even more of a betrayal to Winnie than the cheating. The fallout from their breakup is vast: not only does Winnie get pushed out from helping with the school’s annual film festival, but she has to get a job to pay back Raj after a misguided, post-breakup stealing incident. Winnie’s new position at a local art house puts her in the orbit of Dev, a classmate who loves the cinema as much as Winnie. Sharma’s YA debut is filled with upbeat, third-person prose, and quirky, Bollywood-focused details: in recurring dreams, Winnie is visited by actor Shah Rukh Khan, who gives her life and love advice, and each chapter begins with a Bollywood movie review and rating written from Winnie’s review blog. The romance that blossoms between Winnie and Dev is sweet, if predictable, creating a satisfying story with a layer of dramatic intrigue offered through Winnie’s genuine concern over whether her fate is predetermined or of her own design. Ages 14–up. Agent: Antonella Iannarino, David Black Literary Agency.