Rachel Reads & Reviews

Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions by Navdeep Singh Dhillon

Sunny G is still reeling fom his brother’s death a few months before. It doesn’t help that his family have had no discussions about this. Between the Punjab way of not dealing with those issues and the Sikh belief that death just is, a natural part of the cycle of life, Sunny is stuck with his complicated feelings. He misses his brother but he’s also angry that Goldy kept drinking even after three bouts in rehab. He didn’t want to die but why couldn’t he quit. All Sunny has to figure out his brother’s mind is his notebook.

Sunny appropriates that notebook to change himself and make his own series of rash decisions, starting with shaving off his beard, ditching cosplay con and going to prom. He’s quickly regretting it as it’s not the magic sparkly rom-com time Sixteen Candles implied it would be. That is until Mandii comes in with her brambleberry skirt, and brazen willingness to shut up the so-called cool kids and steal his pouch. From there, Sunny truly does impulsive things like rollar-skating, Nigerian trivia, rock out with a impromptue metal band and figure out his shit.

Sunny is such an endearing protagonist. I mean he is truly a social awkward nerd. I felt second hand embarassment as he talked with the popular, slightly racist, kids about not drinking urine when trying to survive the wild.

Yeah. . .

One can’t blame him as he’s still having to deal with his own insecurities of being a shy stutterer and mistaken for a terrorism cuz again, racism. But when he does get into his comfort zone, he shows his true empathetic, curious, open-minded self. I just wished he could see his good points as Mindii did.

Mindii was delightful. While she initially seemed to lean too hard into the whole maniac, pixie dream girl trope, she had her own struggles that helped inform Sunny’s path to finding forgiveness and udnerstanding with his brother’s life and death. Plus she was full of historical facts and knowledge that really should be taught in school like U.S.’s involvement in Laos’ Secret War, that a steel worker strike in Oregon inspired India’s rebellion against British colonists, and the Cambodian cornering of doughnut shops in California.

While the romance is a catalyst to the story, the brotherhood of Sunny and Goldy is the heart of the book as Goldy’s presence looms over everything. Sunny must unlearn the toxic mindset that Goldy wasn’t man enough to curb his addiction,, that sort of toxic masculinity may have contributed to it in fact, and in it’s own way similar to Sunny’s struggle with his stuttering and feeling like he was broken.

It’s a fun, heartfelt debut by Navdeep and I highly suggest the read.

Don’t Read the Comments by Eric Smith

Divya is the popualr gamer of Reclaim the Sun known as D1V. It’s a godsend as not only does she love the community, but the sponserships help pay for the bills and help her mother achieve her masters degree after her father bailed.

But with popularity comes trolls, the vicious kind that harrass, stalk and dox her home and her loved ones, and though she doesn’t want to give into their hate hiding behind false accounts. But it is too much, why is it so bad for a girl like her to enjoy gaming. It’s literally just a game.

Meanwhile, Aaron has trouble convincing his mom that those vary video games are a worthwhile pursuit of his time and potential career.

When Divya’s harrassment reaches viral levels, Aaron’s endearing kindness and love for all video games connects them in the virtual world and give each other the strength to keep going.

One can see the love Smith has for the gaming world with references galore that confuses a newb like me but I’m sure others will appreciate. Even though he showcases the toxcity of the alpha males in the industry, and the willingness to let racism/sexism pass for the sake of their intended audience, it is clear why so many love it. It’s an escape, it’s a community, and a road to imagination that make you your best self.

This is a dual narrative but it’s Diya’s story that shines as she faces the trolls, and conquers her fears. At first she won’t give in because gaming is a paycheck, but it becomes personal quick and she finds herself the face of women in gaming, and she doesn’t want to let those girls (or herself) down because no deserve such hate. When it gets consuming so much that it’s an escape or the danger is all she can think of, a reality check that gaming isn’t everything.

Aaron’s story is a bit less compelling as son pushes against parent’s traditional dreams is part and parcel for coming of age YA. But he also gets his own arc that isn’t shown a lot. Learning that maybe not every girl needs to be saved, learning to stand aside, listen, and just be in awe of Diya’s bravery. He also learns that while standing up for others is good, standing up for himself is just as powerful as he fights against a mercenary creator that won’t give him his paycheck.

The romance is sweet and very PG as they interact in the virtual world for most of it, but the interaction is so genuine that even though they don’t know generalities like favorite color or shows, they know each other and like each other.

Smith does a great job in introducing readers to gaming while letting in long-tie lovers in the fun and draw a line about the differences between the male and female experiences especially in regards to having a safe experience.

Forward Me Back to You by Mitali Perkins

Kat King doesn’t cry. She doesn’t back down without a fight but after nearly getting assaulted, and her reputation subsequently slandered, she’s forced to leave school mid-year. Ravi, or Robin as his adopted parents call him, is aimless. With college looming on the horizon, he needs a purpose fast. So when their church group sponsers a trip to India to help human trafficking victims, they sign up for the obvious boost to their transcript as well as their own agendas. Kat hopes it will bring her closure by helping other girls, and Ravi hopes to find his birth mother.

As one can imagine this is a book that doesn’t shy away from difficult topics. Though it doesn’t describe the assaults or trafficking in graphic detail, the emotional weight stays on you. A big part of the novel is learning to settle with your feelings, good and bad, and the Golden Rule where good works can help one find their peace.

Perkins’ prose is much lie Sepetys as the chapters aren’t longer than one or two pages which makes the 400 page novel speed by as you want to know more about the dual narrative. Ravi is a sweet, hopeful soul whose search for his real mom goes to its predictable hopelessness but as he learns more about his birth country and reconciling the two sides of himself, he finds love and peace within plus a purpose!

Kat is much more reserved and her plans to help the Asha Home girls learn self defense is immediately shot down. It’s a culture clash as well as realistic obstacle considering the intense PTSD the victims must deal with. It’s clear that Kat is projecting some of her own issues onto the girls and what she would have done, but Perkins does an excellent job in building herself back to “normalcy” again and learning to share her story.

It’s a timely novel and while it’s no beach read, one will get sucked in by the characters.

Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True of Making Seseme Street in Russia by Natasha Lance Rogoff

After the fall of the Soviet Union, one can imagine the U.S. was raring to bring Western ideals to the nation. Of course, we know it didn’t work out that way. Just check out the news.

But in that spark of hope, Muppets were the forefront of bring Westernism to Russia. Yep, we pinned all our hopes on Elmo and his friends.

It’s a crazy time. I mean these people had to fight off the Russian mob. I know, I couldn’t believe adult mobsters cared that much about pre-school programming but it speaks more to the clashing visions for the country’s future. Rogoff is empathetic as she illustrates the many people who make up Russia and their complicated feelings about the government and the West. Despite what those Cold War era movies would you like to believe, they are not heavily accented bad guys.

There’s so much more I’m not getting to but it’s better that you read it yourself like the complicated process of hiring and filming in Russia, translating jokes that just don’t land well in Russian and the such.
I wish there had been some pictures but I understand the lack of permission made it hard.

Books I read this month

(I want to be where the normal are by Rachel Bloom, Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz, Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry and Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl by Joya Goffney, Loveboat Reunion by Abigal Ming Wen, Love, Hate and Other Filters, Internment, Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, and Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed, Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, Dear Justyce by Nic Stone, You’ll MIss Me When I’m Gone, Today Tonight Tomorrow, See You Yesterday, Past Present Future by Rachel Lynn Solomon, Written in the Stars, A Secret Princess and Jo and Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz, Don’t Read the Comments by Eric Smith, Americanized by Sara Saedi, Tiara Club #1-36 + 7 Specials by Vivian French, The Fairy House quartet by Kelly McKain, Flower Fairies chapter books #1-14, Flower Fairies of the Spring, of Summer, of Autumn, of Winter by Cicely Mary Barker

Betty and Veronica Double Digest #55, 100, 150-212, 214-217, 225, 227, 233, 235, 237, 241, 242, 244, 246, 250, 251, 258, 270, 273, 287

Betty and Veronica Digest #153, 166, 185-208

Tales from Riverdale #35-39