I came across author Nisha Sharma’s instagram and knew I’d like her writing instantly. She is incredibly funny on her stories. Like, I-want-to-be-her-buddy kind of funny. I saw a recco for My So-Called Bollywood Life and knew it would be a fun read! Read below, but also make sure to put this on your library holds list now.
Meet Winnie
Winnie Mehta is a high school senior, film club leader, Bollywood film junkie, legit smartypants, total bad ass and most recently, heartbreak roadkill. Her long-time friend and boyfriend of three years (epically long in high school metrics) just ended things. They were on a break, for cryin’ out loud. Breaks do not equal break-ups!
Anyone immediately think of Ross and Rachel?!
Winnie’s family’s astrologer (aka pandit) has a prophecy for Winnie’s love life. Her soul mate would:
- Have a name that starts with the letter R and
- He would give her a silver bracelet as a token of his love and
- They would meet before Winnie’s 18th birthday.
The catch here? Winnie’s long-time now-ex-boyfriend was named Raj. Who happened to give her a silver bracelet while they were together. And who very apparently met well before Winnie turned 18 years old.
Trip Up
So here we have Winnie who is not only feeling totally stupid-mad at the breakup but a bit hopeless that she’ll be lost to spinsterhood because there’s no way in a frozen hell that she’ll meet a new person with these same qualifications the pandit prophesized before her birthday.
Here’s where I really love this book!
Winnie is more concerned with the concept of this prophesy – not the actual being soul mate-d with someone. Well, at least for right now.
The trip up begins with Winnie finally allowing herself to question destiny (the pandit’s prophesy) vs. free will – a concept that has never occurred to her before when it comes to her love life.
Film – The Other Lead Role
Bollywood films are the other lead role in this book and Winnie’s summaries of these movies are hysterical! I know exactly ZERO of these titles, but her three sentence descriptions make me want to find them all and binge over an entire weekend.
Winnie’s escape from reality is always a Bollywood movie. Some of us have sugar. Others have trolling people on social media, drinking, buying too much shit on Etsy, etc. Winnie has Bollywood films. Seems like the healthiest option, amirite?
Because Winnie has a deep love of film, she also serves on the school’s film club leadership. With, of all people, Raj.
Jealousy, resentment, jockeying for position and a very attractive dark horse senior all play into this story.
I love learning about other cultures, so this book for SURE checks the box. I love a dark horse character, so, another box checked. I love witty dialogue and a bit of snark, so, check, check. And this young adult novel is just enough drama to read before bedtime but not enough to mimic anything remotely heavy from a parent perspective.
Survey Says…
Give My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma a spin. It’s fun, it’s different, it’ll open your eyes to movies you might not have heard of and it’ll make you oh-so-glad you’re not a teenager these days. 😉