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When young Ila finds herself obsessed with superstar Ali Zafar, who once spoke two words to her outside a concert venue, she and her best friend, Deepali, conspire to distract Ila’s mom, Veena, who is dismayed to find her daughter determined to spend her entire summer break chasing the impossible dream. Veena is a noted writer and herself obsessed—with her work. Veena is divorced, often rather dictatorial toward her daughter, and so wrapped up in her own world at the keyboard that she will need some prompting to accept the dating scheme orchestrated by her wilder-natured friend Maleeka.
Meanwhile, Ila meets a young man named Dev, who strangely reminds her of the famed Ali Zafar, enough so that she agrees to spend bits of her time with this new, intriguing acquaintance. The action and humor escalate almost by the minute as Maleeka convinces Veena to accept a date with her ex-husband and accompany her on a blind date with a certain Colonel Jhunjhunvala, who believes he will be going out with “Venus,” whom he’s been contacting via an internet dating site. As events unfold, Ila will see her mother in a new, inspiring light.
Hora is a noted storyteller and author of nonfiction in both digital and literary realms. As seen through Ila’s star-struck eyes, her engaging tale is artfully styled for a young adult audience. Her setting is India, where it can be difficult for ordinary people to step outside their societally assigned roles, so sending Ila and Veena off the beaten path offers subtle charms for many readers. With a new twist on almost every page, romance on the boil, and constant, clever, zinger-laden dialogue, Hora’s latest offering will undoubtedly engage readers in an ever-accelerating, multi-threaded plot thoroughly in the young adult groove.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review