YES YES YES! I want to hug this book so much. The dialogue, the frustrations of fitting in and dealing with bullies, the push and pull between parents' expectations and your own life... it was awesome. I also thoroughly loved how Dimple, Rishi and Ashish all grew and evolved over the book organically and subtly, instead of "Ah, there's the character development". A definite must-read!

A sweet romance that hit all the right notes.

I loved that Rishi was just so genuinely *nice*. The romance genre is so filled with alpha male types, so it was doubly refreshing to see a very romantic male lead. And his niceness wasn't just about him being a unattainably "perfect". His desire to please other people was integral to his character, and overcoming that to recognize that his own desires are worthwhile was a major part of his character arc.

Dimple was also great, and I liked that she had doubts about the entire relationship. Worrying that she's too young, or that she could end up being subsumed in a relationship to where she doesn't recognize herself are legitimate concerns.

If I wanted to nitpick at the novel, I would say that there was too much head-swapping - there were times I felt we were whipping back and forth between the pov of the characters. It's possible that the ebook ARC I was reading was simply not formatted very well. I'm used to some visual cue to indicate that the perspective has switched, like extra spaces between the paragraphs or whatever.

I wish there had been a little more about the nature of Insomnia Con or programming in general. Why was it so important to get the money from the talent contest so they could work with developers during the Con if the app was supposed to be made by the contestants themselves? I also never felt like the students were, er, students learning things and being supported by adults. Other than the contest aspect, what was stopping any of these kids from doing all of this in their own homes? It's relevant because I kept thinking "Wow, Rishi's really distracting Dimple from her end-goal, they never seem to be working on the app." So later when Dimple thinks the same thing it comes across as absolutely true instead of the slightly hysterical I think it was intended as.

If you’re looking for your next cutesy YA romance with lovable characters, then this is it. Dimple is a headstrong future scientist who enjoys coding and computers and sees relationships as a trick to turn her into a housewife instead of following her dreams. Rishi is a traditional future businessman who enjoys pleasing his parents and is a hopeless romantic. Even though it’s their parents who set them up to meet, the two hit it off when they both go to an annual app coding competition the summer before they start college. But what happens in the fall when Rishi goes to MIT on the east coast and Dimple goes to Stanford on the west coast? And what happens if Dimple decides to sacrifice her future career for love? DUN DUN DUN.

This reminded me a lot of <i>Eleanor and Park</i> or <i>The Sun is Also a Star</i>: cute and simple YA where the characters are trying to figure out themselves and the world around them. There’s also lots of racial diversity and a casual bi character along with very headstrong female characters. It was an enjoyable, quick read.

A very cute and current young adult contemporary. I feel it is important that books like this are being made. It is important to show diversity in religion, ethnicity and themes in books for this age group. I appreciated Dimple as a young, strong woman.

This is a sweet story of the mismatched children of Indian immigrants whose parents plan for them to meet with the hope that they'll one day marry (Rishi's parents are open about their plans; Dimple's don't mention a thing). The relationship proceeds just as you'd expect in a quirky rom-com, but it's a fun journey told through alternating POVs and the two main characters are enormously appealing. In addition, Indian culture infuses the novel, something which is all too rare in all genres in the US, and the supporting characters are just as nuanced and interesting as Dimple and Rishi, sometimes even more so.

My only issue with the book is that Rishi's starry-eyed adoration starts from virtually first sight of Dimple, and that the resulting florid descriptions of her beauty, charm, anger, focus, etc become eye-rollingly excessive pretty quickly.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC!

[This review will be posted at the GoodReads link a month before publication.]

The perfect book to add to my shelves and hand over to my Highschool students who love to read romance and romantic comedy's. And to make this even better it shows the life's of two Indian American teens with immigrant parents and how each teen chooses to navigate between old world and new. Seamlessly done.

Dimple doesn't want an arranged marriage; Rishi does. What neither of them know is that their parents have wanted them to be matched for a while, and that together, they have arranged to throw them together in the same web development summer camp. Added to the complexity of this arrangement is that Rishi knows he's there to meet Dimple, but Dimple doesn't have any idea...and with that sort of plan, sparks are liable to fly. Readers and librarians looking for an Own Voices romance for teens should look no further; this is a smart and well-crafted one.

I think John Green best summarised my thoughts on this book when he wrote "My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.” All I can truly say is that I enjoyed this book immensely. I don't think my review can do this book true justice. I definitely hope this gets adapted. I would be first in line for my ticket.

One of my favourite things about When Dimple Met Rishi is that there are women in S.T.E.M.. Not just in S.T.E.M. but women are at the front of the pack! Leading the vanguard. This notion is empowering to young women and sends a positive message which I am pleased to say translated very well on paper and subsequently jumped off the page and into my heart. Dimple reminded me of Natasha from The Sun is Also a Star- both are rebellious, passionate, and lovers of science. I'm really in support of this movement where women (fictional though they may be) are carving out niche's from themselves in science.

If Dimple is my Natasha the Rishi is my Daniel. Both men are gentle and down to earth. The represent that soft vulnerable side of masculinity and I love how it plays out on the page. For Rishi, culture and tradition are important aspects of his being. That culture is on full and rich display in when Dimple Met Rishi and I am extremely moved that this had found its way into YA. Moreover, Menon captures the dichotomy of Indian traditions vs modernity in her titular characters and I do believe that reading this book will be a learning experience for many a reader. Overall, both Dimple and Rishi are extremely well-written and well-developed characters and among some of the best I have read in recent years. It is clear that these characters are loved by their creator and it makes it so much easier for us, as readers, to love them in turn. The side characters too were well crafted, an it was quite refreshing to see supportive female friendships on the page.


One of my favourite things about the story as the emphasis on consent and informed decisions when having sex. Also, can we have three cheers for a YA author who actually included a sex scene in the book? This is extremely rare nowadays and Menon manages to navigate the minefield with expert finesse.

Although the plot itself was a little bit predictable, I find that this predictability and simplicity strengthened the character development in that it allowed for the writing and the characters to take centerstage. As such, the readers doesn't feel bogged down over whelmed by an overly complex storyline. What I really liked was the author's emphasis on Indian culture and how it was flawlessly woven into the story. It felt very natural and in my opinion reinforces the need for own voices.

In summary, when Dimple Met Rishi is an absolute joy of a book and I would happily, eagerly recommend with nary a reservation.

This started really slowly, but really built up to something good. One slight problem for me was the ages of the main characters; they didn't feel like teens to me. Maybe I'm wrong, and they were super teenagery, but....I think they were too mature. All of them, not even just the main two (Dimple and Rishi, obvs.). I found that enjoyable, because I'm an adult person and who cares? But I don't know if teens will find that enjoyable. This *almost* feels like a YA book written for adult readers.

Still, the love story was adorable, and I liked the secondary love story being thrown in for kicks.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI is an utter delight. It is charming and funny and presents a nuanced look at a culture many readers won't have explored. It is dual POV, and I really enjoyed seeing both sides of the romance. I feel like that's done a lot in adult romance, but I haven't seen it as much in YA. The parents are present and involved, the characters are flawed (in a good way). Sexuality is presented thoughtfully and honestly. I can't wait to read more from this author!

This was a fun, light hearted YA romance that explored the relationship between two Indian recent high school graduates. I enjoyed the cultural references, as well as the characters. It was an easy read that kept me engaged throughout.