This is a laugh out loud story that will warm your heart and yet make you glad to be done with high school. It is just as adorable and funny as When Dimple met Rishi and should make the fans who wanted more very happy. As with Dimple, the romance is super cute, often cringe-worthy, super awkward and pretty darn hilarious.

Twinkle is a fairly likable protagonist. She’s relatable, sweet, funny, smart and kind of geeky. What she isn’t is perfect. She makes mistakes but owns up to them. She is obsessed with popularity and being accepted by the in-crowd. I’m not so far removed from being a teen that I don’t remember how much fitting in mattered and how badly you want to be seen and accepted. At some point you realize that your true friends are the ones who like you for who you are and don’t expect you to change. Like most of us Twinkle has to go through some drama and heartache to get to that bit of wisdom. It’s a very familiar journey although her story is all her own.

This is such a feel good book that I find myself smiling just thinking about it. It really is about finding your own path and your own voice and tuning out those who don't believe in you. Twinkle shines the brightest when she true to herself and follows her heart to things that make her happy. When she tries to be something she's not disaster and sadness ensue. Twinkle is incredibly talented and once she realizes her own worth and power the world falls at her feet! Maybe real life isn't quite so neat and easy but it's a worthwhile message to send to teen girls.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review. I love this story. The characters, the plot. The author is so talented I love her work. This is just the perfect contemporary read. I’m so grateful I got a chance to read this.

I just finished this book, and I'm sitting here writing this review with tears still streaming down my face.
I love reading YA contemporary books, and obviously, they're usually all predictable when it comes to tropes and endings. The last chapter of this book was so heart-felt and moving, that I started full-on sobbing and used 6 tissues in under 4 minutes. It moved me in a way that I was not expecting.

This was my first time reading Sandhya Menon (it won't be my last, I immediately added her previous book to my cart), and I'm very happily giving this book 5 enthusiastic stars.
The story was put together in a very unique format. Twinkle writes letters in her journal to her favorite female filmmakers, and we read her recaps of what's been going on. It was creative and a very imaginative way to tell a story in an unorthodox way, and it really worked! The story was captivating from page one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was funny (I giggle-snorted on several occasions), cute and just all-around sweet. Twinkle has a likable narrative and it was wonderful to see her character progression and growth. I had an impossible time putting this book down, I read it all in under 24 hours (had to pause to sleep).

If you're a fan of YA contemporary with unapologetically nerdy female protagonists and swoony dudes, then I 10/10 recommend you pick up this charming novel post haste.

3.5 stars

Thank you for granting me access to an eGalley of this titles, here is the link to my blog's review: https://wordsofmysteryblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/17/book-review-from-twinkle-with-love-by-sandhya-menon/

I was a bit unsure at first about this novel at first, in large part because I found When DImple Met Rishi intriguing but a little bit underwhelming.

I found From Twinkle, With Love pretty similar in the sense that while I was drawn in and invested enough to want to know what happens next, and how Twinkle navigates the various situations she is in, I was also skeptical about where things were going.



I really struggled with Twinkle's voice for the first couple of chapters and frequently found myself forgetting that she was 17 or 18 and not 13. She comes across pretty juvenile sometimes, and her reactions to some situations definitely mirror that. I also found that there aren't really any surprises or twists in this novel. The story progresses just as expected and all the themes usually found in YA novels is portrayed - from troubles with friends and boy drama to a neatly wrapped up (and predictable) ending.

That being said, I did really enjoy this novel, and would definitely recommend it for a summer or commute read.

After When Dimple Met Rishi, I knew that I would have to read whatever Sandhya Menon had out next. While I didn't love this one as much as When Dimple Met Rishi but I still adored the book.

Twinkle Mehra is an aspiring filmmaker so when fellow geek Sahil Roy asks her if she wants work on a film with him as the producer, Twinkle jumps at the chance to have her story told. Another perk for Twinkle is that she's had a crush on Sahil's brother, Neil, for a long time. When she starts getting anonymous emails from "N", she is sure that it's Neil. But as time goes on, she's not sure if that's the romance that is scripted for her. From Twinkle, With Love is Menon's lovely and romantic sophomore novel.

Despite the fact that I didn't completely love this book, I felt that the romance in this one is much more swoony than in When Dimple Met Rishi. I don't want to spoil more than what the synopsis says but I really do think that this love interest has definite book boyfriend potential.

My main issue with From Twinkle, With Love is that I found that the writing style didn't really work for me. The premise of writing letters to beloved female directors was awesome but the execution was lacking for me. I know it was described more as a 'diary' but I felt that a lot of the letters' topics didn't really relate to the director they were addressed to which felt odd to me. For the premise to go off well, I felt that there needed to be more cohesiveness between the letters that Twinkle was writing. Other than that, I think From Twinkle, with Love is a solid sophomore novel and I can't wait to read Menon's future books.

Twinkle is an Indian-American teenager who wants to be a filmmaker. She is shy and shares her thoughts in her journal. She reminds us of how awkward those teenage years really were and how easy it is to lose sight of your true self. This was a super cute read about teenage life, growing up, finding your way and being true to yourself.

I absolutely loved Sandhya Menon's first book When Dimple Met Rishi, but From Twinkle, with Love completely store my heart. This book was absolutely fantastic from beginning to end.

Twinkle has a lot going on in her life. Her best friend Maddie has joined the popular crowd and seems to be embarrassed to be seen with Twinkle, so when a secret admirer by the name of N starts emailing Twinkle, she is absolutely sure that it is Neil, one of the most popular boys in school, who has the power to make Twinkle popular and win back her best friend. The only problem is that Twinkle is falling for Neil's twin brother Sahil. As drama unfolds in Twinkle's life, she must follow her heart and decide which twin she should go for, and who her true friends really are.

I absolutely adore Twinkle as a main character, I loved reading in her point of view. She is so genuine and sweet, but she also carries a darkness in her that we all face at one point in our lives. I think her character was so relatable, and so inspirational with her female empowerment and her ambition. I think she is a great main character and a great role model for younger girls.
Although I loved Twinkle, and I really liked Sahil and their romance together. My favourite character in this novel was Vicky. She truly surprised me, in a good way. Vicky is one of the popular girls that Maddie hangs out with, who actually ends up becoming great friends with Twinkle. At first, I thought that Vicky was just trying to trick Twinkle, but she was genuinely nice and truly cared about Twinkle the whole time. She honestly deserves an award for one of the best supporting characters.

I thought the plot of the story was great. The pace is great, and there is enough going on in the novel to keep you interested. I finished this book in one night, because I could not put it down and just wanted to continue reading until I got to the end. The one problem I had with Menon's previous book was that it was very predictable, and while this novel was slightly predictable, I was definitely surprised a few times (aka, how I was surprised Vicky turned out to be nice), so that was an improvement I was very happy to see.

Overall, I loved Twinkle and her story. I thought this novel was cute and inspirational to young women. I definitely recommend this book to people looking for a book that will lift your spirits.

I'm not going to lie, at first I was going to give this a 2.5, maybe 3 stars. But then I stuck with it, powered through the first thirty percent, to the point where I was sucked in and invested. Twinkle is a girl with big dreams, and she'll do what she needs to to make them happen. You're just along for the ride.

The beginning was rough, mainly because of the main character's voice. That took a hell of a lot of time getting used to. I've seen this comment elsewhere, but it really did read a lot younger than it should have. A little annoying and over-the-top in delivery. But as I mentioned, it just takes a bit of getting used to. I have When Dimple Met Rishi in my bookshelf, but haven't had the chance to read it yet, so I don't know how it compares, whether that's just Menon's style. Also, random thought, but for some reason my head mashes those titles together to from When Twinkle Met Dimple, and now I just wonder if that would be a really good mash-up.

As always, I, a self-professed cynic of contemporary and romantic novels, must address the predictability factor. The story progressed exactly as I expected it would from the first three chapters. It touches on all the themes one would expect: friendship issues with those both new and old, first romances, bullies, parent problems, and the main character wanting to become more and noticed by those she thinks matters. However, for once, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. Because I did enjoy it. Immensely. And I believe that is because it was something different. Not only was it different in terms of diversity, but in content. The film director aspect was well done and relatable. It's a big lofty dream that you're not quite sure you'll be able to reach, but you persevere and take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. Twinkle is a literal shining example of this and she had me rooting for her.

The cast of characters in this really is delightful. Sahil, Victoria and Dadi are the ones that burrowed their way into my heart quite quickly. That said, there were a few that didn't stand out when they should have, and it left me a little confused. Perhaps it was a lack of description for them, or they just weren't prominent, but certain names and faces sadly blurred together. I have to say that for a time I didn't like the dark road that Twinkle found herself on. She went from awkward and 'groundling' status to someone vicious and mean. I share this to prove how much I became invested. I was disappointed in the character, not the book as a whole, which NEVER happens. All that said, Menon brought it home well.

I really only had one major issue with this novel. The diary entry format was kind of cute, but also made things a little unbelievable. Yes, believe it or not, I based believability (not a word, I know) of this story on the diary entries. Only due to the fact that instead of it just being Twinkle recounting her day each night, she's writing throughout the day, right after events happen. I mean, okay, fine, but unless that girl is capable of handwriting 300 words per minute, I don't see how it works. Example: she's writing this huge entry in her journal in the middle of an all ages paint night while her friend goes pee. Unless Twinkle knows how to slow down time, or her friend takes 20 minutes to pee, it's not possible. Not to mention what do people think of her when she's dropping everything in the middle of public to scribble away in a journal. Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Perhaps, but it really did bother me.

Overall, this was a cute book that I enjoyed reading. When Dimple Met Rishi has definitely moved up on my infinite to-be read list 4/5

I can only describe this authors as adorable! Her books are adorable and her writing is adorable. ADORABLE. This was such a quick read, finished it in less than 24h, and just... that's right, adorable. If you loved When Dimple Met Rishi I think you'll love this one just as much if not more. I'm not usually a fan of contemporaries set in high school but this was too cute for words.


Menon has handled some tougher topics in this one and did it so smoothly! It's not easy to dive into depression and seamlessly weave it in a beautiful way. Well done Menon! If you're looking for a cute fun read this summer or a book that will warm your heart From Twinkle, With Love is the book for you

“You must be a special kind of miracle.”
-Sahil Roy
Twinkle is a smart, quirky, independent girl. She has big dreams about becoming a movie director and throughout the book struggles with what this means for her and others in her life. She doesn’t have many supportive people in her life besides Dadi (her grandmother), Maddie (her bff who isn’t always there), and Sahil (the wonderful boy who is her movie producer). Twinkle struggles with wanting to fit in with the popular kids at her school because her friend Maddie is part of them and she also is tired of living in the background and going unnoticed. Many problems ensue because of this and Twinkle has to figure out who she wants to be as a director and friend. As she creates a movie for school she makes a lot of new friends who help her understand that she doesn’t need to become a popular kid but that she is special and awesome the way she is.
This book is written in the format of letters in Twinkle’s journal to her favourite women directors. She addresses them as she goes through her daily life and deals with crushes and mystery admirers and struggles with friends. I loved the format of the book, I found that it made it more personal and it made me feel closer to Twinkle because I was reading her thoughts.
At the beginning of the book Twinkle is desperate to fit in and be noticed especially by her major crush, Neil Roy. I think since her parents aren’t around much she tries to gain that acceptance through Neil and Maddie. She struggles a lot with the fact that Maddie ‘abandoned’ her for the popular girls (although later on one of them, Victoria, befriends her). She is constantly hurt by Maddie because she disses stuff Twinkle likes and ignores her. “What does Maddie not understand about how awful it feels to be made fun of for just existing? Why is this something I have to spell out for her?”- Twinkle. But when Twinkle has the idea to make a gender-swapped film about Dracula her and Maddie grow a bit closer and she becomes friends with Neil Roy’s twin brother Sahil. Twinkle thinks he is ordinary but sees him as a stepping stone to get closer to Neil. He is such a sweetheart and a genuinely nice guy. He was my favourite character. But anyway, a secret admirer emails Twinkle and as she and Sahil grow closer and she begins to like him she is conflicted because she thinks her admirer is Neil and because of this won’t move further into a relationship with Sahil. Which made me pretty sad/ a little frustrated with her for acting that way and kind of using Sahil. At one point in the story, let’s call it the climax; Twinkle freaks out. Like legit, flips out. So honestly, I don’t know if I wasn’t paying enough attention because I was sleepy, reading it late at night or it really was sort of out of the blue but it kind of seemed like her freak out came out of nowhere. Like I get that she wants to be noticed and seen as this great director but she gets cocky all of a sudden and doesn’t think she needs advice or anything with her film because she thinks she’s this amazing filmmaker. She hurts people around her because she gets really angry at them for not taking her or her film seriously which I could understand because this is her dream and she is working hard to create something that people will talk about and something that will be meaningful to them, she just wants people to listen to what she has to say. “I’ve always felt like I was meant to be more than an invisible wallflower.”- Twinkle. (I think a lot of people can relate to this) But she kind of twists this into something wrong (which you will have to read about).
I love love love Twinkle and Sahil’s relationship. She describes Sahil as being “like the gentle sun on a winter’s day. You automatically want to turn your face to it and soak it up.” -Twinkle. Ugh isn’t that perfect? They are actually the cutest and there is a kissing scene in a cabin in the woods during a thunderstorm that kills me and melts my heart to a puddle. He also helps her feel like she matters and he listens to her, he supports her so much and this helps her care less about not being popular. They both start to fall hard for each other and they kiss and hold hands and he’s just perfect. She does end up hurting him and it’s heartbreaking and she doesn’t know how to fix it at first. Because of this I wasn’t sure how the book would end, I assumed it would end well but there was one short chapter left and I was shook. It does end well but Sandhya did scare me for a bit.
Dadi helps Twinkle realize that she has to work hard and not give up on her dreams. Dadi- “You might fail, munni. But when you’re off in college, will you wish you hadn’t taken this chance? Or that you had.” Twinkle has this huge fear of failing and this is something that I can relate to as a writer, the fear that no one will like my stories or that I just fail as a storywriter. It is personality traits like this that makes Twinkle relatable.
There were a lot of quotes that I loved in this book so I’m just going to add one more at the end because it doesn’t fit in with the rest of my review.
“Our best friends, the ones we love the most, are the ones who can hurt us the most. Because look.” She pointed down to the powders. “We have had so many interactions with them, deep, meaningful interactions, that we cannot separate their pieces from ours. And if we try, we would only be getting rid of some of the best parts of ourselves.” -Dadi

Sandhya left a beautiful message at the end of her book so I wanted to add it here as well:
“This book is especially for you. You, who stumble but refuse to fall. You, who refuse to dim your shine. The world desperately needs your voice, your courage, your heart. Twinkle on.”

From Twinkle, With Love was a really fun read. Twinkle is an aspiring filmmaker who finally gets a chance to make her own film when Sahil suggests that they do a remake of Dracula together for an upcoming film festival. Twinkle feels that this is her chance to make a meaningful impact in the film world and to show the world that young women of colour can participate and be important in a traditionally male-dominated field. Along the way, Twinkle encounters problems with her best friend, Maddie, who has started hanging out with new friends and excluding Twinkle from her new life. She also faces issues with her family, who she feels don't have enough time for her. And then there's Sahil. She has had a crush on his twin brother, Neil, for as long as she can remember, but when Sahil offers to make a movie with her, she finds herself wanting Sahil more than his brother. The only thing standing in her way is a secret admirer going by the letter N, who she suspects is her long-time crush and Sahil's brother, Neil. Told through a series of diary entries addressed to famous female filmmakers, Twinkle tells her story of family issues, feeling less-than among her peers (who she calls the silk-feathered hats people), and of falling in love for the first time.

I had very high hopes going into From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon, since When Dimple Met Rishi is one of my favourite reads. It is safe to say that I was not disappointed, and I really enjoyed this story all about filmmaking. Twinkle is awkward and relatable, and the letters make for a unique format. Fans of rom-coms will no doubt love Menon’s latest novel.

This book tells the story of an aspiring filmmaker who directs her first movie with her crush’s twin brother. However, the plot thickens when she starts receiving emails from a secret admirer who sounds a lot like her crush, just as she’s starting to fall for his brother. I loved how the story has the perfect mix of fluff and drama. There are some great messages in the book, and it is truly empowering. After reading this, I would definitely love to see more books about female filmmakers.

Sandhya Menon is a queen of characterization. Twinkle is perfectly awkward, and she has just the right amount of sass. She is pretty insecure at the beginning of the book, but she really comes a long way as the story progresses. I could definitely feel her struggles as she tries so hard to showcase her talents as well as deal with friend drama at school. Overall, Twinkle is a relatable main character with an incredible voice that captivated me.

I adored the format of this book. The story is told through letters to Twinkle’s favourite female filmmakers, and this concept is so original. It is kind of like a diary, but to the people who fuel her passion. As well as the letters, we also get emails and text messages which really enhance the story. I also enjoyed the tidbits of Sahil’s perspective, since reading his thoughts towards Twinkle is so adorable.

From Twinkle, With Love is a rom-com about filmmaking and self-discovery. I loved the sassy main character and the original formatting. Definitely add this book to your summer TBR!

Well, From Twinkle, with Love was a breath of fresh air as it was wedged between a number of non-fiction reads and psychological thrillers. As a high school teacher, I probably love these teen novels with the same relish that my nurse mother enjoys her medical dramas. Sandhya Menon gives us the loveable protagonist, Twinkle, fully equipped with dreams of being a great Indian-American filmmaker and writing a series of "dear diary' entries to her favorite female filmmakers( Nora Ephron, Sofia Coppola, Ava Duvernay etc.). Like any teen, Twinkle is dealing with the pressures of parental expectations, friendship conflicts, and high school crushes. Add to that an eccentric grandma and an ambitious film project, well, Twinkle is juggling a lot!

I don't really have a lot of criticism because I have read many Teen & YA novels that have similar storylines and so there were not a lot of surprises out there. If you're looking for a a light read, I would certainly press this book into your hands.

*Please note this review contains spoilers*

I've been waiting for From Twinkle, with Love to come out ever since I read When Dimple Met Rishi, so I was super excited to get an ARC! I started off feeling a bit skeptical and wondering if this book would live up to my expectations, but then I got into it… like REALLY into it.

From Twinkle, with Love took me back to high school (in a good way) and reminded me how it felt to grow apart from friends and to have a crush on someone. While I was reading, I found myself getting butterflies and grinning like mad, sitting up and looking around me thinking, “Why isn’t everyone else freaking out right now?” I straight up devoured this book. I read in the elevator, on the bus, during my lunch hour… It felt a little bit like I had a crush of my own.

Menon wrote a wonderful role model in Dimple Shah, and Twinkle was no different. Both have a passion, they know what they want in life, and they’re ambitious, but they also struggle with not fitting in and finding their voice. LOVE LOVE LOVE. This is my favourite thing about Menon’s books.

But even with these rose-tinted glasses on, I can admit there were things I didn’t like about From Twinkle, With Love. I felt like Menon did more telling than showing, especially with Twinkle’s character. I would have liked to see more positive actions from her in the beginning of the story, to get me fully on board with her character. I didn’t find her super likeable. <spoiler>Later, when Twinkle loses herself in arrogance, it felt sudden and manufactured. I would have preferred a more gradual shift in her behaviour, as this would have been more believable, and easier to sympathize with. I also think Menon should have been more vague about who ‘N’ was to keep me guessing alongside Twinkle.</spoiler>

Despite not liking Twinkle that much, I really enjoyed <spoiler>Sahil</spoiler> as the love interest. I enjoyed getting to hear parts of the story from his perspective and found <spoiler>the personal hang up with his twin brother</spoiler> interesting. I liked that the story was told through different mediums, like Twinkle’s letters to famous female directors, emails, text messages, and blog posts. I also appreciated that LGBTQ and POC characters were represented.

Do I recommend this book? Yes, definitely! Especially to those of you who love a good ‘SQUEE’ over some fictional romance.

Twinkle Mehta is an aspiring filmmaker who has nothing to lose when an opportunity to make a film for her school festival falls in her lap. She had been growing more and more distant from her best friend Hannah, who had found a new rich, popular friend and had begun to ignore Twinkle. So Twinkle goes for it, partnering with Sahil Roy who acts as her producer, to create a version of Dracula with the genders reversed. As they create their film, Twinkle and Sahil become closer and closer.

Of course, we need a "BUT." The "but" in this story is Twinkle's longtime crush on Sahil's twin brother Neil. And then she starts getting emails from a secret admirer who signs them "N." The biggest barrier to Twinkle's happiness, though, is herself. Twinkle is obsessed with the social hierarchies in her school, calling herself a groundling and popular kids feather hat people. So as she begins to find herself interacting more and more with the popular kids because of her film, she becomes more and more obsessed with "showing them," leading, of course, to a falling out with Sahil, and with Hannah. Twinkle realizes her mistakes, and predictably repairs all the bridges she burns by the end of the book.

This is a pretty straightforward contemporary teen romance, but there are some refreshing things about it: Twinkle's feminism, Sahil's support, Sahil's friends whose personalities seemed fresh and inventive, and the depiction of a working class Indian family just trying to make it in America. This book had many similarities to Menon's first book, When Dimple Met Rishi, with a headstrong Indian girl whose arrogance got in the way of her own happiness, which in the end, she realizes and then fixes the situation. I'd like to see another attempt from Menon, who brings an important cultural perspective to the YA genre, that doesn't follow this well worn formula. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've read both When Dimple met Rishi and From Twinkle, with Love and I've enjoyed both of them. I particularly like how delightful and well developed the male romantic leads are. As a high school English teacher I like that the books show the female leads as having well developed interests, and a diverse cast of characters.

Twinkle lonely at school. Her ex-best friend, Maddie has left her to hang out with the popular kids. Twinkle longs to become one of them so that she and Maddie can be friends again. Twinkle think that the best way to do this would be to date Neil Roy, a popular pre-Olympic athlete. Twinkle is an aspiring film director, so when Neil's twin brother Sahil approaches her to collaborate for a movie project, she thinks this is her chance. Twinkle spends more time with Sahil, working on the movie and begins to see him in a new light. She also meets his friends and begins spending time with them. To complicate matters further, Twinkle gets an anonymous admirer sending her emails, only signing the name 'N'.

This book was AMAZING. Seriously, if you loved When Dimple Met Rishi, definitely check this one out! It's cute, it's fluffy, it's full of obscure film references! OK, so I didn't get all the film references, but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the book at all. The book is written as a series of letters between Twinkle and her favourite female directors. Twinkle is lovely and insecure and watching her grow over the course of the book was amazing. Sahil was completely adorkable. He was like the most wonderful guy and I just wanted him to be happy forever. There was a wonderful cast of characters who were fleshed out. This book was like a wonderfully adorable contemporary romance and you need it in your life.

This YA coming-of-age romance book is warm, flirty, and stylish. I love Twinkle's narrative voice, and the developing romance is sweet and swoon-worthy. The misunderstandings about the secret admirer are telegraphed in advance, far enough for Twinkle's continued lack of realization to stall the book a little. Despite that hiccup, the book has great characters and a fun plot, and is a delightful read.

This book is probably my favourite Netgalley book I've received so far, and not because I think it's the best, but because it's the first book that was already on my to-read list before I got access to an early copy. For that alone, I was super excited to get into this. Part of what made me love Anna from Anna and the French Kiss was that she was into films and being a film critic, and I think that having an interest in film-making is a super cool hobby to have. For that alone, I loved Twinkle and the plot of this book from the get-go. Not to mention that I happened to be in Colorado when I started this book, only to discover that that is where it takes place, which was also kinda cool.

I adored that it was written via letters to Twinkle's favorite female directors. I recognised a few names, but some I didn't, so I am looking forward to having my film catalogue expand with excellent cinema once I finish writing this review. I liked Twinkle a lot, and found her quite relatable, especially with her worries about her family and how she felt different and separated from the others from her school. She was a little bit obsessive, especially over Neil, but no more so than any other shy teenager with a massive crush on the most popular boy in school. Her relationship with Maddie made me cringe quite a bit in many places, though. I liked Maddie as a developed character quite a bit, because she breaks the mold of being the dumb popular girl.  What I didn't like what how Twinkle eternally expected Maddie to change and kept holding onto hope to get their friendship back on track. I can understand the hardship Twinkle has had to go to with her best friend drifting away into a friend group that she is not welcomed into, but there was a point where I just plain pitied Twinkle, and kept getting frustrated that she was pining over someone who clearly didn't care for her. Maddie never stood up for her, and was always patronising her in her attempts at "protecting" Twinkle, but it became pretty clear to me early on that when she weighed the importance of her friendship with Twinkle versus her new friends, it became a struggle, and if she really cared about Twinkle, it wouldn't have been. Especially once Twinkle made a new friend group and really fit in well with them, I wanted her so badly to stop subjecting herself to Maddie's indecisiveness, simply for her own well-being.

Sahil is adorable, and I'm pretty sure I developed a crush on him myself. He was so genuinely endeared with Twinkle that I kept on getting upset at her for not seeing what was directly in front of her. Even after she and Sahil had several moments, she was still pining after Neil, Sahil's decidedly "hotter" identical twin brother. Like, if Twinkle and Sahil only shamelessly flirted, I wouldn't have been as upset. But they kissed at least twice, and Twinkle was still hung up on a secret admirer that she had built up in her head to be Neil. Not to mention the fact that whenever she brought up Neil when Sahil was around, it clearly bothered him. But she couldn't even see it with her head up in the clouds. She was quite dense and inconsiderate a good chunk of the time. I liked her a lot besides that, but that part frustrated me a lot. Other than that, I loved that they remade a classic film with a twist, and how it brought them closer together and gave Twinkle a new group of friends that she actually fit in with. And the DIVERSITY! Obviously it stems from the author's own perspective, but I was absolutely overjoyed at the diversity seen in the characters in this book. Sure, the school they go to is described as overly white and filled with rich kids, but we managed to round up a proper group of nerdy, diverse misfits, and I really enjoyed that.

Writing-wise, this book was pretty good. There weren't too many pop culture references (and most I could understand), and for that I am grateful. It doesn't sorely stick out like a modern teen novel, but language-wise blends in with other teen novels from the past 10 years, which I think is an excellent trait (except for grab. What does grab even mean?!).

I enjoyed the plot line immensely, because like I said, I am fascinated and thoroughly welcome characters and plots about films and film-making. I liked that it was a glue that brought all the different characters together in order to make a work of art. Every "clique" was involved in the making of their movie, and I loved to see that. Especially at the end, when it premiered and Twinkle got a ton of amazing feedback that really made her starting mark in the film field. I felt that part of the plot was well-fleshed out and did a great job at showing that Twinkle's story doesn't end just because you've finished reading the book. Doors are opened for her and she is walking through them. Her relationships aren't entirely mended, but I think she would have grown enough as a character in the last part of the book that she is on her way to fixing them. She probably has a little more growing to do in her everyday consideration of others' feelings, but nobody is perfect. There were quite a few little plot lines along the way that I enjoyed, and I especially liked how they seamlessly flowed into the overall plot without distracting too much. I especially liked the plot twist in the reveal of N, because without it, it would have felt unfinished or unfulfilled.

I had When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandya Menon on my reading list for a while, and even had it checked out of the library at one point in time but never got around to reading it. I knew this wasn't a sequel or anything (at least not that I am aware or could tell, and there were no characters named Dimple or Rishi in this book), but I felt like it would have been proper to read that first. But I knew that this plot interested me more, and I assumed that I would just have to pick up things along the way. But obviously, it's not a sequel, and I wouldn't worry too much if you haven't read it, because it has no influence on this book whatsoever that I could tell.

At the beginning of this book, I really did expect this to be like any other generic YA novel, even though the making of a film isn't really a common plot. I didn't expect to love it as much as I did, especially since I certainly didn't love it that much to begin with. The relationship development between Twinkle and Sahil I believe was the strongest, even if there were bumps along the way, and I liked the character growth Twinkle went through, even if it went painfully slow at times and felt rushed a bit at the end in order to meet the conclusion. But this book is just adorable, and I fell for the characters and concern for their well-being pretty hard. When I finished, I genuinely felt like squeeing, which is a sensation I don't get nearly enough.