4 stars

For me, this novel had a bit of a slower start because I LOVED the main character - Rani - immediately, but I could not get behind the love interest. Fortunately, that all changed rapidly as the focus shifted and became much, MUCH more engaging.

Rani is a teenager who loves photography, has a fantastic best friend, is close to her family, connects with her culture and heritage, and falls for a pretty disappointing guy quickly. While I did not find the romance aspect of this piece particularly special or captivating, I love the conversation happening around Rani's changing willingness to deceive the people she loves, desire to face instead of overlook or downplay hurtful comments and abuses, and growing self-awareness and respect. Also, I really appreciate that there is some age appropriate processing of several relationships. Without feeling pedantic, these scenes promote a didactic purpose: modeling of healthy relationships - and identification of unhealthy relationships - for young readers.

I really liked the surprise substance I found along with the romance here and look forward to reading more from Rajurkar!

[Posted to Goodreads as well.] This book already won a prize before being published (the National SCBWI Emerging Voices Award) and it's easy to see why -- it's so beautifully written and exceptionally wise. Though it's about teenage characters and written for a teenage readership, the truth is that adults will get a lot out of this book, too, and possibly more. The narrator, Rani, is impossible not to root for as she navigates the high-stakes final months of high school. She's smart, compassionate, a good friend, and working very hard to balance everything, including her parents' expectations for her and the demands her first love makes of her. What makes this book incredibly powerful, though is seeing Rani how confronts racism -- both from sources she expects and, painfully, places she doesn't -- with strength and grace and hard-won wisdom. Rare will be the reader who doesn't stand up and cheer at the end of this book -- and immediately recommend it to everyone they know!

This is an unforgettable #ownvoices novel. American Betiya won the SCBWI YA Emerging Voices Award and after reading it, I wasn't surprised.. With a setting in Evanston, IL and India, readers will get a personal view into Rani's close-knit Indian family and Oliver's troubled world. Oliver is the boyfriend who desperately wants to fit into Rani's life, but goes about it in a toxic way.

This is a novel brimming with friendship, family, love, identity, culture, self-discovery, and self-esteem.
Highly recommend.