American Betiya centers Rani Kelkar, a high school senior with a talent for art, though her parents and her want her to go into the medical field (more on that later). When she enters an art show and wins, her entire family is there with her to celebrate at the showing. While that’s happening, she notices a cute guy lingering, and he asks her on a date. Oliver and Rani soon start dating and it’s almost perfect, from the way she’s treated, to the attention, and affection.

Almost. Rani can’t tell her parents she’s dating Oliver and he starts to grow more and more impatient, all while Oliver continues to invalidate her and her culture.

Rani finds herself drawn to Oliver, the ~mysterious~ boy with dark hair, tattoos, and a love of art. Oliver loves Rani, her culture, her art, and her (or so it seems). Oliver doesn’t understand many things. Rani’s parents, her culture, her future, and her. She faces tons of microaggressions from Oliver, which she brushes off at first. He repeatedly calls her Princess Jasmine, doesn’t stand up for her when she refuses to eat beef, and doesn’t understand why culture plays a role in why Rani can’t tell her parents about him.

Spoiler below that’s kind of triggering. Content warning for sex, blood and fetishization.
At one point, Oliver buys Rani a vintage sari that he finds at a thrift store and some matching jewelry. It’s all cute and innocent until he say wants to have sex with her in it to fulfill some weird Indian princess fantasy of his. Rani’s also wearing bangles in this scene and when one of them breaks on her wrist, she starts bleeding, which turns him on even more, while she’s really uncomfortable.

If that fetishization wasn’t bad enough, we see how bad Oliver is in a later scene.

Trigger warning for nudity, white men being gross, and non-consensual nude art.
Rani is okay with Oliver taking pictures of her when they’re having sex but it goes downhill really fast after a bad argument with him. Right after, a giant mural of her, NAKED, is displayed on the highway, along with a bunch of words that Rani tells Oliver in confidence. He doesn’t understand why she doesn’t like it and it just reeks of gross white males.

Towards the end, Oliver says this one line that I think really sums up the grossness of even the most liberal of white men in the art field.

“I want to feel empowered by love, not trapped by it,” I say finally.
“That’s what I want, too.”
“But I don’t think I can have that with you.”
“Rani. Listen. Artists consult me all the time on issues of racial and feminist messaging in art. . . . I’m viewed as a progressive, and you know that. We can make this work.”

This book perfectly encapsulated high school better than most YA novels I’ve ever read, honestly from this one moment alone. We all know those white people who try to be allies and claim to be doing a great job, but then turn around and attack BIPOC with tons of microaggressions (and sometimes fetishization, sometimes both!!!).

Overall, fantastic read. 5/5.

Rani had always been the model daughter. She was studious and spent her spare time reading articles pertaining to her future as a medical doctor. She was active in her community, often volunteering with the younger children. But when Oliver showed an interest in Rani, she embarked on a secret relationship with him that had her struggling between her love for him and her love for her family.

This book had me feeling ALL the emotions. I felt the euphoria of first love, the guilt of betraying loved ones, the stress of having to compromise yourself for someone else, and the pain of multiple losses. This was quite a journey for Rani. It was riddled with poor choices, but I was elated and practically fist-punching for her in the end.

I am first generation American, but my father pretty much abandoned his culture when he moved to the US, so I cannot relate to Rani's experience in that way. However, I appreciated her struggle with trying to find herself somewhere between the two cultures. That was something which was really interesting for me. Rani had a certain perception about her parents, their ways, and their rules at the beginning of the story. I saw it slowly change as Rani's relationship with Oliver evolved. I think my favorite part of this story was when the bottom fell out, and Rani was forced to come to terms with the situation. It was then she started having honest discussions and began to really understand her parents and herself.

When everything started to crumble, Rani was whisked away to Pune. I thought it was a brilliant and really meaningful way to allow her to find her way. There, she was surrounded by her family and immersed in her culture. She did a lot of soul searching about how these parts of her add up to the whole, and some deeply touching moments played out for me there.

When I finished this book, I was drying my tears. It was a roller coaster journey for Rani (and me). There were highs and lows, gains and losses, and in the end, she discovered a lot about herself.

Overall: Extremely heartbreaking and touching, while also being very honest.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ooof this book!

I will admit as the book started out I thought it was going to be a light, romantic YA book. I was initially unsure of the chemistry between Rani and Oliver. Boy was I wrong.

Rajurkar explores how Rani finds herself while navigating an Indian American identity. While tackling race, this book also dives into unhealthy relationships, exoticism, and setting boundaries. This book captures that first falling in love feeling and overlooking red flags or thinking you owe someone something in a way you don't normally see in YA. Yes there's some cheesy romance, the way only high schoolers can be, but Rani's experience feels so fragile and so real the story really sucked me in.

I thought the full circle ending was absolutely beautiful. I loved the character arcs and growth that we see. Wonderful characters, heart breaking but captivating story. A great read!

Thanks to Random House Children's + Knopf Books for Young Readers for the advance copy of "American Betiya" by Anuradha D. Rajurkar. Expected pub date 3.9.21

I adore "American Betiya" - Rani is a high schooler experiencing first love, the push/pull of family and expectation and culture, and figuring out how to live true to herself.
This is a book I wish I had found in high school, because it explores the space in which relationships aren't even close to perfect + compromises (which aren't compromises) are made. "American Betiya" also faces head on racism (both the big aspects to immigrants and also the microaggressions that occur every day), and how when you straddle two cultures and countries your self-identity is more whole because of embracing and discovering the importance of both.

It is very rarely that one gets to see a true desi term in a contemporary book title. When the cover revealed happened for American Betiya last year, I was sold. The theme sounded so good, the cover was stunning and the title was an immediate catch.

American Betiya follows Rani and Oliver’s tumultuous romance as she grapples with identity, culture and what it means to love.

The book starts with Rani in an art exhibition where she first sees Oliver. From the first page, first line itself, we readers are told how chaos is in the near future. We get to know from the first page that Rani is interested in photography, wants to pursue pediatrics, and is barred from dating. But Oliver makes her want to break the last rule, and a whole lot more.

“He is my mother’s worst nightmare.”

That is how the book starts, and that is how Oliver is described head on. I did like Oliver’s character at the beginning. He was amusing and his sweet handling of the relationship made me gooey inside. And then the signs showed up and I was screaming in my head for Rani – get out, get out, get out! I think the author did a good job with Oliver because no matter how much I disliked him, I was also marveling at the way his personality was developed, his character arc shown and portrayed in the book. The red signs do appear from the first meet itself, really, but the manipulation in his words is pretty inevitable and we readers, along with Rani, fall under his charms too.

Rani was a highly relatable character, I won’t lie. It is pretty universal about desi parents being hardcore about relationships and dating during teen years, and the way that we kids defy them anyway. Rani’s sneaky outings to go and meet Oliver, the phone calls she disguises as being from her best friend – these instances were so relatable that it took me back to my first dating years when I was sixteen. I couldn’t help but giggle through those parts.

But there were certain points where Rani’s character also infuriated me. for one, her oblivious to Indian items like tandoor when she claims to love India. It felt very weird that someone who loved her culture so much wouldn’t know what a damn tandoor was. Besides, there were some instances where her thoughts were so occupied with Oliver that it became a nuisance to read. I understand, you are in love. But still –

And the first half of the story dragged so much. For real. For fifty percent of the book, there were no such incidents that would excite me. a lot of things felt repetitive, and while I enjoyed all of the dates that the two love birds went to, I don’t think I needed heavy descriptions of all of them. Some parts from the first few chapters could have been cut out and the story would have been completely fine, I feel.

Again, while everything was relatable, I also did feel that the extent of ‘no dating’ rule was very exaggerated. I find it hard to believe that the simple mention of a boy or dating could turn her mother’s mood foul – that was a little too much, I feel.

Another thing I wish was more extensively dealt with was grief. Having loved her grandpa so much, I think we didn’t see enough of Rani mourning him. Those chapters were very rushed, and her repenting the previous drama back with her best friend and Oliver. Which was, to be honest, a little throwdown. But then again, people grieve in different ways, so that is that.I think the fact that it took so long for the climactic elements to step in that I lost a lot of my patience and interest in the story.

At a point, Rani and Oliver got very annoying. At a point, I was just telling the story to move somewhere, to like maybe have the parents find out or something. Nothing of that sort happened but something else did which was – well, quiet horrifying.The play with culture identities and exoticization of Indians was portrayed to well. A lot of Oliver’s actions towards the later half of the book infuriated me so much, horrified me, and my heart went out for Rani. No one deserves to go through something like that – no one. I commend the author for taking up such a theme and seamlessly incorporating it into the narration.

The subtle institutionalized racism against Indian Americans was also spot on. Her peers calling Rani the Gandhi Girl, the little comments against her traditional wear on Halloween – they might seem funny and unrelatable but such things happen and keeps happening.

The writing and narration were kind of choppy at times, but I enjoyed the way Rani’s voice seeped out through the words. For a debut, I think it was a decent and solid writing that makes a reader scrolling through or flicking the pages. She took Indian culture and incorporated it in the story in such a way that once you are finished, you learn something about our culture and traditions. It isn’t preachy but informative, and I liked that.

So, yes, there were a few qualms I had with the story, things that bugged me and parts that bored me, especially how much it dragged and exaggerated. Yet, I enjoyed reading it, especially the bold end (which, again, I wish was a bit more nuanced and not rushed), and I think a lot of desi readers are going to find it highly relatable too. It’s a fresh debut and I’ll be looking forward to more from the author!

Original rating: 3.5

American Betiya is the story of Rani, an Indian-American teenager who meets an American boy, Oliver, and they both develop a relationship and start dating secretly. Like most of the brown parents, hers are also very strict. They want her to focus on her studies and her education with no distractions.

Rani loves photography but plans on becoming a pediatrician, and her parents desire the same. Rani's photographs are being exhibited at an event, and that's where she meets Oliver.

The representation of Indian culture is beautiful, and I loved reading about the pujas and the Indian events. The theme of the book comes out really well. I loved Rani's bond with her grandparents and her adorable relationship with her best friend, Kate.

The book is sex-positive and the family drama is delightful to read. However, I found it less gripping at some points. It was moving forward with dialogues. At some points, I found myself skimming over pages, as there was no glue to hold me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book for an honest review. This did not affect my opinions.

Why you should read it?

• The Desi Contemporary Book we were craving for ✅
It's very uncommon to find desi books these days and here to fill our hearts finalllyyyyyy.

• The Seamless Weaving of Words ✅
The book is not short, but it didn't took me too long to finish it, you may ask me why? The writing was seamless, it just flowed and kept me going.

• The Traditions and Customs described so well ✅
The description of festivals and cultures was done so well it couldn't be better. I really liked how there was points and notes about the starting of that festival and it's importance.

• The Friendship that had me crying ✅
We all know I've a soft spot for good Friendships, and yes we have it. Flawed the people are, but their friendship is gold.

• The Environment of a Desi Household ✅
Being a Desi myself I could relate to all the things going around in Rani's home. The dating ban, not staying out late ban, focus on your studies first etc etc. It was refreshing to read about it to be honest.

• The Racism and Hate for being ourselves
Racism is nothing new for Asians who are living outside their country, but the way Anuradha described it made chills run down my spine. And if you've read the book YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. anyway.

• The Strong Bond between Grandparents and Grandchild ✅
In Indian Households we're often taught about respecting your elders and especially your grandparents, love them and take care of them. And this book had some beautiful moments that made my heart flutter. I wish there were more though.....but let's not complain about it.

• The Journey of Self Discovery and A Search for finding yourself ✅
The book was a journey, a journey of Rani, from being not sure about her future, herself and what she wanted in life to finding what she actually wants and prioritising it. Loved it!

I loved the book, such a beautiful story and motive. Highly Recommended!

I liked this book which is about a girl named Rani who is a perfect indian daughter that never lies to her parents until she meets Oliver who is an artist and has tattoos. Then start dating in secret but Oliver has trouble at home and wants more from Rani then she can give. Rani learns about relationships and how a girl should have ownership of her identity.

I enjoyed a good amount of the author's writing in this book. I thought the story was well written and I enjoyed the story plotline. There were many conflicts in the book that kept the readers entertained with all the drama in the Indian community and between the couple. The pacing was well paced in the beginning of the story but towards the middle it started to rush a little and I thought it would have been better with the slow pace. Though I have to say that I enjoyed the Indian culture mentioned in the book. As an Indian reader, I felt connected to the story as I can relate to it. Overall the writing was well done.

I enjoyed the main character in the book who is Rani and it's written in her POV. I felt connected to her character as I am an Indian who went through some of the same problems. Though I have to say that I didn't like her character development in the book. I felt that it wasn't a slow build of a development but more at the last 20 minutes. I did enjoy the side characters and Oliver in this book. The side characters didn't play like a huge role but I enjoyed their presence. There is romance in this book and it's a little descriptive but not hugely descriptive.

With the ending I didn't really enjoy it as much and felt that I rushed through it. It was a good ending but just not my type. The reason I gave this book a 3.5/5 stars is because it wasn't a 4 star read or a 3 star read but more of an in between. I do recommend this read because I think it's a great own voice book with Indian culture in it. I recommend this book to fans of Sandhya Menon and those who want to read books with Indian culture in it.

Wow! This book. I've never read a story like this in YA, the narrative seems to be solely reserved for Adult Fiction. I'm really glad there's a book like this because it brings awareness to the fact that not every ‘great’ love is the right kind.

American Betiya tells the story of Rani Kellar, an Indian American girl in high school, struggling between being a straight A student, a budding artist, fulfilling her family and society's expectationsall while in the throes of first love. The first love in question is a white boy her family is never going to approve of. We see Rani navigate the world of an intercultural relationship as best as she can.
American Betiya boldly talks about emotional abuse and points at a lot of red flags a young girl in love refused to acknowledge — from Oliver's nickname for her to his obsession with her culture, the story leaves you shaken to the core.

What I loved most is how socially conscious Rani and Kate are. I feel like things might have been worse for Rani if she hadn't been, and she might not have been able to see what was really going on. I loved seeing her culture through her eyes and reading about her trip to India. There were a lot of beautiful relationships portrayed in this book, both familial and nonfamilial. They were the highlights of the story. I was so happy with the ending and enjoyed seeing Rani grow. This is a book I think everyone needs to read, it's a beautiful story.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Hear Our Voices Tours for this ARC which I received in exchange for an honest review.

I got an ARC of this book.

I don’t even know where to start with this book. It was at times very difficult and heartbreaking, but at others it was lighthearted and loving. Rajurkar was able to navigate incredibly touch and complex topics of identity and abuse. It was impressive.

Rani loves her family, though sometimes she can still be embarrassed by them as any teen is well aware of. I loved how the book started and ended with a very similar scene (I promise this is the closest I will get to a spoiler). The very first scene introduced the idea that Rani was loved and surrounded by a large and extended family. It also went into how her family had auntie-uncles and some of the differences that her family had from the stereotypical white families. I was hooked. They were loud, they were real.

Rani knows she will be a pediatrician. Her family supports this and she even visits with a family member who is a doctor so she can see how things are. No one expects her to date and they think boys are just a distraction from her having a good life. I loved how consistent her family was, how their ideas made sense. All of the ideas did not come out of nowhere. It was just incredible how real and fleshed out every character was. None of the words said or actions taken were without a solid foundation. I never felt like I was surprised by what happened in a bad way.

The romance started so quick, I thought it was going to be a stereotypical YA romance. I can get behind some fluffy romance. But this was anything but fluffy. It was immediately more intense. The way Rani doubted herself and what she remembered, the way that Oliver acted. It was such a great look at how emotional abuse can happen in a relationship. I had never seen racism and fetishization in a relationship covered in a YA book before. I AM HERE FOR IT. Please give me these complex looks at relationships. This is probably the best book I have read about abuse, partially because it is not only about abuse.

Rani’s family is not abusive. They are loving and do whatever they can to support her. They are strong willed, especially her mother. I loved the juxtaposition of the abusive partner to her family. So many people think that artists are going to be the most liberal and not have any issues and that traditional families are constricting and abusive. Rani shows that this is far from the case. I loved how it showed that even “woke” people can be racist and have issues. It is especially gross when they don’t address these issues and then say they are an expert on these areas. I really can’t say enough about the characters of this book.

I highly recommend this book. It is exactly the sort of book I wanted and needed to see.

This book got deep inside my skin.

Rani, the titular American Betiya, falls in love for the first time, but, oh boy, did the course of true love never run smooth. Not only does Rani have to keep her relationship secret because of her parents' views on dating, but she also has to grapple with how her boyfriend, Oliver, handles that secrecy, her culture, and his own trauma. Couple that with deciding how to deal with her parents' expectations on how she spends her time and her ailing grandparents, and we have a book that has so many layers of humanity.

I found Rani to be an incredibly believable and relatable protagonist. She makes some REALLY TERRIBLE decisions, but they all made me more sympathetic towards her, and I think she can provide insight into why we make horrible decisions. Her friendship with Kate was heartwarming, and Kate served as a lovely foil to Rani.

While Rani's infatuation with Oliver was realistic, it did not take much time for me to start replaying the TikTok sound, "Can't make a wife out of a WHITE BOY NO!!!" in my head every time he came on screen. THERE WERE SO MANY RED FLAGS.

My only real complaint was that I oftentimes became confused regarding which of Oliver's friends was which, and I felt like I was supposed to know the differences between them. Seeing more interactions between those characters would have helped flesh out those relationships and make some moments of conflict more clear. Additionally, I thought Tonio as a character was handled deftly, but it did occasionally feel like he was being used as a device to illuminate other characters' short-sightedness and flaws.

This plot does not hurry along, yet I found myself constantly compelled to read the next chapter and excited to pick it up again each evening. The style does not stand out as anything wildly unique, but it flows along neatly and keeps the reader engaged.

This was a wonderfully complex addition to the growing field of YA literature featuring Indian-American protagonists. I hope to see even more!

Such an honest and compelling exploration of identity, culture, and love in what's honestly a stunning YA debut! The characterization is also beautiful.

American Betiya was such a thoughtfully written novel! I started reading this with high expectations since the book is about a south-Asian girl just like me, but boy, oh boy, it exceeded all my expectations. ALSO, I CAN NEVER STOP SWOONING OVER THE BOOK'S GORGEOUS COVER. Rani's story had all the elements of an adorable YA novel, but the author made sure to make her book an unique one with the touch of culture and self-acceptance. 💞

From the very beginning of the story, I found myself being immensely drawn towards Rani's character. Being insecure about meeting your parents' expectations, pressure of college applications - I related to her in so many ways. My favorite things about her was definitely her deeply-ingrained love for Indian culture though. She found peace in the regularity of different customs surrounding her culture, which I think is rarely portrayed in books about brown protagonists. Rani has such a strong personality too! Even though it took her a while to recognize the harmful patterns in her life, she stood against them in the best way possible.

The portrayal of interracial relationship between Oliver and Rani was so realistically written too. YA novels tend to sugar-coat romances, but I'm so happy that this wasn't the case for American Betiya. The author wrote about issues that arise between a couple with cultural differences perfectly. The twists and turns that Rani's romance with Oliver took were pivotal to her character development, and I really, really appreciated how everything turned out in the end. It wasn't what I expected when I first started reading the book, but Rani's decision was the best thing ever.

The authoe's writing style is so lyrical and beautiful, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by how she wrote American Betiya. It's a book that needs to be read by everyone. Highly recommend.

This book took me by surprise. Don't get me wrong. I was expecting to enjoy this book but I wasn't expecting to amount of investment I would have into this book. I really liked our main character. She was such a headstrong character with a strong love for her family and her culture and I love how she never backed away from that troughout this entire book. I liked the discusions around religion as well. I liked how she talked about not really believing but how she also wouldn't call herself an atheist because the traditions attached to the religion are such a big part of her and her life. I thought that offered an unique view on religion that I really liked. At the center of this book is a romance and I love how it evolves. I love how the author isn't scared to show how cultural differences can create conflict in a relationship and I like how that was shown in this book. I like how our main character didn't nececarily recognize the fetishisation of her heritage in the moment but as she was more removed from the moment and thought over what happened she did realise it was wrong. I loved the discussions around that by the way. The big discussion that happens between the main character and the love interest when she finally has enough captured me completely and so many great points were raised in that. I even liked the fact that he doesn't learn. It shows the reality of the world. Not everyone is going to learn when you call them out on their microaggresions and fetishisation. But I liked how our main character learned to stand up for herself and being able to discuss that it is wrong. Even though the romance is the central focus of this book I mainly loved the family and friendship aspects in this book. They were done so well. Overall, I really loved this book and I would highly recommend it.

Disclaimer: I got this ARC from @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Alright, so this book was recommended to me by another bookstagrammer. Rani Kellar is an Indian American highschooler who is studying science to please her family. This book is perfect for fans of When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. I feel like When Dimple Met Rishi is aimed at 9th/10th graders, but this book is more for 11th graders and up. There are mentions of suicide, gaslighting, and racism. As a South Asian, I resonated with this book (I'm American Sri Lankan). Rani's passion for art is very similar to my passion for writing. Thankfully, my parents are supportive of my career choices.

For much of Rani Kelkar’s young life, she has strived to be the ideal daughter, then Oliver comes into her life. Straddling that time of life in high school when thoughts of college applications are looming just in sight, Rani’s first love must be kept secret from her family. Her parents expectations for her future do not have room for distractions. Especially a forbidden interracial romance.

This book was so wonderful and honest. Rani, the daughter of first generation immigrants from India, has much to grapple with. Her experiences line up to the reality I know many young girls from Southeast Asia face in America. You must succeed or the disappointment your family will have in you would be crushing. Rani, whose hobby is photography, tries her very best to make her parents proud. Still, she is drawn to Oliver (a bad boy artist she goes to high school with) and he to her. And despite knowing how her parents would react if ever found out, they begin dating anyway. The red flags start pinging early on, but Rani’s feelings are willing to push past them. Rajurkar doesn’t hold back on this. There’s something so grounding about touching on the realities that ring so true with relationships that go sour. You love him, he didn’t mean it, it was just a joke anyways and he apologized.

I’ll not give too much away here, I really just want more people to read this book. It’s so full of feeling and from a perspective more people should see. For Rani, it’s not just romance; she has many other things to grapple with- including community, family, racism, friendships, and college. At times while reading I felt so flayed open with my emotions. I cried friends, I did.

Thank you so much to BooksForwardFriends, NetGalley, and Random House Children’s/Knopf Books for Young Readers for the free copy in exchange for a honest review.

What an awesome book. I loved Rajurkar's writing and storytelling. It was such an amazing look into a beautiful culture and a story of finding yourself.

Content/trigger warnings: alcoholism, child abandonment/absent father, drugs, suicide attempt, pregnancy, racism, misogyny, addiction, abusive parents, death of a grandparent, grief, guilt. gaslighting, manipulation

Major thank you to Netgalley and Random House for providing me with this eARC.

I think this is a really, really important story that needs to be told, but there were some bits where I couldn't connect to the writing, or to the characters. I think had I gone in knowing the content warnings, I would've rated it differently and would've enjoyed it more.

Thank you, NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was so cute, I absolutely adored it.

I would like to thank the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I adored this book. From the moment I read the blurb, I knew it would be good but it was better than that. The way Anuradha D. Rajurkar writes this book is incredibly beautiful and instantly makes you fall in love with this story.

I loved American Betiya for the little things. From beginning to end I could relate to Rani who was worried bout college applications, having family pressure and expectations all things a lot of young people can relate to. I was so swept up in Rani’s story and not just the portrayal and representation of an interracial relationship which is not always easy, something which is explored through the book quite well, but also the interactions she had with her family and friends.

I also loved the way Anuradha D. Rajurkar portrayed Rani’s relationship with Oliver as it showed the cute romantic scenes but it also showed the importance stuff. Like how whoever your in a relationship with needs to have a real understanding of your culture because that’s a part of you and I think the way the author wrote this was incredibly powerful

I would highly recommend this book to everyone and can’t wait to see what Anuradha writes next