This was enjoyable read! I loved the sister bond, banter, and love. The romance was good (a bit cringy for my taste) and the story was interesting and fun. Overall I enjoyed this one! Fans of Gilmore Girls will most likely enjoy this one.

There were so many things I didn't like about this book but the biggest one being that the #MeToo depiction in this book was god awful. Just say you hate women at this point. On a lighter note, The relationship between Noreen and her mom were really cute and I'm glad she didn't fall into the stereotypical desi mom role. She wasn't the greatest parent of course, but at least she wasn't a stereotype.

My biggest issue was that Noreen would point out an inequality in the marginalized community and never elaborate or discuss it further. It was weirdly preachy in that sense because you say something is bad and never touch on it again?

What a gem. I've never seen Gilmore Girls, but wow, this book is an excellent selling point. The sincerity jumps off the page, and so does the REALITY — we love a YA novel that features a parent so prominently, let alone one who has a healthy relationship with her child!

Noreen is a really special character. She is deeply afflicted by grief, adrift in the too long and too short days before the start of college. But she's also a teenager who wants to fall in love and be transformed by some time abroad. The Marvelous Mirza Girls manages to contain all of those multitudes without any particular piece suffering. I felt Noreen's love for her late aunt, felt the joy of her simultaneously frivolous and meaningful relationship, and felt the significance of her experience in New Delhi all at once. This is really a superb portrait of a slice of life.

There is a rather large caveat here — I would seek out ownvoices reviews, many of which take issue with some of the ways Karim chooses to portray New Delhi and India in general. I have no authority on the matter, but I can recognize that Noreen is often condescending, dismissive, and frustratingly American in the way that she digests her experience abroad.

That being said, I really, really enjoyed this one. Karim really excels on the upper end of YA, and I hope she continues in this vein.

This was an interesting book. It is on the upper mature side of YA and I was totally okay with that! I just wasn't expecting it. It was a fun read and really made feel nostalgic about India.

In The marvelous Mirza Girls we are following Noreen who is overcoming the passing of her aunt, finishing up her senior year, and not being able to write. So she tosses everything up in the air and takes a gap year to New Delhi with her mom. While there she meets Kabir who introduces her to the magical places, dash as of fun and family scandals.
First, Noreen is a character who feels real, overall well-balanced, and grows throughout these pages. We start off with her graduation, grief of her aunt passing is running her life but when she gets the chance to do something her aunt always wanted to do she knows it’s something she needs to do.
I enjoyed the way Kabir and her ment, what they do on their first meeting, and how he shows her around this area. I do like books that have or deal with the Bollywood world, and I like how this book balances it without overdoing the famous part of it. There is also a scandal, not going to go too far into this but it was done well and I felt like it wasn't done for a plot point but to help bring characters together.
Going in I thought this was a young adult read, but while reading I was getting more of a New Adult read and have see it in a few paces label as both. Both do fit it; from the content to the story it’s, the writing style.
We start off with a heartbroken girl, and through a journey, we end the story with a strong woman.

While I liked that Karim takes us on a trip to Delhi, and I appreciated the callback to Gilmore Girls, I ultimately found Noreen's lack of character development to make the book feel tedious. The author had a lot of moving parts here but none really seemed to be the main focus and I wasn't sure what (or who) I was supposed to be rooting for.

Thank you for giving us an advance copy of THE MARVELOUS MIRZA GIRLS.
Review of book can be found in the interview with Sheba Karim.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sheba-karim-the-marvelous-mirza-girls/id1511650673?i=1000522606173

A lighthearted yet substantial read, I enjoyed this one immensely! The writing gripped me right from the beginning and held my interest throughout the story. Though I found the prose a bit simple, I think it suited the story. I also Loved the characters and found them well fleshed out and unique. I can't wait to see what Sheba Karim writes next!

Noreen is 18 and a fresh high school graduate. College awaits, which should be an exciting chapter in her life. Her family, however, is still reeling from the death of Aunt Sonia. When her mom gets an opportunity to move to New Delhi for a work project, Noreen takes that as an opportunity for a gap year and, unexpectedly, finds herself learning more about her Aunt Sonia and overcoming grief when she meets the handsome Kabir. Kabir and Noreen must face the reality of family and the limited time they have together as Noreen's year in India inches its way to an end.

This was a character-driven narrative where we learn about the relationship Noreen has with her mother and Kabir. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the characters :-/ Noreen seemed young and insecure in her relationship with Kabir, Noreen and her mom had no real boundaries (which is fine, but it just seemed like they were facets of one character), and I was more interested in Noreen's self-exploration of grief and/or writing. Kabir was too perfect and their relationship chemistry felt one-sided. A lot of the action happens "off-stage," for example, the climax of Noreen's grief, Noreen doing stand-up (which also felt like a weird left-turn), and the conflict of Kabir's family. There are a lot of Gilmore Girls references, which was always fun to spot like movie easter eggs.

2.5 stars, rounded to 3 because I love reading about different settings and Sheba Karim creates a lovely backdrop for this story of relationships between mother and daughter, new love, and grief. For folks who love character-driven novels, this will be great!

I really enjoyed this OwnVoices book! The characters had a strong sense of self and I really enjoyed the traveling aspect. Highly recommend!

The Marvelous Mirza Girls is a story of loss and of hope, of families and complicated histories, of love and of friendship. It begins with grief over recently passed Sonia, beloved daughter, sister, mother and aunt. The whole Mirza family is experiencing the heartbreak in different ways and thus coping differently.
Noreen’s mother gets a job for half a year in Delhi and Noreen joins her since she has finished school and can wait to go to college for another year. I loved the relationship between the two of them. They’re very close, sometimes it feels like they are two best friends rather than mother and daughter and I loved seeing such an open, honest and loving relationship. They trust each other and help each other out whenever possible.

I also enjoyed Noreen and Kabir’s relationship. Even though it all went very fast, it didn’t seem forced. The two of them fit together very well and I liked how they both lived in the here and now while still having no illusions about Noreen having to go back to the US. There is such a wonderful trust between the two of them. I loved how sweet Kabir was with Noreen and how he showed her the world.

But I have to say that I feel like the romance part of the story took too much space in the book. I think this book was foremost about Noreen finding herself and her place in the world, but the romance and everything that comes with it interferes a bit with that. I still loved both parts of the book, I just wish it would have been more focus on Noreen and less focus on Noreen and Kabir.
I think the book mentions a lot of important topics and discusses problems a lot, especially issues of women in India. It’s all seen through Noreen’s perspective, so she learn a lot, while still only scratching the surface of the problems. While I feel like it would have been nice to go into a deeper discussion on these, I also think that Noreen’s perspective wouldn’t be the right one, so I really liked how these topics were dealt with in thiy context.

I really liked this story, it was both fun and serious. I liked the relationships a lot, especially the mother/daughter one, it was so wonderful to read!

The Marvelous Mirza Girls by Sheba Karim is a story of two strong women finding themselves after a loss. As a big fan of Travel YA, I was excited by the main character’s trip to New Delhi, and this one features a mother-daughter duo, which I always love to see. The setting is one of the book’s highlights, making for an immersive reading experience. I would recommend this to those looking for a heartwarming read with a compelling setting.

Following the death of her aunt, Noreen and her mother travel to India, hoping to overcome their grief. There, Noreen meets a cute local who shows her around New Delhi and helps her feel whole again. I’m a big fan of books about travel, and these aspects were a big win for me. I will say, I did find the plot a little thin, and at times, it lacks direction. However, the amusement of Noreen’s experiences mostly made up for this.

❀ LIKEABLE MAIN CHARACTER

Noreen is a likeable main character, and she hopes to become a sitcom writer someday. I loved getting to read excerpts from her screenplays, and and she has such an engaging voice. However, I would have liked to see her character develop more throughout the story, besides falling in love. Noreen’s mother also plays a significant role in the book, and I really enjoyed reading about their support for each other. Parents are often absent in YA, so I appreciated this mother-daughter relationship being brought into the spotlight.

❀ VIVID SETTING

One of the strongest parts of the book is its setting. Karim transports the reader to New Delhi, spotlighting delicious foods and local attractions to create an immersive reading experience. Current social issues like the #MeToo movement are also discussed. The entire atmosphere of New Delhi is vividly described, and I ultimately loved tagging along with Noreen as she and Kabir explore the city.

❀ A HEARTFELT STORY

The Marvelous Mirza Girls by Sheba Karimis a heartfelt story of resilience and finding yourself after a loss. The main character has a compelling voice, and I loved the mother-daughter relationship at the centre of the story. I especially enjoyed the New Delhi setting. Fans of the Travel YA genre will not want to miss this one.

Okay, this book is better than Gilmore Girls, and I didn't think that it was possible for anything to be better than Gilmore Girls. I would absolutely love to see this as a show. I loved that the #MeToo movement was worked into the book. I love the tourism v. native discussions and that Pakistan is worked into the story. I know some people might think the book is a little crude, but I just see it as honest, and I love that about this book.

Happy birthday to The Marvelous Mirza Girls! This really was a rich experience of a book. Its exploration of grief was beautiful, and it was genuinely funny and sexy and unfiltered in the best of ways. As someone who is desi, reading this from the perspective of a girl who is in the South Asian diaspora visiting India made it so very relatable.

First of all, I haven’t visited India since my age was in the single digits, but this brought back so many memories. Like how obsessed people are about “motions” or things like Indian English. And I loved all the history and traveling through the ruins.

I really do appreciate how the author makes a point of how India is not there to be some sort of plot device. It isn’t a stepping stone for Noreen to find herself and her spirituality, but it is a real place with people who live full social and political lives. At the same time, there are issues and injustices, and the book doesn’t shy away from being honest about that. Yet Noreen is a spectator for much of it, and not some sort of neocolonial savior, and the narrative was really aware of her place. And overall, I loved how the book does not slow down to explain or justify itself to white audiences - it is unapologetically written for desi people.

And Noreen was just such an amazing character and voice throughout. I loved her writing and her little metaphors, like dancing with a limp or the lotuses. I loved how she was a hopeless romantic. And I loved how she was dealing with her grief, and her relationship with Ruby and how she retroactively remembers her time with Sonia. That initial memory with Sharlene at the car dealership was probably my favorite scene in the whole book.

However, I found most of the book to be really underwhelming. It felt like things were sort of happening, but there was no overarching plot or conflict or story to it. The romance was straightforward, Kabir was a good guy all the time, and there generally was not much that Noreen was active about. It was just one event after another and she was just experiencing it, and some things happened to be more exciting than others. It felt true to life in a way, but also it was not what I would want from a novel. I got the sense that the author was riffing off sitcoms, and chapters followed episodes and small story arcs and subplots, but it just didn’t work in book form. I found myself skimming the second half, which was a shame because I really did enjoy most of the characters.

Overall, it was a beautiful journey, but there was quite a bit to be desired. At least the characters and relationships were so endearing and fresh, and I felt a lot for them throughout. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an ARC of this book for an unbiased review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for the digital ARC of this book.

This book is from the perspective of Noreen Mirza, an 18 year old Desi (the term used in the book) girl living in America. While it is classified as YA, this book is more appropriate for older teens and adults. While this book is a traditional love story, two young people meet and fall in love, it is also a love story on many other levels. It is a love story between a single mother and her adult daughter. It is a love story between a family and a lost loved one. It is a love story between an Indian American and India. To complement these various themes of love, the author places the reader into the heart of upper-middle-class Indian culture and introduces us to different Delhi-based historical sites. Being able to look up these sites, most originating in the 14th century, as I read the book added to the rich experience of reading. This book also notes the issues of living in a city of over 31 million. It touches on poverty and the hazards of living a daily life with poor air quality. The themes of the #MeToo movement in India play a peripheral role in the story, though they are not central and could have been left out entirely. The highlight is the scenes that take place at the heritage sites. This was a sweet read and I truly enjoyed it.

The Marvelous Mirza Girls follows Noreen and her mother Ruby on their trip to India while exploring the sights and sounds of the country. It’s a way of honoring her aunt Sonia Khala who has passed away. Noreen was incredibly close to her aunt and this trip is a way to help her grieving process, discover herself, and find a way to ease the writer’s block that keeps her from expressing herself through screenwriting.

Immediately what struck me about the book is the writing style because of its casual and fun nature, there’s even ease of comfort when it talks about some of the more difficult things too (done tactfully). I also connected to Noreen and Ruby’s narrative because of my own relationship with my mother. They have a tight-knit relationship and I loved their rapport, the way they joke and love each other. It was really endearing.

The book takes readers through New Delhi as Noreen befriends Kabir and he takes her to various sites around the area. I appreciated the heavily descriptive writing at these parts because it paints a vivid portrait of these sites mentioned in the book. It felt like virtually traveling to see the religious prayer monuments, ancient ruins, whizzing by the food stands on a scooter, and admiring all of the intricate architecture while learning about history. It was fascinating and immersive.

Meeting Kabir helps Noreen to make a fast friend and a potential love interest. This trip (gap period) before college helps her to sort out her thoughts, properly mourn her aunt, and learn a lot of life lessons to help her shape the person she wants to be. Though the book follows a theme around self-love, and a coming-of-age story since it helps Noreen to find inspiration to do screenwriting again. The second half of the book is more focused on the romance between Kabir and Noreen that blooms. Even though they hit things off right away I really liked the progression of their relationship. They have a lot of cute moments when they tour the city, and even face some obstacles that put a strain on their relationship. Noreen is scared to fall in love and get too attached since she knows she knows she has to go back to America.

I enjoyed this book a lot and I learned many things about India that I was unfamiliar with. I appreciated that the author doesn’t stray from discussing some serious topics within Indian culture and doesn’t gloss over some of the harsher facts. If you like contemporary stories with travel and romance, I’d recommend this novel.

I really enjoyed this mother/daughter story that featured locations in New Delhi and a great relationship between them. I loved the travel aspect and the descriptions of different locations as well as the touches of culture that were included. The writing style was easy to read and flowed well, though I did find that there were some things that were maybe left as loose ends or mentioned and then not returned too. The story did involve a lot of current topics and the situations associated to those felt very real and well written, which I appreciated. I could see some people wanting more depth to the story, or wanting some refinement but I found it to be a really enjoyable and fun read.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for sending me an advanced copy of this book to review! It’s being pitched as Gilmore Girls meets New Delhi, which seems like a fitting description. Even though I’ve never watched Gilmore Girls. It’s filled with humor, love, and family.

The beginning of this starts out on a great note. We’re immediately introduced to Noreen, and her voice throughout the story is one of the best aspects of the book. She’s funny, and is trying to write her own sitcom. There are pieces of it throughout, which helps to balance out some of the darker moments of the story. These sections were definitely some of my favorite aspects of the story!

That being said, the plot kind of loses itself halfway through the book. What begins as a journey for Noreen to work through her grief changes into something else entirely, and we lose that beginning journey. I wish that was threaded through the story a bit more, as I think it would help to connect some of the aspects of the plot.

Some of the issues included in the book felt a little too heavy handed as well. There’s a lot of talk about the #MeToo movement, but Noreen never really takes a side. This could have been really powerful if it was connected to Noreen’s connection to her aunt, but most of it fell flat.

Despite the flaws, I still enjoyed all of the culture that Karim infuses into this story. That combined with Noreen’s humor really saves the book. I will say this is definitely for older YA readers, as it almost reads more New Adult at times.

All in all, I would definitely read this book for the culture and humor! Even if the plot gets a little lost.

This is the story of American Desi teen Noreen's gap year trip to New Delhi with her mother. There, Noreen meets handsome Kabir, who acts as sort of a travel guide.. They soon become lovers, and he helps her connect with parts of herself that she lost in her grief over her aunt's death.

This book is best approached as a travel adventure and spiritual journey. It doesn't have a structured plot. It's not for everyone, and it's definitely not for anyone under 17. It deals with serious issues in a cursory way, and as a woman, it felt like one microaggression after another. (Which I think is the point.) I think it would be a lot for sensitive teen female readers.

Yet there's also a lot of beauty in this book, in the search for joy and meaning. The author does a wonderful job of immersing readers in the richly detailed setting. Noreen is both an outsider and an insider, and her unique perspective informs the story.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I ended up really enjoying this after being a bit concerned at the beginning.

Noreen was still grieving the loss of her aunt. She felt her absence everywhere. When her mom had to go to India for work, Noreen decided to go with. Her aunt had always wanted to go, so Noreen wanted to go for her. She put off college and they left. While Noreen still struggled with grief in India, she also fell in love. She met a boy, Kabir, and started spending as much time with her as possible. He took her to different places around India and introduced her to his friends. I could tell that it helped her become more comfortable even though she was an outsider. Noreen wants to be a writer, but couldn't write after her aunt died. Being in India and with Kabir started to help with that. I've never been to India, but Noreen talked a lot about the places she went, the people, the sexism, and the air quality. It was interesting to read about. I really enjoyed all the holy places they visited.

Noreen had a very "best friend" type of relationship with her mom that I loved. They were able to talk about anything without much judgement. This is definitely a more mature YA. Noreen is 18 and Kabir is 24. They have sex, smoke pot, go to parties, etc. A lot of the book focuses on the metoo movement and how women are treated in India.

I gave this book 4 stars. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my earc.

Warnings for religious prejudices, sexism, talk of sexual assault and harassment, grief, drugs, alcohol, sex, mention of things like abduction and shooting, father issues.