Timely and current in the storyline. I enjoyed this book but felt it was definitely geared to a younger crowd, granted I am in my 60's and feel a little out of touch with the issues facig the youth of today. Nevertheless, the premise was good and I did feel a connection to a number of characters.

This book deals with a disturbing topic and may trigger some people. The relationships Nina has throughout the book are very realistic, and has a lot going on in her mind and her mind never stops. I quite enjoyed that it was set in Halifax, Nova Scotia a destination on my bucket list. It was a good read full of harsh realities. I do wish certain sections had more development.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC ebook.
Took me a while to get into it. It felt real though. Autobiographical in nature. I didn’t really like that for some of the sadder/harder stories/memories but it made them better written.

I'm afraid this novel just didn't work for me. It is well written, but I just did not find the viewpoint character or her experiences believable.

I've recommended this book to many friends and across my social media account and invited the author to meet with my MFA graduate students.

I received an eARC from Netgalley. This was a really great coming of age book about a young Indian girl growing up in Halifax. There are some triggers in here for some people (sexual assault, suicide) but I did enjoy it. There were lots of references to growing up in the 90's and in Canada specifically. The main character, Nina, is very relatable including the various struggles she goes through. Overall I really enjoyed it.

Nina is an ordinary girl. She could be you, she could be me. We get to read vignettes of her life throughout The Most Precious Substance on Earth. This book gripped me from the first chapter. The language flows really well, and I found the book really hard to put down. Even though my life is very different from Nina's I found myself in her words, and I could relate to her in her every experience. I could feel her sadness, her yearning, her need to please, her need to find her own way. It was just beautifully executed overall, I will definitely be reading from this author again.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book. The themes and purpose are so important. Unfortunately, the style and format just made for too arduous a read. I appreciate the author’s intents and the impressive work required to craft a book that’s a bit more out of the box, but, as a reader, my brain just couldn’t keep up and process. Perhaps it was my own mental state causing me to trip over myself.

This book is not what I expected. It follows Nina from ages 14-30, and describes how her life changes by what has happened to her. It is told from Nina's point of view and I loved the descriptions of Canada from the 70s and 80s as I grew up in Canada at that time. The story is told in vignettes which I did not enjoy so much. I would have much rathered a more plot filled story. I received a free copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving my review.

The Most Precious Substance on Earth by Shashi Bhat is a beautifully written coming of age story. The short chapters provide a strong character driven novel sharing the innerworkings of 14 year old Nina and follows her until she is in her mid-thirties.

While sections of the book are heavy and depict trauma and how it can manifest itself in a person's life I felt there were enough moments of inspiration to balance out the narrative. I also really enjoyed the pop culture and literary references that were sprinkled through out the story.

Shashi Bhat is a very talented writer and I look forward to reading more from her in the future. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

This novel was really hard to read - and not because of the sexual assault. The sexual assault happens off-page, and is barely even thought about, not to mention spoken about. What was hard to read in this novel was the panic that Nina had, though she never thinks too hard on why she panics around men, and her relationship with her parents. She is the child of immigrants, I am the child of immigrants. She moved back home after university, I moved back home after university.

A non-comprehensive list of moments that made the inside of my body, my actual literally heart and soul, flinch: Nina thinking to herself "I was born here" when someone calls her exotic; later in the novel when she thinks about how one day she crossed over the threshold from child to caregiver; how she forced herself to fit into two separate identities and how either fit perfectly; her ennui in almost every iteration of her career.

If you are looking for a novel with a plot, this is not the one for you. Precious Substance is more a character study on Nina, and how the one moment of staying quiet about her assault at age 14 affects her life going forward.

Thank you to NetGalley and McClelland & Stewart for sending me a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am left with mixed feelings after reading this book. I really like the style of writing but it felt like each part of the book was unfinished to me. I wanted to know more about what happened and it just abruptly ended and we were moved on to another era of her life. I wanted closure.

There are some sensitive topics in this book so a TW would be warranted for sexual assault of a minor and eating disorders.

This is touted as "humour" but I really did not find a lot of funny stuff in it. Sexual assault - not funny. Eating disorder - not funny. Internet troll/stalker - not funny. I did find it ironic that she became a teacher (and later quit) after her experience in high school.

I did enjoy both the pop culture and the Canadian references. I also really liked her mom and dad and their never ending quest to find her a nice boy to marry.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this book.

A coming-of-age story that follows Nina, an Indian girl from Halifax, Nova Scotia from high school to adulthood, where she then becomes a high school English teacher. As a woman of colour, Nina faces struggles in various stages of her life and is working on conquering her shyness to find where she belongs in the world.

To be honest, I was quite happy to finish it. There were some great one-liners and I appreciated the look into the challenges of being a teacher but, the sequences of events didn’t flow well and some of the many paths the story took were left unresolved. The end was also rather anticlimactic though I cold appreciate the cyclical pattern of the novel returning Nina to her high school experience at the beginning of the novel.

It was interesting to see how Nina's character developed and how the traumatic event she experienced as a teenager subconsciously affected her entire life going into adulthood. I did find her character however a little frustrating with regards to how unmotivated and passive she was about most events in her life. In a way, she is an example of someone in their 30s who isn't totally put together, reassuring readers and people out there who are in the same situation that is ok.

It is great to see authors of colour coming out of the East Coast in Canada and even though I didn't really enjoy the novel, I hope it paves the way for more Canadian authors of colour publishing their stories.

The narrative has a strong beginning but quickly devolves into a smattering of vignettes rather than a fully thought-out novel. There were parts that were beautifully written but the author would have benefitted from a substantive edit.

Quirky coming of age story

Overall, I enjoyed this sometimes quirky coming of age story. The format of the book is a bit different, almost like interconnected short stories which, to my mind, sometimes leave questions as to, "well, what happened next?" but then this chapter ends and the next one starts, for example, 2 to 5 years later. The heroine/narrator covers about 20-25 years of her life, starting at age 14, ending in her 30's. As a first generation Canadian living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, her skin is brown, her parents are of the Hindu faith and have expectations of marriage to a nice Indian boy. However, things don't always go to plan! I enjoyed a lot of the little details about life in Halifax, and commiserated with our heroine about the issues of being 'different' than her friends, yet, being born in Canada, not sharing the growing up experience with her immigrant parents. Do give this book a place in your heart!

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time-constrained e-arc via Netgalley with no obligation. This review is optional and my own opinion.

If I had to narrow it down in a few sentences, I would say I liked this book – the writing is beautiful and the overall story is fantastic. However, the way it is presented in chucks is not my favourite, but I overlooked this to understand the overarching story. The one thing that I could not relate to was that this book is promoted as funny, and as I read, I never really got the impression that it was funny, but perhaps I was missing the point. Yes, there are some quirky moments like Saved By the Bell moments, or the internal look at what actually happened compared to how Nina imagined it in her mind. These quirky moments aside, I found The Most Precious Substance On Earth to be an intense and dark coming-of-age story of a girl from Halifax – told as recollections from a women spanning decades.

***Be aware, reading further will not only help you know the complex principal character, but it also may contain spoilers.

This book starts in the 90’s, Nina is 14-years-old, she has a best friend named Amy, and has a mad crush on her teacher, Mr.M. This is the year that bf Amy found a boyfriend and started to distance herself from Nina. Later, we find out that it was a band trip to Toronto that Amy really started to show the path she was on. As these snippets of memories present themselves, it’s clear that there are some serious topics happening; underage sex, drug use, and eating disorders. There are times when Nina finds herself in some really uncomfortable situations - knowingly interacting with a pedophile on the internet, dealing with an obsessive high school student, and confronting an online troller. In my opinion, these were all some very intense situations and had my heart thumping out of my chest.

In contrast to the above, there are some things that I loved, mainly the many Canadiana references (hello Our Lady Peace, Being Erica, and Tim Horton’s), as well as the one reference to my home province (even if it is to mention its flatness), “his voice is as flat as Saskatchewan”.

Overall, The Most Precious Substance On Earth is a good book, and please know that some of Nina’s memories will live in my mind for years to come.

A big thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy for honest review,

** spoiler alert ** I received an e-copy of this book from NetGalley, in conjunction with the author and Penguin Random House Canada. Thanks for the early read opportunity, in exchange for my review.

I tried so hard to like this book, to relate in some way to the main character Nina (or really, to any character), to feel any sense of connection. Failure on all fronts.

Nina's life drifts along for the 15-20 years covered by the novel. And for the most part, it's a sad and directionless life. I should have felt empathy, or at the very least sympathy, so my bad I guess.

As for the late 80s/early 90s references, I'm the wrong age (too old) to appreciate the inside jokes and references, as I was busy with my early stage career and starting a family during those years, with little time for popular music or television.

I did enjoy the short section where Nina unleashes her detective skills to track down her stolen laptop. And the Halifax references, having spent several days in Halifax shortly before COVID.

The best I can say? 1) the short chapters make it easy to pick up and put down at one of the author's break points; and 2) more significantly, parts of Nina's story are discussion-worthy (e.g. statutory rape, drug addiction, how much to share online, etc. The coverage important issues are the reason I bumped my rating from one star to two stars.

2.5 STARS - The Most Precious Substance on Earth is told in short vignettes that focus on different times in the life of Nina, a young woman of South Asian descent who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Through these brief scenes, the reader sees snapshots from Nina's life beginning when she's an awkward 14-year-old and progressing into her 30's.

The first thing I noticed about this book was how Bhat creates a wonderful nostalgia for anyone (particularly Canadians) who grew up in the late 80's and early 90's. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the eras and the pop culture and Canadian references.

But this is not a light and fluffy story and readers are soon introduced to complex and emotional (possibly triggering) topics. These make for a good pick for book club discussion, but this character-driven series of vignettes wasn't a good fit for me. As a person who enjoys a faster paced story with a clear plot and who isn't a fan of short stories, this book lacked a sense of urgency, and I didn't enjoy the disjointed feel. I felt disconnected with Nina but enjoyed the levity her parents brought to the story as they supported their daughter.

Please note that even though this wasn't a good pick for my reading tastes, it is being well received by many other reviewers. It is a thought-provoking read and while I enjoyed the Canadian/pop culture references and could appreciate this bleak story filled with trauma and struggles, I didn't feel drawn into Nina's life and struggled to finish this book.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to McClelland and Stewart publishers for providing me with a complimentary digital advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and McClelland & Stewart for a complimentary eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Most Precious Substance on Earth published on August 24, 2021.

This is a wonderfully written, coming of age story written from the point of view of the main character, Nina. The book begins when she is 14 years old and follows her for approximately twenty years.

Nina is a bright 9th grader in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has a best friend Amy, and a crush on her English teacher. Both Nina and Amy encounter different traumatic events in their first year of high school, and we see how these change the girls permanently. Nina never tells anyone what happened, but it is clear that all of her future decisions are made considering what happened to her as a teen.

The book is written from her point of view, and really shows the reader the innerworkings of her mind. There were times in this book I was laughing out loud, and others I was sad and hurt along with her.

I really enjoyed the way that the chapters seemed to age with her, younger at the beginning and getting older and more mature as I read. I found some of the transitions between chapters to be missing some detail, it wasn't always clear to me what has happened between the chapters and some story lines were left open indefinitely.

Trigger warning for this book: rape.

I was excited to read this book however have to say it was not for me. While I enjoyed the pop culture and Canadian references, I was unable to connect with the main character and her actions.