The description above pretty much covers most of what's going on in this book. There is so much culture packed into this one book. And honestly, most of it went over my head. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. I have become increasingly interested in Indian culture through contemporary books focused on Indian characters. And My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding was super immersive into all of the things I find fascinating about the culture.

Zurika is struggling. Because her heart is in music. Music (any form of the arts really) isn't considered a worthy career pursuit by her family or culture. She didn't apply to colleges that she had any hope of getting into, and so Zurika's future feels like it is very much hanging on whether or not she can get a music scholarship from a competition that just so happens to be held the same week as her sister's big wedding. Zurika has been repeatedly warned not to mess with any of the wedding events. Anything going wrong during one of these events is a bad forecast for the couple's future. Yet Zurika's cousins are determined to help her reach her goals. Or at least have the opportunity.

Naveen is a cousin of the groom. He lives in South Africa but also dreams of pursuing music in college and for his career. And he's in competition with Zurika for the scholarship. While the two could have easily been rivals, they quickly strike a deal to help the other. They practice together and begin to develop an interest in the other. Zurika is hesitant because if Naveen can't move to the states, the distance between America and South Africa is vast. And even if he does come to the US for college, that is still months away. Yet Naveen wasn't hesitant at all to know that he wants to get to know Zurika better.

Had I written my review for this book when I finished it instead of waiting until I'd read FOUR other books, I probably could have written a better review than this one. But if you're enjoying Indian culture, then My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding should be right up your alley. It was right up mine. I did wish for a little more romance since I always prefer the romance to drive the relationship, but honestly, what occurred felt genuine and not forced.

Favorite quote:

-If I were in my eighties and had spent nearly twenty hours on a flight from India to Atlanta, I'd be the walking dead, too.
Nice, subtle pop culture reference to The Walking Dead which takes place and was filmed in Atlanta and surrounding suburbs.

The other pieces I highlighted were grammatical issues that I'm sure were corrected in the final copy.

My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding was an immersive look into Indian/Hindu wedding culture and I loved it. It wasn't without romance, although I wouldn't have minded a little more. These wedding events sound like a total mix between exhausting and a huge party. I enjoyed every minute of My Sister's Big Fan Indian Wedding and Sajni Patel hasn't let me down yet. This book gets 4 Stars. Have you read My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding? What did you think? Let me know!

I received this egalley as part of the ALAN conference and it is kept on a kindle in my classroom. My rating is based on the fact that my students have enjoyed this title and I look forward to when I get the chance to read it.

The cultural backdrop is rich and lush and was so easily visualized as reading. While there was some flirtation between Zuri and Naveen, their relationship read more like a friendship than romance. It was cute and I'd be interested in reading more from the author.

This was a fun read, and reminded me a bit of Bend It Like Beckham. Zurika was a great protagonist and conveyed the dynamics of her family beautifully.

I loved every second of this book! I have always wanted to experience the grandeur, excitement, and beauty of a traditional Indian wedding. Now, it feels like I have!

Zurika is torn between following the "traditional" path of her sisters, prelaw, law school, and a good marriage. She, a naturally gifted violinist, has other dreams for herself, however. Zurika is hoping to get a coveted spot at a college to study music, but when she gets her Julliard rejection letter, she needs another way to get a scholarship for college. There's a big music competition in her community where big music scouts will be judges, but there's one big problem: all three rounds take place during the events leading up to her sister's wedding day. Missing any of the events is not an option, but Zurika is determined to compete. Turns out, however, her biggest competition is a cousin of the groom--and he's the guy her mom is trying to match make for her!

This book is pure fun and delight. I had so much fun reading this book. I loved all of the beautiful descriptions of the clothes and all of the wedding events. I loved learning about so many beautiful traditions in the Indian culture. And man, were the food descriptions next level. I'm so hungry after finishing this book!

I can't wait to recommend it to teens in the community. I know so many who will love it and I can't wait to share it with them.

I had a hard time getting into this book. I feel like the plot before and after the wedding wasn't as developed as it could have been. Everything felt rushed to get to the wedding, which maybe was a choice by the author since that's how big events feel, but it felt lackluster as a reader. The conflicts came up suddenly (flash judgments of Naveen--Zuri decides he's her nemesis within just a few pages) and then resolve just as quickly so that the character development doesn't feel earned.

With that said, the wedding scene does truly sparkle. Those chapters went by in a flash and I can tell that this was the author's true inspiration. They're highly enjoyable and I really liked learning about the different traditions and all the descriptions of the over-the-top wedding style. I also enjoyed the girl-power supportiveness of the girl cousins and the overall vibe of the book.

Overall, this isn't a bad book, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this to someone.

I've never been to an Indian wedding before but reading this book was the next best thing! It was fun, vibrant, descriptive and a real delight to read. In addition to the romance element I also enjoyed the journey of self-discovery that Zurika went on. I definitely recommend this one.

This was cute but very much so middle grade, wouldn't recommend.

A huge thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me a copy of the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute one for my middle school library but I wouldn't recommend to adults who enjoyed her other books.

Thank you NetGalley and Amulet Books for my e-arc!!

I love a cute romcom and this YA one set at a big Indian wedding immediately had my attention! I loved this one! It was the perfect wedding romcom and I really enjoyed reading it! Zurika was a great main character and I loved how passionate she was about music. Her drive to use her love of music and the violin and make a career out of it was really admirable. The competition between her and Naveen was really well done. I loved the added bride side vs groom side competition too! Their banter was so cute and I was rooting for them the whole time.

The wedding backdrop was absolutely perfect! Indian weddings are my favorite (I may be a little biased), and I loved how Patel incorporated traditional aspects with modern twists as well! My favorite part was the dance practice, which to me felt the most relatable! I’ve definitely had to practice choreographed dances at the last minute at weddings before! The whole wedding week was written so well and I loved how Zurika’s story fit in. I really enjoyed this book and I would certainly recommend it to YA fans and of course fans of big Indian weddings!

This was fantastic! As a South Asian, it's so refreshing to see such beautiful South Asian representation that truly captures what it's like to be living in the diaspora. I love Sajni Patel's writing, and I loved loved loved the two main characters!

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

This was a fun read. It had a lot of the tropes I love (black sheep, will they won't they) and I really loved learning about all the Indian wedding traditions.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book!

As a South Indian I truly enjoyed reading about the wedding, all the festivities, family interactions and all the events leading up to the big day.

Zuris oldest sister is getting married and as the sister, Zuri has an important role to play in ensuring everything goes perfectly and without any hiccups.
During the wedding week, Zuri has an opportunity to audition for a music scholarship. Between juggling wedding prep and dance rehearsals, she has to find a way to prepare for one of the most important auditions.

I how Sajni Patel wove a story about family expectations, following your dreams while detailing the many wedding events. It was wonderful to read this during the pandemic when all the big events were put on hold.

Highly recommend!

This was an absolutely adorable read, and it always feels nice to see my own culture reflected in books like these. I loved the MC's relationship with her sisters and her parents, and it was just a wonderful book on South Asian joy. It most definitely gave me extra feels because I have a cousin's wedding coming up to look forward to! Absolutely recommend this to anyone who is brown like me and wants to see themselves in a story or anyone who wants to get a glimpse of how the culture and traditions around South Asian weddings are (this being a Gujurati wedding).

A beautiful YA romance that's full of diverse characters, backgrounds and I learned a lot about Indian customs in weddings. I can't wait to read more YA from Sajni Patel!

I loved how this book shared Indian wedding traditions with the world, and so many other pieces of Indian-American culture as well. I personally found the central romance a bit lacking in development and appeal, but I did relate to a lot of Zurika's struggles in attempting to pursue an artistic passion and maintain a positive relationship with her family amongst her role. Overall, I loved the writing style and premise of the book, and the representation of Indian weddings, but would have loved a stronger romance.

This would be a great book for anyone who enjoyed Bend it Like Beckham, as it has elements of the main character preparing for her own older sister's wedding while she herself strives for a goal of attending Julliard to play pop-rock violin. I loved the character's voice and personality throughout the book, and the love interest was swoonworthy. This was such a fun read, and a great escape!

I highly recommend this fun wedding season read for all readers.

Ok, so I’m like obsessed with this author’s adult romance books and was excited to receive a copy of this YA novel! One thing I loved about this book was how much detail was given about Indian wedding traditions. It was so so interesting reading about so many cultural customs that I wasn’t familiar with before reading.

The pacing of the story was really nice as well. The amount of conflict ratcheted up with each wedding event as the days drew closer to the reception itself and I enjoyed how easy it flowed. I also enjoyed that the main focus of the book was family and following your ambitions and while there was a bit of a romance involved, it was not the focus of the main character.

I will definitely be recommending this book to fellow YA readers!

3.5 rounded up

I’m not Indian, but I am an ethnic person living in North America, and I loved reading about characters who went though experiences so much like mine. The entire book revolves around the main character’s sister’s wedding (I know, shocker, right?), which offers the opportunity to the author to weave in the many traditions of an Indian wedding. And weave in she does, expertly and quite naturally. I learned so much about traditions related to Indian weddings without even knowing about it – and I realised this when, shortly after finishing this book, I had a conversation with an Indian friend about her upcoming wedding and I realised I knew what she was talking about. And this is one of the beautiful parts of fiction; we enter into a world that welcomes up with open arms and, if we let it, allows us to experience new things without ever leaving our reading chair. Patel’s book is a charming read with an obvious ending that makes it possible to relax and enjoy the ride in all its glorious details.