From the synopsis I sort of figured this books would be a bit cheesy but cute. I was prepared to suspend some disbelief so that the main character could work at a women's magazine at 17.

While I liked the main character and the general pace of the story and the diverse cast of characters, I had a hard time staying in that world because of a few things. There were a lot of places where the dialogue either didn't flow or didn't feel believable. Either it felt like that character wouldn't say a certain phrase or like the author included certain phrases to sound more youthful. There were conversations that felt stilted or like a page was missing, the way the dialogue progressed. No one ever said enough, but they understood each other, which made no sense. This made me have a hard time accepting other details, like that the main character really would've gotten the assistant editor job at 17 or that her cousin's girlfriend would help her lie to the important people in her own job.

I did appreciate getting to read about a bunch of Desi teenagers from farming families, which isn't something I've seen before. I liked the diversity of the cast, and most of the characters. So I'd still try reading something by this author again in the future, I think.

How Maya Got Fierce is the story of a sixteen year old Indo-American who is trying to fulfill her dream for an internship in the magazine 'Fierce'. The only problem is, she got hired as an assistant features editor and her bosses think she is 26. And to make matters worse, not even her Punjabi, garlic farm owner parent's know about this.

Being an NRI mysekf, I was instantly attracted to this book, and my instincts were not wrong. I loved Maya's character, and related with her on many levels. Although there are many American qualities about her,I loved how she is still deeply rooted to her culture, cuisine, and language. Speaking of the story itself, I found the concept very intriguing and that didn't disappoint. I also liked how the author made reference to the LGBT community in such an authentic way. What I mean is in most books, we see that gay couples are easily accepted by their family, but that is not always the case, and this was a perfect depiction of just that. I found Maya's mom to be loud, energetic, and bubbly like most Punjabi women I know. Speaking of the negatives, I can't pinpoint exactly what was missing, but I would drive through many parts of the book. Maybe it was that parts of the story line like the On and off romance and all the drama with Dolly bored me. I think this was a memorable book that I will re-read parts of every now and again.

Maya is a force to be reckoned with and truly is the heart of this story. She dreams big and she knows she one day wants to get her name printed in Fierce magazine. When one small mistake lands her the role, it seems like all of Maya’s dreams are coming true. Only problem? The internship she applied for is actually a job, and the magazine thinks she is 26.

Sounds like an interesting premise, right? I thought so too. Once we got the part of the story where Maya was actually at Fierce, the pages just flew by. However, it took a hot minute for the story to actually get to that place. Due to this, the pace at the beginning felt a bit slow in the beginning, but luckily picked up in the mid to end section.

But do you know what wasn’t slow at all? The romance. I wish we could have had a bit more build-up when it came to the romance. A bit of tension, maybe, to make the pay-off that much more rewarding. Because once we got into the depth of the romance, it was so sweet.

Though the weird semblance of a love-triangle that was going on was weird. Maya acknowledged that anything happening with Xander was weird given their workplace positions and the fact that Maya is literally 17. But there were still inklings throughout the book??? I really could have gone without. The relationship between Maya and Xander would have been much better as simply a supportive friendship, without kindlings of romance.

That aside, the character development really shines. Maya really got fierce throughout the book and watching her come into the role and pursue her own dreams is so much fun.

3.5 Overall, the familial elements, strong friendship (though the phrase "truckbois" could have been used like 48% less), and just the premise in general make for a really fun read. It definitely takes a hot minute to get into the groove of this one, but once you get into the thick of the story it really does pay off!

This was Sona’s best book yet. I cannot wait for others to be able to read it. It is exactly the type of book young girls need on their bookshelves.

I found this book very interesting. I loved the final magazine concept and would love it if there really could be a format where teens from all areas could be featured in this way. It would be great to see the cultural differences and similarities across the U.S..

If you are looking for something sweet but goes deep without being super sad, I would recommend this book. I do wish there had been romance on a little deeper level. There is so much happening with the plot (not in a bad way) that it was hard to really cheer on a romance. Maya's journey through following what her parents tell her to do, to finding her own voice and place is lovely. Her parents are a good representation of accepting and unconditionally love. Overall, I enjoyed the books and will purchase it for my high school library.