For this being a debut novel for Reema Patel, it was extraordinarily good! Throughout the book I found the story pulling at my heartstrings and went through the gambit of emotions. Honestly, the book is a story of survival and how Rakhi overcomes all of these challenges with glimpses into childhood and a horrible accident. I really look forward to more from Reema Patel.

I didn't get a chance to read this before it was archived. But it's about a former street child who is now an assistant in a law office in India.

What a wonderful debut novel!

I enjoyed how the author told the story with flashbacks, letting the reader see the development of the character and how she ended up where she is in her current life. I will admit that the main character, Rakhi, is difficult to support at times because she comes across as judgy, but her journey to better herself in a world that is constantly judgy her, makes this arc believable.

Also, I enjoyed the Hindu aspects of the story because that is something I am not that familiar with. Reema Patel is an author to look for in the future.

What a fantastic debut novel!

Rakhi is an office assistant working at an NGO and lives in a slum in Bombay. The story takes you to how she got to where she is through flashbacks and it centers on how she navigates her current life in a society who looks down on her and her hopes for creating a better life for herself.

I loved this book and had a hard time putting it down.

This book is impactful and deep. It was a slower read for me because it is packed with depth and emotion. I think this book would be a wonderful book for a book club as it would be good and helpful to talk through some of the deep topics pertaining to Rakhi's childhood with a group. I found all of the characters to be well developed and the plot to be engaging. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Ballentine Books for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Rahki is a normal Indian child until her parents die and she's sent to live with her abusive uncle. Rahki runs away, sleeps on a train and arrives in Mumbai. She's overwhelmed by all the people and joins a group of street children headed by young boy who befriends her. There is a terrible accident and she's then on her own again but found by a lawyer who runs Justice for All helping those who can't help themselves. We join her after 11 years; she's now 23 years old working as a basic office assistant and living in the slums but she is surviving through her intelligence, resilience and determination. Alex is a new intern at the office from Canada and he asks Rahki to give him a tour of the "real India". They become friends and Alex encourages her to seek more and a better life. Justice for All is always looking for more funding and a once famous Bollywood star wants to fund them and also seek the spotlight for herself. With the agreement to accept this funding, Justice for All is in a difficult position and Rahki foundation is rocked. What will she do if she loses her job and can she see a future with more for herself. This was a good solid read and showed some of the difficult societal, and class and caste issues that faces India today.

In Such Big Dreams, we meet the protagonist, Rakhi. Not her original name but the nickname given to her as she ended up on the streets of Mumbai at a very young age. With her parents dead and her relatives abusive, she runs away and meets Babloo. A boy who becomes her best friend takes her virginity to protect her and teaches her how to survive on the streets until an incident they create separates them for over a decade. Shipped off to an all-girls home, Rahki is rebellious but settles down when she is offered a type of freedom that is ultimately a lie. Now working for Gauri Ma’am at an NGO, Justice For All, but still living in the slums, she is treated as a mere servant with no value seen by many. While at work, she meets a new intern, Alex, who is from Canada and does not know his way around India and what it hides. She shows him around, and he offers to help her with college, but in between, she reunites with her best friend Babloo.

Rahki is mistreated repeatedly, and though her heart is big and pure, she is overlooked and undervalued. Though she works for a cause to ensure justice, she never gets any. She suffers more loss, encounters more fire, and goes without a home again. This story is slow-burning and unravels much more for me as a reader. Classism and corruption are at the forefront, and people never turn out to be who they say they are. Reema Patel wrote this story as it was inspired by the Behrampada fire of 2009 in India, and just like in the story, political gain may be at the forefront. The greed of Mumbai speaks volumes about poverty and how disposable human life is.

A compelling read with plenty of book club discussion fodder. I found it a bit confusing to dive into, but it's worth the effort. I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

In Such Big Dreams, Rakhi, a 23-year old former street kid, works at a non profit for Madam Gauri, a well-meaning lawyer. Rakhi has seen and experienced things no child should have to. The other characters are well-developed and include a former Bollywood actress and an idealistic, white Harvard graduate from America whose goal is to save the world. Rakhi's job is low level but she's perceptive; nothing escapes her.

She and Babloo, her former good friend from the streets, finally find each other again and are awkward...the reader knows that things eventually won't end well. Rakhi is a true survivor. The settings are intriguing, especially for a Western reader.

This is a heart-pounding novel that will captivate readers from start to finish. The author skillfully crafts a suspenseful narrative filled with unexpected twists and turns, ensuring an enthralling reading experience.

The story introduces readers to a diverse cast of characters, each with their own motivations and secrets. As the plot unfolds, their lives become intertwined in a high-stakes game of danger and deceit. The author expertly maintains a sense of suspense throughout the book, keeping readers guessing and eagerly turning the pages to uncover the truth.

One of the book's greatest strengths lies in its ability to create a palpable atmosphere of tension and unease. The author's vivid descriptions and attention to detail transport readers into the world of the story, making them feel as if they are right alongside the characters, experiencing the thrilling events firsthand.

I absolutely loved this book. I feel as though publishers are finally seeing the incredible interest and value in stories of humans from other countries who fight for survival in a modern sense (Age of Vice, etc), and I am trying to read every single one I can get my hands on. "Such Big Dreams" follows Rakhi Kumar as she struggles in Mumbai with no familial support. She is offered a second chance at a successful and meaningful life by a famous lawyer, but soon Rakhi discovers that all that glitters is not gold. Captivating and incredibly well written, this is a great book.

Such a wonderful. Debut novel by Reema Patel. Interesting story with some true life events.
Thank you NetGalley.

The setting and characters were very interesting. Even though I didn’t understand some references, this was still enjoyable!!! This was sad, inspiring, and beautifully written.

After reading gorgeous reviews of this book, I was excited to read it, but I never hit a point that helped me recognize the wonder everyone was expressing over it. I was excited that this wasn't trauma p*rn, but it felt like there was nothing in place in the absence of that? If this makes sense? I would love to someday give the author another shot with a different book. Also gorgeous cover, has to be one of my favorites ever haha.

Really enjoyed this! I found the setting fascinating for someone who doesn’t know much about life in Mumbai. I really enjoyed the MC but pretty much detested everyone else (but I think that was the point). I ended up listening to it on audio and it was really engrossing.

I’ll go 3.5 on this one. It drug out a bit in some places and then picked up speed in others. That inconsistency is what brought it down from a 4 star read for me!

This is a debut novel that I absolutely enjoyed. Rakhi is a 23 year old former street child that is now working at a civil rights law firm in Bombay. So many subjects were touched on here, I thought they were all very well done and I really learned a lot about India, its culture and the resiliency of its people. The story was captivating, I loved Rakhi and her fierce spirit, both from her time on the streets to her time at the law firm. I loved how she questioned everything but yet still took nothing for granted, and oftentimes she was both misunderstood and very naive and trusting. Alex is a Harvard-educated Canadian that comes to work as an intern and has a LOT to learn but yet still never quite seems to ‘get’ it and I loved that he was also naive and trusting, but learned a hard lesson with that as well. He connects with Rakhi as he helps her get stronger with her English and she helps him learn more about India and its culture.

I really loved this story, the characters and the setting were brought to life by Patel’s writing, I could not believe this was a debut. It is heartbreaking at times but also incredibly inspiring. I loved the audiobook for this one, the narrator did an amazing job with the story. I cannot wait to see what Patel writes next, I will definitely be adding it to my list.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the digital copy to review.

There were many times while reading that I just wanted to give up. I am always interested in learning about new cultures but I don't feel I learned anything about India. There was a lot of Hindi words, A LOT, and they never were explained or put into a context where the meaning would reveal itself. It just got frustrating not knowing what was going on, why they called certain people firanghi, why did a lot of words end with wala, etc. I didn't find Rakhi to be very likeable. I understand she was a street kid and didn't trust a lot of people but she did end up in a decent situation. She worked for a lawyer she called Guari Ma'am and some others in Justice for All but none of those characters were really developed. I pushed through and while the ending was satisfying it just felt like a long time to get to.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for providing me with a digital copy.

Such Big Dreams is a contemporary fiction novel about a young woman trying to make it on her own in Mumbai.

Rakhi is a twenty-three year old orphan and former street kid. After being plucked from a girl’s school as a teenager she is offered a position as an office assistant for a non-profit law firm called Justice For All. Her mentor Gauri pays her a small wage, helps her secure a hut in a slum, and sends her to therapy after she steals an elephant figurine from a wealthy woman’s home. But, Justice for All and Rakhi are headed for a shakeup when Alex, a new intern from Canada arrives. Alex brings with him the attention of a family friend (and former Bollywood actress) which will mean more funding to the struggling non-profit. When Alex discovers that the quiet subservient office girl is also clever and knowledgeable about Mumbai he pays her to show him the city and encourages her to apply to hospitality colleges. But Rakhi’s past and the secrets she’s keeping could bring her world tumbling down on her before she’s had a chance to achieve any of her dreams.

Such Big Dreams is a true coming of age tale story set against the dynamic backdrop of Mumbai. I learned so much about the culture of Mumbai, non-profit law, slums and the lives of street children. Rakhi is a fascinating character who isn’t a “too good to be true” Cinderella stand-in but not a villain either. She is a mess of contradictions with a sly sense of humor and her own moral compass.

I highly recommend this debut novel from Reema Patel. She’s created both a character you can root along with incredible detail about modern day Mumbai.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A radiantly powerful debut by Reema Patel, casting light on the struggle to find your voice and fight for survival.

I love books that make me learn, where I walk away feeling as though I really gained something other than a few hours of entertainment along the way. This book truly fits that. With beautiful prose and an engaging premise, once I started, I could not put this down. Paired with the descriptions of the setting and the culture, this was a stunning debut. I enjoyed the cultural references along the way and even having to take some of the learning into my own hands by researching some terms. While some books provide the answer, I do think there is power in making us seek the answers for ourselves and maybe encourages a bit more learning along the way. I truly enjoyed this aspect.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the gifted ARC!