I included this in the April edition of Apartment Therapy's monthly new book roundup.

“Such Big Dreams” by Reema Patel: A former child street fighter reclaims her life in this clever debut.

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/best-book-april-2022-37058891

Such Big Dreams by Reema Patel is about a former street child in Mumbai. Rakhi's parents passed away and this caused her to run away from an abusive family member and take to the streets of Mumbai at seven years old. Rakhi made it with the help of some other street children. An incident happened and Rakhi ended up in a kind of detention home.

The book bounces between Rakhi at 23 years old and her younger self when she first came to Mumbai. Her current situation has her working at a lowly job as an assistant for Justice for All. Justice For All is a human rights organization. It has a strong leader that has taken to watching over Rakhi and making sure she has some sort of chance. However, is her bosses intentions really all that pure or is she looking for a lowly assistant that will never have an opportunity to move up further in life beyond fetching tea for the lawyers.

I did think this book started fairly slow. Eventually, I became invested in Rakhi's life and the things that happened in her past as well as her life at Justice for All, I did end up reading half the book in one sitting so it did hold my interest for a Sunday afternoon. This is quite a book for a book for a debut novel. I don't know all that much about India so I cannot say how well researched the book is or how much is the authors imagination. I did enjoy the ride and the opportunity to root for the underdog.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of Such Big Dreams in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about Rahki - an administrative assistance at Justice for All - a non-profit legal group in India. She lost her parents at a young age, then ran away from abusive foster parents, spent some time living on the streets and then was sent to a girl's home where she meets Gauri

I did not finish this book - read until the 50% mark but just could not stay interested in the story.

What I liked:

-Setting - I haven't read many book set in India and I always like to learn more about places that I have never been. I particularly learned about the slums in India, poverty and oppression in this case. I always appreciate an opportunity to expand my knowledge about somewhere I haven't been.

What I didn't like:

-I found the story a bit boring. I read and read but just did not connect with it.
-Rubina Mansoor - I did not like this character at all
-I did have some difficulty with some of the terminology and needed to look up some words

Overall - this book is probably fine, many people will likely enjoy it. I just could not for the life of me, get invested in the story.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review this book. This book isn't in my normal wheelhouse of thrillers and romances, but every so often you need to go outside your comfort zone.

This is the story of Rakhi who works as an office assistant in the Justice For All human rights organization law office in Mumbai. She's had a rough life, and you don't fully understand her background or story until well in to this book. She's surrounded by people who are all better educated than her, and have resources to work at this firm instead of a higher paying corporate law firm. She befriends Alex, a visiting student from Canada who is completing an internship at the office, and they broker a deal - he will pay her the money he's earning as an intern if she will show him around to the less desirable areas of town. He also convinces Rakhi that she should use the money to enroll in college to get a better life for herself. But when her past catches up with her, Rakhi is forced to decide what she wants her future to look like.

This book was a quick, easy read. The author does a great job depicting India and you feel as though you are transported there. I enjoyed the flashbacks to Rakhi's past and how they tied to the present story. I would highly encourage checking this one out.

It took me a while to get into this book. However, I truly feel that is a me thing and not reflective of the writing or the book. I really liked the way this book ended. I think it was a truly fitting end for Rakki.

This book wasn't really one I would usually gravitate to read. I think the story is important and it was well written. It wasn't really my type of book. I feel like I did learn a lot about India and the heartbreaking conditions that some citizens live in.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are mine.

An absolute enjoyable read! You stay rooting for Rhaki and her strength and perseverance. So much was thrown at her and her character made your heart swell for her truth. It is an absolute heartbreaking yet inspiring story that one should definitely read! You also get so much insight on the Indian culture which I found to be really interesting. Reema Patel did beautifully with this!

Thank you Penguin Random House and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars for a realistic portrait of modern day Mumbai/Bombay. This book was written by a Canadian woman who lived and worked in Mumbai in her early twenties.
The book explores how a woman who was a street kid was able, with help, to transition from living on the streets, to becoming a woman with a job and income sufficient to support herself. The author says she was inspired to write this book by a 2 major fires in a slum named Behrampada. the first fire destroyed almost 300 huts, killing 3 and injuring 29. Twenty five hundred were left homeless, but they rebuilt. There was a 2nd devastating fire in 2011. The author explores the possibility that the fires were deliberately set.
There is a great deal of local color, i.e., descriptions of foods, and interactions between Western visitors/ temporary interns and employees of a public interest non profit law firm. I enjoyed reading it and liked the ending.
One quote: Rakhi's home: "Letting out one of those big yawns that almost unhinges my jaw, I roll onto my side. Last night, flash rains banged down on my leaky tin roof like a herd of sharp clawed cats, The steady sound of water dripping into a plastic bucket would drive anyone else to tears, but I was grateful to be kept awake a little while longer."
#SuchBigDreams #NetGalley.
Thanks to Ballantine Books for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
Pub date 26 Apr 2022

This book follows Rakhi, a former street child who works for a human rights organization in Mumbai and lives in a slum. The story starts with the arrival of an intern from Canada who takes an interest in Rakhi’s future and her dreams. Rahki is confronted with her past while trying to move towards a positive future for herself.

I found this book very interesting. I think it’s important to read stories that aren’t set in America to gain perspective on issues in other countries. This book discussed poverty, class, politics, and other issues in India through Rahki’s story. Although I was interested in the story and Rahki’s character, I found myself struggling to get through it (which may have just been me not wanting to read in general). There’s a lot that happens without much happening. The book is fairly short but felt much longer to me. I still am glad I got to read it, though. It kind of reminded me of A Burning (maybe because of the role fire played in both stories) so if you enjoyed that book, you should check this one out.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine books for an ARC: Very good debut novel from a practicing attorney who wrote this over a decade. A compelling book exploring Rakhi, an orphaned, former street child who is now working as an office assistant at "Justice for All", a legal aide society, while living in a slum. The book has a compelling narrative and explores the complexity of social justice in a country where disparities are huge, no social safety nets exist, and corruption is rampant. Rakhi forms a "friendship" with a wealthy, entitled half Indian Canadian intern, and the limits of this friendship are tested. Her patronage from the director of Justice for All is also tested as the director seeks funding via private sources. The story was well written, the characters fully formed and Rakhi's story comes full circle as she finds her childhood mentor, Babloo, and discovers the reality of compromise that is necessary to live in Mumbai. Solid debut and great exploration of the realities of social justice.

"Such Big Dreams" gave me all the "The Girl With the Louding Voice" vibes, except set in India. It's an incredibly moving story of Rahki, a former street kid, who meets Alex, an intern at her employer, Justice For All. Alex pushes her to think beyond her life in Mumbai and what she really wants out of life.

The early part of the story moved a bit slow for me, however, by about the 40% mark, I found it to be incredibly engaging. I loved the development of Rahki's character and loved her perseverance and strength. I also felt like I walked away from it learning a bit more about the slums in India.

I recommend checking this one out!

4/5 stars

Thank you Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

SUCH BIG DREAMS
by Reema Patel
Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine
Pub Date: Apr 26

SUCH BIG DREAMS moved me to tears as I became immersed in the story of Rakhi, who lived on the streets of Mumbai from age seven to twelve. Through amazing resilience and help from a famous attorney who hires her as an assistant in a legal advocacy firm, Rakhi holds on to dreams that even the most wretched life circumstances can't extinguish. Heartbreaking and inspiring!

Thanks to the author, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#SuchBigDreams #ReemaPatel #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine #NetGalley #muticulturalfiction #fictionsetinmumbai #humanresilience #bookstagramcommunity

Rakhi is a young woman living in an unsavory part of Mumbai, and every night she’s haunted by dreams of fire. By day she works for an NGO called Justice for All, an organization of lawyers crusading for human rights. This is an absolutely fascinating book, and it opened my eyes to a world that I knew very little about. As a debut novel, it’s a great sign of things to come.

Where this book fell a little short for me was in the development of its characters. I never felt that I really got a good grasp on who these characters really are and what makes them memorable. The pacing is also a little uneven at times. Overall though, I really enjoyed reading this story and look forward to seeing more from Reema Patel.

Rakhi had a lot going on in her life, starting with a rough childhood and continuing into her adulthood. I enjoyed the story and it had me thinking about my life and my privilege. I can’t speak to the accuracy of the experiences, but it seemed to line up with things I’ve learned about India.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

A fascinating look into the life of one Indian girl and her push to survive and grow in a very challenging world. I was hoping for a bit of a different ending, but it makes sense to have ended it the way the author did.

Such big dreams was a good little read. The ending was excellent, and I liked the way that the book wrapped. There were a few places in the book and a few concepts in the book I felt like could've really been disentangled, particularly the sort of liberal helping ideology and toxic role of therapy in the book (or at least coerced therapy), but otherwise I very much enjoyed it.

Compelling story of a former street child who rose above to work in a human rights office. Rakhi is fiery and honest and it is so hard to see someone like her struggling against the injustice of living in a slum. This would be a great choice for a book club.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story really hooked me - difficult and moving. You feel like you’re in the world of the character.

This book made me feel like I was in the slums of India & living the life of someone there trying to find a way to a better life. It was sad & hopeful at the same time. Use of Hindi terms was a good way to get into a deep dive in the culture & terminology, but I had to look them up as I didn’t know what they meant. It might be helpful to include the translations in a glossary. I would recommend reading this book for an idea of what it’s like in India.

I really struggled to get into this book. It didn't seem to be going anywhere until the last 130 pages, when everything clicked together and started rolling. I did find the flashbacks of Rakhi's time on the streets very interesting, and her character's development was exceptional. The theme of reinventing yourself was impactful. I definitely feel like I learned a bit about life in India, just not in a very enjoyable way. A glossary of all the Indian terms and foods used in the book is desperately needed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for access to this arc.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review. This book was honestly hard to put down! It follows the story of a young woman who had grown up on the streets of Mumbai and was trying to make her way in life by working for a small human rights law firm. As the book progresses, she discovers that nobody is who they seem to be and that only she can create the life she wants for herself. A sad and yet uplifting boo, I highly recommend this incredible debut.