This novel was both gritty and compelling. It tells the story of Rakhi who has been living on the streets of the Mumbai slums. While hard to read, it’s definitely one of those books that’s worth giving a chance.

From the book summary, I expected this story to be far more positive. What I took away from it is Rakhi being endlessly and unfairly treated by many people in her life. So much of the book is this way, with very little being anything at all related to any big dream. I will say the epilogue felt very realistic, which is what saved my rating for this book at 3 stars. Otherwise, I found this book to be a very sad, hard read.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a solid debut. Rakhi was an interesting character to follow. I found her journey of discovery the hypocrisy of the people who claimed to be to be helping her very interesting. I did find the book a little slow. I also struggled to keep some of the characters straight but I listened on audio which I think made it more harder to follow. I did feel like I was missing some things due to not understanding all of the cultural references. My biggest issue was I felt like I was waiting for the big thing to happen that was going to give the story the arc which I feel like never really happened until a little bit at the end.

One of the things I really enjoyed was the setting. This is the first book I’ve read that was set in India and I enjoyed learning more about the culture.

Overall, this was a 3.5 for me. Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine, and Random House Publishing for a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. The setting is the most intriguing part of this story. It tends to run a little slow and I found myself feeling like I was missing things due to not understanding some of the cultural references.

Date made up. I feel behind on reviews.

I enjoyed this debut novel about a former street child, Rakhi, who has grown up. While she holds a job in the office of a social justice law firm, her boss takes every moment to let her know how “less than” she is. But Rahki, who still lives in a large slum, is strong and never gives up. She has hopes of a better life in the hotel industry.

Rakhi is underestimated and despite having to jump through all kinds of hoops, she never gives up. This was a good book and I look forward to reading another from this author.

Such Big Dreams by Reema Patel

326 Pages
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
Release Date: May 10, 2022

Fiction (Adult), General Fiction (Adult), Multicultural, India, Mumbai

Rakhi has had a hard life. Her parents were killed when she was a child, and she was forced to live on the street. At twelve years old, was placed in a girls’ home. The woman, Gauri Ma’am, who sent her to the home promised Rakhi a job if she stayed at the home until she finished school. Once she left the home, she began working at a human rights law office, Justice For All, doing lowly office work (making tea and running errands). She learned English and lived in her own apartment but must follow all the rules of the office to satisfy her boss. After being caught stealing, she goes to counseling and promises not to do it again.

When Alex, a Canadian college student, comes to work as an intern, he tells Rakhi she could be so much more. He fills her with dreams of going to college and working in the hotel industry. Alex is part Indian, so he wants to be accepted as Indian but uses his White male first world country privilege in the poor country. She begins taking Alex around Mumbai but her two worlds begin to collide. He is related to the woman Rakhi stole from and when he finds out things get ugly quickly.

The book has a good pace, the characters are well developed, and it is written in the first person point of view. Rakhi is a relatable character and as a survivor, does whatever it takes to live. The hierarchy and treatment of personnel in the law office is believable. This book is emotional from start to finish. The author shows the strength of Rakhi’s character in her writing. If you like multicultural books, you will enjoy reading this one.

Such Big Dreams by Reema Patel provides a thought-provoking look at the slums of Mumbai while introducing readers to a captivating protagonist Rakhi, who constantly strives for more.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

Rakhi was orphaned and lives in the slums in India. She has a mentor who employs her and watches over her, but her life is very hard. The story follows her working hard to better her life, and the many pitfalls that make it difficult. It is heartbreaking but hopeful, and you really root for her to succeed. #suchbigdreams #reemapatel #bookstagram #netgalley #booklover #lovetoread #booksbooksbooks #reader #bookreview #bookrecommendations #readallday #bookblog #booksaremagic #bookloversofinstagram #readersofinstagram

This beautiful debut novel centers on Rakhi, a woman in her early 20's who lives in a Mumbai slum and works for a human rights organization. Rakhi spent some of her childhood living on the streets with a group of other street children. The novel flashes back to Rakhi's childhood, giving us greater understanding of her as a character as she navigates interactions with various people in her home and office life. I loved Patel's beautiful writing and deep exploration of so many parts of India - the vibrancy of the culture, the class system, and peeks into the corruption that is sometimes present. Patel uses many Hindi words throughout her writing and even though I needed to google some of them to get the exact meaning, I loved this aspect. Language is so important and sometimes a translation into another language just doesn't 100% fit. While the English speaking reader may miss out on some of the small nuances in these words, we can get the gist and this would make the book all the more rich for bilingual readers or readers raised with Hindi speaking parents who may have heard them use some of these terms throughout the years. I did drop one star for pacing, as I did feel like the plot dragged at times and the narrative could have been tightened up slightly, but overall a great read!

I was expecting a little more from this book. I just kept waiting for the *big thing* that was going to happen to give the story an arc, but the closest it came was in the last 5% of the book. Regardless, I enjoyed reading Such Big Dreams. I haven’t read many books set in India, so the cultural aspect was really interesting to me. A solid 3-star read.

I loved this book! A beautifully-written, unique and compelling story set in a Mumbai described so vividly you can almost feel it. Wonderfully imperfect characters, a fast-moving storyline and deeper themes around well-intentioned but ultimately misguided foreign charity come together to form a spectacular debut. Highly recommended and I look forward to seeing more from Reema Patel.

In the vein of Girl with a Louding Voice we follow a young woman who has had a rough life and strives for more. Our main character lives in the slums of Mumbai but is able to get a job at a law firm for Civil Justice. Once a new co worker, Alex, joins, the world of opportunities opens up some. We also learn about our main character's past and a horrible tragedy that happened when she was 12. I enjoyed the story though it probably wasnt the biggest stand out. That said I do love stories of Indian women and was in Mumbai in early 2000s so understand the landscape of the slums. It so devastating and the caste system there is still very real. Overall a good look at a different culture and life and a strong woman.

Such Big Dreams isn't exactly the type of book that I would normally pick up for myself. However, I definitely did enjoy the read and it was a very impressive debut. Main character Rakhi grows up so beautifully right in front of us as she recalls being younger and living on the street and leading up to her standing up for what she feels is right in her adult life.

This book was a good narrative about how sometimes businesses make decisions based on money and popularity, even if it goes against some of the morals that the same company had previously stood for. It gave a glimpse into the lives in India. However, I will say I wished for more. Rakhi also uses quite a bit of Hindi, which is great and I love when books do this. But, there was no explanation for these words and not enough context clues for us to figure them out. That may have helped.

I wanted to like this but it just ended up being okay for me. I thought it was way too slowly paced and not a whole lot happens for a majority of the book. I like where it ended up, where Rahki got to, but the journey there was not interesting enough and barely held my attention.

This was a wonderful, eye-opening story. About a girl, forced to raise herself at a very young age, she was at the mercy of everyone else after her parents died. Fast forward to her being an adult, she's now working for an attorney in an office who fights for the underdogs - mainly those involved in unfair treatment by landlords and government.

I found Rahki's voice and perspective unique. There are not a lot of books that focus on children living on the streets in Mumbai (or the slums). Rahki's POV was also unique as she tried to understand walking the fine line of growing up defined by the worst moment of her life (a moment when she was 12) and trying to find her own voice and independance as she grew up and got older. I loved her perspective of the interns, the confusion around Alex and Babloo and the details of her life experiences. Her push to find out who she was, her outrage to call out injustice, made me cheer for her the whole book. I was so invested in what woud happen, I hung on every word. This was a great read.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This is a fascinating look at Mumbai which I visited in 1974 when I was in college on Semester at Sea. Protagonist Rakhi works for Justice For All as an office assistant. But when new intern, Alex arrives things change quickly as she has many of her own ideas but is often forced to do what others expect her to do. Living in the slums, she tries to hide this fact as many of her co-workers make snide remarks which of course hurts her feelings. But now she is thrown into circumstances she is unaware of and forced to make decisions she might not make on her own. This is an in-depth look at a country and people who are often un-noticed and Patel brings a fresh perspective to this incredible novel!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Such Big Dreams is an insteresting story of a former street kid who now works as an office assistant at a civil rights law firm. The book takes a hard look at the Bombay slums, gangs, equal rights, and what it means to better yourself in life. I thought the writing was great and the characters were strong. I did not understand some of the terms in the story but that did not stop me from enjoying it.

This is a Rakhi support page, first and foremost. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It made me mad, suspicious, emotional, and proud all in the span of 326 pages and I honestly want more. At its core, this book is about choosing yourself in a world where people will keep choosing for you. It was honestly heartbreaking to see the people that Rakhi thought were he strongest support system consistently disappoint me as a reader and I have to say. There were some people I never trusted (cough cough Alex), but seeing how everything else played out was the upsetting reminder that money and power will always win no matter how much you try. Seeing the growth Rakhi showed throughout her story and coming to terms with the choices she had to make kept me hooked in.
A quick note for the author: I loved how Patel wrote Rakhi’s actions and internal dialogue. There was no question on what the tone of the book was and seeing her interact with all these people that see her as just some slum dweller rather than the intelligent person she actually is so well told. I also loved the inclusion of the Hindi language in the story. It adds to the storytelling, Rakhi’s voice, and it helps me as the reader get immersed into the culture.

After the death of her parents, Bhansari was sent to an uncle’s home, but when that didn’t work out, she ran away to Mumbai, where she connected with a group of street kids willing to take her in and show her what was needed to survive. Babloo, the eldest boy, was the group leader, and changed her name to Rakhi after a popular actress. The group survived by stealing from tourists, sleeping on the streets, and dodging the police, but when Babloo has an MP3 player and asks a street vendor about it, the man grabs it from him and stomps on it. Babloo and Rakhi plan revenge, burning the man’s stall and setting him ablaze as well. The two were arrested, and Babloo takes the blame, going to prison while Rakhi is sent to a girls’ school.

An attorney takes an interest in Rakhi, and sends her for English lessons and offers her a job at Justice For All once she is released from the home. While Rakhi is grateful for the job, she feels stuck, still living in a slum and spending her days brewing tea and cleaning up after the other office workers. When a young intern from Canada named Alex arrives, he fills Rakhi’s head with many possibilities for her life’s trajectory that do not involve Justice For All nor the slums she is living in.

Rakhi is a strong young woman, who has survived more than anyone should have to in their lifetime, and I felt the frustration of just going around in circles, get up to go to work, to go home and sleep, to get up and do it all over again. I kept waiting for something different to happen, and while it eventually did, the book ended before we see if she succeeded in her new role. Not having any experience with this area of the world, I was curious and excited to learn about Mumbai, but I feel as though I was trapped within Rakhi’s struggle.

I felt like this book was laying it on thick to get us to FEEL THINGS but it felt flat and forced to me.