This review will be posted on April 20, 2022 to: https://instagram.com/amandas.bookshelf

It was beautiful to be in Rakhi's head as I read this. She is such a resilient character who goes through tremendous growth over the course of the novel. I rooted so hard for her to not just have a happy ending, but to grow into the person she was always meant to be and to (finally) live life on her own terms. Bombay/Mumbai was an important character in the novel because the city defined so much of Rakhi's life. It was alive and defined so vividly. The lingering effects of colonialism and the caste system is infused in every part of the city and the country. I don't know too much about these topics other than elementary facts, but it was fascinating to learn about them indirectly by reading about Rakhi's life and the scenes of Bombay/Mumbai. #SuchBigDreams Rating: 😊 / really liked it
•
This book is scheduled for publication on May 10, 2022. Thank you Ballantine Books and @randomhouse for providing me this digital ARC via @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I'd like to start by saying that this was such a great debut book by this author! Loved the visuals that author gives us. Such vivid visuals! Secondly, I loved the main character development and her growth! And lastly, this book was hard for me to put down! Just, WOW

I just finished this book and know that I will be continuing to think about it for quite a while. This was such an interesting journey into India, it's customs and it's injustices.

The story revolves around a feisty and street-smart homeless girl, turned office worker named Rahki, who reminisces about her prior years throughout this book. While fleeing from her father, Rahki became a child of the streets of India. She quickly met a young homeless boy, Babloo, who folded her into his group. After a devastating incident, she ends up in an orphanage run by nuns. She is introduced to Gauri, a social justice lawyer, who sees unrealized potential in Rahki and commits to hiring Rahki to work in her office and set her life on the right path. Although Gauri seems to have the best of intentions, she is controlling, and requires and expects much from Rahki.

The story explores the vastly different class systems in India. The law firm that Gauri runs has a big case involving the destruction of one slum area. Money always seeming to be behind so many of the many unfair situations discussed. Rahki builds a friendship with a summer intern from the US who leads her to believe that she achieve more. Which then begs the question, what is more? The measure of success and/or happiness is so different for everyone.

A life fraught with so much loss and destitution, I loved that Rakhi finally found her own sense of self. She was a master at picking herself up and starting over. She had no choice other than that. I really enjoyed becoming ensconced in the city of Bombay (although I definitely think that my claustrophobia would NOT do well there) and this story. Definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballentine for the ARC to read and review.

Rakhi, orphaned, lives on the streets of Bombay, running with a gang of other children who survive by stealing. A judge sends her to a strict girls’ home where she is eventually liberated by a do-gooder activist lawyer who gives her a menial position in her legal office. It is Alex, a Canadian office intern, who spends time with her and encourages her to advance past this position. She has spent years searching for Babloo, her street companion. Through her flashbacks we see the troubled life she shared with him. Now living in a slum on low wages, she witnesses the hypocrisy of her employer who dismisses the integrity of the law firm to cater to so-called celebrities who have the money she needs. The rights of women and the poor which she publicly espouses seem not so important when the truth is presented to her. Reema Patel depicts a sad and lonely existence for Rakhi. As her story progresses, many people turn against her. She is a character I want to succeed, despite all opposing forces.

“Such Big Dreams” is the story of Rakhi. She is a young woman living on the streets of Mumbai who goes to work for an woman she calls Gaudí Ma’am. This lady takes her off the streets and gives her a job as n office assistant in her NGO Justice for All. There she meets an Indian intern living in Canada who interns at the firm. He is related to a has-been actress who is partnering with the NGO to raise their profile and help slums like the one Rahki lives in. A series of events take place that put Rahki back on the streets, the difference being that this time she’s there on her own terms.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing the ARC for this book. I was hoping to enjoy it much more than I actually did, since I enjoy books set in India like The Henna Artist. However, this story dragged on a bit too much for my taste.

What a stunning portrait of the many injustices of the legal justice system in India. Through the journey of our main character, a young woman who grew up on the streets and fought her way into a job as an assistant for a human rights organization, we see hypocrisy, injustice, and the underlying issues that exist in too many NGOs up close and personal. The end result was none too surprising, but the epilogue was a solid conclusion to a good book. While many of the social issues depicted in this book are not unique to India, the vivid pictures the author portrayed. throughout really made you feel like you were standing right there on the crowded train platform or busy street beside our main characters.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Strong characters and character development, a well written story about trauma, life and making your best of it.

Such Big Dreams touched me deeply. I’m not sure I how to give this review for the tears in my eyes for the people that live in the slums of Mumbai.
The people that dream about getting out as orphans, as teens and as adults.
Where the government and local rich people might burn down the slum where you live as you sleep, to build a hotel that you could never enter. Where rarely, someone might come into your life and teach you a skill; be it pick pocketing for a gang or how to work in a small office for reform. There in lies the hope for each Mumbai person, that there will be a better day down the road.
Reema Patel has woven this story that lives on in this American woman’s heart.

**𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘. 𝑺𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝑩𝒊𝒈 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑴𝒂𝒚 10𝒕𝒉.

Rakhi works for a law office in Mumbai and has a past full of trauma. Her parents died when she was young and she was forced to live on the streets. After some trouble she is taken in by a famous lawyer who runs an organization called Justice for All and given a fresh start and a job. Rakhi meets lots of people while working here, including Alex, a naive intern from Canada. Alex begs Rakhi to show him the "real India" and in exchange he will help her reach her goals. As Rakhi gets to know Alex more, her past and her plans for the future collide in this heartbreaking, poignant and stunning novel.

I felt immersed in Rakhi's story and life in Mumbai. She was inspiring, resilient, persistent, smart and brave. The story illustrates the clash of class or caste within India by showing Rahki's life compared to those she works with or for. The story also portrays that corruption and evil politics show up everywhere. I devoured this story and couldn't put it down. I loved that the story was told in the present and past . I would have loved to see more of Rakhi's past. I loved the use of the (what I think is) Hindi because it made the story and book more authentic, real and raw but I would have appreciated a glossary in helping identify some of the terms. I wasn't always able to find the words/translations when I searched them on google. I do have an arc and hope that something like this is included in a finished copy. Overall this is an extraordinary debut novel by Reema Patel.

Such Big Dreams was a heart wrenching and powerful debut from this author. It was so beautifully written. The descriptions were vivid. The characters were well fleshed out, and I really enjoyed the characterization and growth of the main character Rhaki. I truly enjoyed this book, and found it hard to put down! I look forward to reading more books by Patel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had a hard time getting into this until the halfway point. I loved the strong female lead and seeing her character development throughout the story. I wish there was more character development with the side characters. It was so interesting reading about India. The details helped bring the story to life and it helped learn more about the culture. This story discusses hard topics in such a perfect way that help add to the story. I think this is a really good debut novel.

This was a dnf for me. Thank you to the author and the publishing company for giving me a chance with this one.

A small kernel of hope is found in a book that takes place in a very hopeless place where corruption and selfishness are everywhere.

Our main character, Rakhi, lives in a Mumbai slum while working as an office assistant. She scrapes by with what she has. At no point does the book feel hopeless. Like you know that the book will never have her win the grand prize or that someone will magically fix all of the problems. But you can trust that Rakhi will come out of it because she knows rock bottom and how to survive. And it's a captivating journey to follow.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

Rakhi survived an upbringing that would have ruined most people. After spending years living on the street with a small group of children, one poor decision threatened to send her to prison. Instead, Rakhi is spared that life and encounters a lawyer that makes it her mission to pull her out of the gutters and into a better life. Rakhi trades one set of shadows for another as she works in a law office that advocates for human rights. Wealth, western saviors, and ambition combine to change Rakhi's life in ways that reveal the corrupt nature of doing business. Rakhi's lack of experience leads her to trust the wrong people as their survival instincts take advantage of her good nature. Reema Patel wrote a rich novel that was a bit too dark for my preference. The main character is fully developed and I wanted to know how her story would end, but the rest of the characters were ill defined and the names were difficult to keep up with.

This book reminded me of the movie Slumdog Millionaire mainly because it shed light on the harsh realities of slums and homelessness in modern day Mumbai. Set in Mumbai, the book follows Rakhi who is trying to make changes in her life. However, she seems to struggle with leveraging opportunities that could influence her future in a positive way. This is partially due to her past which continues to haunt her. I applaud Reema's portrayal of Rakhi. She was a very complex and intense character. At times you would find yourself rooting for her and cheering her on. But other times her choices would leave you feeling so frustrated. The author weaved in several themes including identity, privilege, and the stigma that continues to exist with mental health. Overall this was a good read. The first half felt very slow to me but things did pick up in the second half.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

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.