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.

This book is heartbreaking yet so incredibly hopeful. It shines such a bright light on the slums and underprivileged in India. Rakhi is a character that will stay with me. She wiggles and works her way into your heart through the whole book and at the end you are hurting with her and pulling for her to achieve her big dreams.

In this novel, the MC is a former street urchin turned human rights law practice assistant. She is haunted by events from her past and from the difficulties of her present. She pairs up with a Ivy League assistant who wants to see the "real India" in return for helping her better position herself for her future. She must examine the reality of her life and how her past and future collide. The book is interesting in that it gives an unflinching examination of the reality of life in India.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

Such Big Dreams was a fantastic look at the ethical dilemmas associated with voluntourism and saviorism written through the eyes of a hard-working character living in Mumbai/Bombay.

I loved the focus on self-agency while acknowledging the impact a helping hand can provide. I found that while the author herself volunteered in India, there was remarkable understanding of her role and insight into the aftereffects. Any minor complaint I had about the story is overshadowed by the learning experience I had.

It was a beautiful story as the main character discovered her power and I highly recommend it to anyone considering placing themselves at the center of a mission trip or internship abroad for personal growth. You are not the architect of anyone else’s story but you can do good through empowerment and true empathy rather than performative actions.

Thank you @randomhouse and @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In many ways, Such Big Dreams reminds me of A Burning and Honor. These three books tackle head on the injustices of the legal system in India. In the case of Such Big Dreams, we're introduced to Rakhi, who grew up on the streets of Mumbai, but finds herself working at Justice For All, a human rights NGO engaged in public interest litigation, as an office assistant after meeting Gauri Ma'am, the head of Justice For All, who becomes Rakhi's patron of sorts.

If you're looking for character development, Such Big Dreams is not the book for you. I had a slight issue with the jump between the ending and the epilogue. But if you're looking for more insights into the NGO world and corporate-government collusion through the medium of a fiction novel, then you'll probably love it. Having taken a sabbatical from corporate law to do human rights work for the past year, I can attest to the accuracy of Patel's portrayals -- honestly, Such Big Dreams can only come from someone who is jaded after getting up close and personal with the "ugly" of the NGO world. The foreign interns who think they're better than local lawyers? Check. The unpaid internships? Check. NGOs selling out for funding? Check. Corporate-government collusion? Check.

Such Big Dreams didn't shock me because of my own personal experiences with the NGO world, but it is a memorable book about money, power, and injustice nonetheless and I can tell the author put alot of heart and research into it (do read the author's note at the end). Such Big Dreams is a testament to how flimsy the legal system is, how frequent it bows down to money and power, and how ethics disappear when money comes into the picture.

**Note to publisher: This review will be posted to bookstagram @movedbyprose closer to publication day**

Such Big Dreams is a debut novel about Rakhi, a former street child who now works as an office assistant in the office of a legal nonprofit. She’s still poor and lives in a Mumbai slum. When Alex arrives from Canada as an intern for the nonprofit, he latches on to Rakhi and wants her to show him the “real India”, not the upper class bubble his aunt and uncle live in. Meanwhile, the head of the nonprofit is approached by an aging star to help raise the profile of the NGO.
Patel does a fabulous job of giving us a real sense of place. Rakhi may not have had much formal education, but she’s smart and understands things intuitively. She especially understands the logistics of being poor in India. As she tells Alex, “ You are reading…But you are not living here. You know nothing about India.” And, as the story goes on, she is one of the few that sees the hypocrisy of the rich and famous. “A procession of people with homes - some of them living in high rise luxury flats built on the remains of slums -shouting about how housing is a human right.”
As the book goes on, it gets darker. Rakhi sees just how evil people can be when money is involved. It’s a sad testament to how few people can be trusted.
Make sure to read The Author’s Note. I was unaware the Behrampada slum fire was a real event. She raises some interesting questions here and the book would make a fabulous book club selection.
My one problem with the book is she includes a large number of Indian words without providing a translation. While I could sometimes infer the meaning, I had to google quite a few of them to make sure I was grasping the definition. And some of those I googled were, let’s say, very colorful.
My thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advance copy of this book.