Theatrical connections made me request this debut novel with a strange name in the title. I wasn't sure about the part concerning an Bengali American family dealing with the death of a teenage daughter. I didn't know a family like this one, but I knew Howell, New Jersey.

FIRST SENTENCE: "The wooden box was simple, elegant even."

THE STORY: A touching, charmingly funny, story about what happens to a family shattered by the death of their daughter. Keya Das had just come out to her family and they were still struggling to understand. Shantanu discovers his daughter's unfinished script in the attic and that begins the family's journey to forgiveness and a staged production of "The Elm Tree".

WHAT I THOUGHT: The unexpected twists and turns were surprising. Scattering Bengali words and beliefs added another level of understanding. Every character is so well drawn with failings and quirks and humanity. Clear and beautiful writing makes the book a joy to read.

Touchstones that drew me in: Howell, New Jersey; the musical Rock of Ages; mounting a production of a script; George Street Theatre in New Brunswick; mentions of Linn Manual Miranda; improv classes; Carnegie Mellon University; drums and more. Deb admitted in an interview that he was a self-described 'theatre kid'. Me too. How could I not love this book?

And the ending was exactly what it needed to be leaving the reader to consider how the world will go forward.

BOTTOM LINE: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

DISCLAIMER: I received a free e-copy of "Keya Das's Second Act" by Sopan Deb from NetGalley/Simon & Schuster for my honest review.

This was a solid read about a family picking up the pieces after the death of a loved one. It also was a character study of a sort, following a couple of the family members individually and how they made life choices as a result. Surprisingly though, I found the story to move a bit slowly and move away from the essence of the story that I was enjoying towards the beginning. 3 stars 🌟. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy for review.

In all honesty, I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. The characters and their lives are complex and beautiful. Deb kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! Coming out is hard enough, especially when there's the added immigrant/Asian American pressure. As an Asian American myself, I felt Keya's fears and heartbreak. I saw myself in this story. Her family's regrets are complicated and I found myself conflicted on how to feel about them at the end. They killed who Keya was and there were consequences to that, but their new love and support for her, while too late, is hard to dismiss. What a unique way to rekindle Keya and Pamela's love. I love this book and highly recommend it.

Shantanu and Chaitali had their lives turned upside-down when their daughter came out to them. While they probably didn't handle it the best, they tried to navigate this new reality. Unfortunately, a tragic accident made it so they couldn't fully show the love their daughter needed and their regrets haunted their family- leading to divorce and practical estrangement.

But then a box is found in the attic that changes everything. It's a play that outlines Keya's life and inner thoughts. When Keya's sister, Mitali shares it with a new friend, an incredible idea sparks- to present it Off-Broadway. We get to watch the process of finding directors, venues, donors, and so much more that goes into taking a show to NYC. I was fascinated by the process and how much money it cost!

Overall a good book. I don't know enough about the Bengali community to comment on the authenticity of that culture as presented, but I did enjoy the glimpses we were given. While this story does have its roots in the LGBTQ community, I felt the overarching theme was family and familial love.

Thanks go NetGalley and Simon Schuster for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am tearing up while writing the review of this masterpiece debut novel Keya Dad’s Second Act by Sopan Deb! ! This book has touched to the core of my heart and will stay with me for a long long time!

Living with the loss of a child is one of the most gruesome and hardest thing any parents will have to go through their life. In Keya Dad’s Second Act, Bengali American family loses their teenage daughter Keya, shortly after she came out as gay! Her family members are mourning her death but also bearing the truth that they were not accepting of her while she was alive.

This was one of the most heart wrenching story I have read that had me in tears throughout and Ihighly recommend this literary fiction to every parent! Book it on July 5, 2022

Thank you Simonandschuster , Simon.audio , NetGalley and SopanDeb for the complimentary finished copy and audiobook! This book has made an everlasting impression on me!

This fell a little flat for me. I love reading books about other cultures and this was great for learning about the Bengali culture. I'm not sure what it was, but maybe the characters didn't feel developed enough for me. I also didn't understand why we learned so much about Neesh's backstory, and then when I found out, it still wasn't interesting enough for me. I would have liked going back in time to Keya and Mitali's high school days instead.

KEYA DAS'S SECOND ACT
Overall, this book was gorgeous in such a human way. I definitely think it's a super accessible read.

WHAT I LIKED
I absolutely love the beginning. It set the tone for the rest of the book.
The descriptions were so fitting to the vibe of the novel. Like it wasn't crazy poetic, but that made perfect sense and it lent itself to making the entire thing feel extremely raw and real.
I fell in love with the characters almost immediately. While they're endearing, they're also so vulnerable and they seem like people I could meet.
The dialogue was fresh and sometimes awkward but in a great way. Like a conversation you would overhear
I LOVE the family dynamic so much, especially between Shantanu and his mom.
The exposition was quick and also consistently paced, so no infodumping but also giving out info in a logical way.
The first date scene was honestly adorable
This is the most distinct limited third person dual pov I have ever read. In any sentence I could instantly tell which character it was.
The book had a perfect balance of emotions. It made me laugh and cry, sometimes back to back but it never felt contrived while doing it
The subplot between Mitali and Neesh was so engaging. I loved it.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Sometimes, the therapist's dialogue felt stilted and weird, not something in my experience that an actual therapist would say
I wish that the coming out cnoversation hadn't been revealed at the beginning, like there were bits and pieces to make it seem like more of a mystery at first. I guess that wasn't the direction this book was trying to go but it would have been extremely engaging if it were a more plot focused book and I think it would be an interesting choice. Same thing with how she'd actually died. I wanted that reveal so much later.
I would have loved to connect more with Keya and feel like she was still present even after her death, seeing as she is technically the title character. I wish they had been more "haunted" by her.
I wish that Mitali and Neesh were teenagers or in college- they didn't seem like adults to me at all.

I was excited to read this one. Heartbreaking and such an interesting story. This deals with a family struggling through the grief of their daughter.

The pacing took a while to get used to, as well as the flopping of characters' views. However, by the end of the book, it was seamless to get through.

This was wonderful and moving. Truly a triumph story for everyone to read.

I loved this book! It is a moving, riveting and very profound portrait of family life for diasporic Indians. I would have loved to hear\know a little more from Keya, the main protagonist in the story. However, the author provides a humane, honest narrative about love, loss, forgiveness and redemption. The last few pages brought a lump to my throat and I am recommending it to everyone!

Keya Das died while her family was grappling with her revelation of being gay. In the aftermath of her death, her father, mother, and sister slowly became estranged from one another. Now at the 5 year anniversary of her death, her family members' paths to healing converge unexpectedly.

This was an okay and generally uplifting read. It's simultaneously a story about one family and their loss and a story about a group of people coming together, mostly focused on different stories within the Indian American diaspora. I especially enjoyed the father's POV as he tries to figure out what kind of man/person he is now and tries to forgive himself.

There are lots of POVs, including those of characters who are not Keya's immediate family and I think this ultimately detracts from the overall story, since some of them felt a bit flat or oddly detailed when not in the family. I almost wish, it was just about one or two characters. For me, the second half really picked up, but the end is a "write-your-own-ending" type and I felt cheated in this case.

Overall, its a story about love and healing from a loss by bringing people together in a creative way, and it's a decent read.

Thank you to Simon And Schuster and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the e-book.

I was sent this book from Netgalley and went into it without really knowing what it was about. Keya comes out to her family and they don’t take it well. They stop speaking and before anyone could make amends, she ends up dying in a car accident. The Das’s are racked with guilt and grief. They find Keya’s play written with her high school girlfriend Pamela and decide to put it on to honor her.

I appreciate what this book tried to be but ultimately it didn’t deliver to what I expected. One thing that really bothered me was that, Keya’s sisters boyfriend Neesh is not an important character at all and he gets so much page time. I actually skimmed his multiple chapters. I don’t get why it was added and I think it took away from the story. I just think we needed more Keya and Pamela interactions from the past to kind of learn more about her.

2.5 rounding up, thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Keya Das’s Second Act was a really moving novel on how the creative ways a family can process their grief. Keya comes out to her family and her family shuns her. They are Bengali and they have sacrificed so much for their daughter to have a better life. When Keya tragically passes away, her family is left broken with grief and heavy with remorse. They would do anything to be able to tell Keya that they love her and accept her.

When her dad is cleaning out the attic one day, he stumbles across many letters and an unfinished manuscript written by Keya and her girlfriend. Keya’s dad decides the only way to honor their lost daughter is to put on her play. The novel focuses a lot on each family member’s grief and their growth throughout their loss. I loved this book. It was raw and honest and beautifully written! I only wish the book had been longer! I would have loved to read more about the actual play and the story it tells. I look forward to reading more from this author!

The death of Keya, Shantanu’s daughter, ripped the family apart, and the fallout continues nearly five years later. As Shantanu decides to move on with his life and get rid of things, he discovers a box in the attic filled with notes between his late-daughter and her girlfriend, as well as a work-in-progress manuscript written by the couple. This finding encourages the family to at least begin talking again. Mitali, Shantanu’s other daughter, is encouraged by a man she’s dating to produce the play. But with that, comes additional hardships in not just dealing with the decisions of the past but connecting with those important to Keya.

Keya Das’s Second Act is a story of family drama, understanding, and redemption, as the family gets a chance to right past wrongs. I truly enjoyed this novel and found myself staying up late to read “just one more chapter”. The characters felt real, and the reader bears witness to their growth throughout the book.

This book still sticks with me after reading it, and I’ve recommended this book to others on that basis.

A fantastic debut novel by Sopan Deb. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC. All thoughts in this review are honest and my own.

Thanks to Netgalley, for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The book centers around a Bengali American family, which has fallen apart. Keya, the younger daughter, came out to her family as gay, and the reaction of all of them, father, mother, and older sister, was upsetting and lacking in love and understanding - basically, this is just a phase, maybe you should get help to "get over it." Soon after, Keya dies in an automobile accident, and the family falls apart. Shantanu, the father, takes to heavy drinking, and Chaitali, the mother, leaves for another man. Mitali, the older sister has little to do with either parent.

Finally, Shantanu decides it's time to start moving on, so begins going through the attic. He finds a box, with love notes between Keya and her girlfriend, Pamela, and an unfinished play. He shows it to Mitali, who also shows it to her boyfriend Neesh, and they decide that producing the play would be a good tribute to Keya, and would help them assuage their guilt. Even Chaitali and her new husband agree to help finance the production, and Pamela agrees to participate and finish writing the play.

The most enticing part of this book is the growth of the characters, both as individuals and in their relationships to each other. All of the characters are basically decent people, although certainly people who have made mistakes. As they work through this production, we see them growing in understanding, and in developing relationshps and in realizing the mistakes they have made and how they can try to grow beyond them.

It sounds sappy, but it really winds up being a feel good story. Not in an unrealistic, happily ever after, sort of way - but in a very real way, that people can learn from mistakes, open up to other people, and move on to keep trying to work toward a happier life.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for gifting me a digital ARC of the debut novel by Sopan Deb - 4.5 stars rounded up!

The Das family is in crisis - when teenager Keya comes out as gay to her parents, their reaction crushes her. When she dies, everyone blames themselves and the family dynamics are blown up. Parents Shantanu and Chaitali, divorce which causes a separation from their Bengali community. Older sister, Mitali, never gets close to anyone until she meets Neesh. When Shantanu finds a box of love letters and an unfinished play in the attic that Keya wrote, Neesh comes up with an idea for redemption for all of them.

I really loved this group of flawed characters, desperate for second chances and their family whole in some fashion. It's about grief and pain and those moments we wish we could take back. But it's also about redemption and moving on, forgiving each other and ourselves. Wonderful debut - can't wait to read more from this author!

This is a story about grief, forgiveness, and healing. The emotional journey the characters go through is both heartbreaking and inspiring. The story is not all heavy either, there is plenty of humor in it as well. It is just an all -around beautiful story that reminds us to love and accept each other for who we are before it is too late, a very timely message.

Even having read the publisher's summary, I wasn't quite prepared for all that is this book. It is so much more than the simple story of trying to make peace with the past. Even though Keya is dead, her character plays a large role in the plot, and I wish it had been larger. I feel like many of the characters could have been filled in more, but that is probably me and not how most readers will feel having read the book. The characters felt real. I really enjoyed the awkwardness that they felt with each other and their push to produce Keya's play despite those feelings. While I don't feel like the wrongs of the past were righted (as the publisher's blurb says), Keya is still dead and died estranged from her family, I do feel like the sense of found extended family brought comfort to those she left behind. In whole, this was a sweet bittersweet book about holding dear those you love and accepting them for who they are. Always a good reminder and well shown in this story.

Really enjoyed this debut book! It's got a lot of heart and will make you tear up a few times. I thought the characters were all strong and they all served a really strong purpose in the story. I always love a family drama and this didn't disappointed. Bonus points for being fast and hard to put down!! I would definitely recommend adding this one to your list.

This is a hopeful, heartful book about family, moving on, and growing through grief. All of the main characters were believable, and my heart ached for the loss of Keya. I wanted to root for her family to improve and grow. As a theatre professional/nerd from New Jersey, I loved those aspects of the book. The only things that took away from it for me were a few plot points that were just on the line of far-fetched. However, overall, I loved the strong aspect of Bengali-American culture, doing right by a lost loved one, and coming together in community through grief to create something truly special. I will definitely be recommending this book to friends.

A poignant and moving debut novel that explores identity, grief and the meaning of family. Five years have passed since the death of Keya Das, one of two daughters of Shantanu and Chaitali. The death of Keya caused the Das family to splinter. Shantanu and Chaitali divorced and their remaining eldest daughter Mitali left for New York City. Most importantly, the Das family lives each day with regret that they were not accepting of their teenage daughter Keya after opening up to the family of her being a lesbian. As the anniversary of Keya's death approaches, Shantanu utterly alone at home decides it's time for him to move on. When clearing up the home, Shantanu discovers a box tucked away in the attic with Keya's unfinished play manuscript. This one surprising discovery leads the Das family to stage the play in honor of Keya's memory and their chance to make amends.

I was mainly drawn to this story due to the creativity element which was theater. I thought the idea was intriguing and definitely captured my attention. The main theme of the story touches on the complex family drama. Sopan Deb effortlessly exhibits grief in multiple layers for each of the Das family differently. Deb isn't afraid to be open and raw when confronting devastation. The difficult experiences are well translated through the characters' minuscule detailed moments that ring across the page. The process of staging a play forces the family to confront their past and their unresolved conflicts. The parallel dynamic in the unfolding of the play and the family reconnection was beautifully shaped. I truly connected with the Shantanu character. I loved the growth and the journey of self-discovery he experiences. One quibble about this novel was on the character Neesh. I honestly felt like Neesh's presence was a little confusing. He wasn't related to the family yet he played a great role and we learn about his back story the most than the Das family. Including Neesh's character in the story was fine but I felt like his dark backstory was over the top. Or maybe this was the author's intent as afterall playwrights do use dramatic techniques to capture their audience? The ending was elegantly done. The open ending could be considered unsatisfying for some readers but I appreciated how it mirrored life. Life is still a working progress and the ending is a representation of that. This is a heartwarming and powerful novel on redemption and love.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.