Incredible! Such great representation, storyline and character development. Loved every moment and definitely agree with the sentiment that this is very 'Looking for Allibrandi'-esque!

Young adult fiction about friendship, academic ambition and immigrant parents

I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher.

“The Unpronounceables” by Balli Kaur Jaswal is a young adult novel about a teenage girl called Navkiranjhot Ahloowalia, known to everyone as Navy. Attending a local public high school in Melbourne, Navy has been studying day in and day out for the entrance exam for a selective school that specialises in STEM. Her parents, migrants from India, are convinced that this is the best pathway for future success. However, when Navy picks up a book for an English component with an image of The Kiss by Gustav Klimt, suddenly her future doesn’t seem so certain after all. Meanwhile, things aren’t going well with her two best friends and she absolutely does not have time for a love interest. With the weight of expectations sitting heavily on her shoulders, can Navy make it through the year?

This is a great little book with a truly fantastic opening. As someone with an “unpronounceable” name, the number of times I have sat through a significant event (my graduation and my wedding, to name a few) and had my name pronounced incorrectly, or the number of times during school I had the exact same experience of teachers opening the roll and hestitating over my name until I threw them a line and put up my hand, are impossible to count. Jaswal captured the feeling of exhasperation, embarassment and the sense of compromise over your own identity perfectly. However, this book is far deeper than “what’s in a name?” Jaswal explores a range of complex issues from being an ethnic minority in an Australian public high school, cultural expectations, parental expectations, passion, friendship, relationships and burnout with sensitivity and without judgment. Navy is a great character who strives to be the perfect daughter, friend and student but also a realistic character for whom the pressure eventually becomes too great. I really felt this book’s strength was in navigating complex relationships with empathy and understanding, and I liked how many of the characters had to do emotional work to come out the other side of misunderstandings or competing values.

I truly liked almost everything about this book except I felt the ending was very slightly abrupt. I found myself wanting to know more about what happened next for Navy.

There is some great YA being published in Australia at the moment and this is no exception.

The minute I saw the premise for this book, I knew I had to read it. It’s like someone has peered into my past (and no doubt the past of many other immigrant kids of varying ethnicity) and written a book straight from our hearts.

Set in current day Melbourne, the protagonist is a clever kid of Indian immigrant parents who is preparing for entry to a selective high school. Along with her two close friends, she has a name that the school community finds difficult to pronounce. In the starting chapter, she knows she has won an academic award when there is an awkward pause before a stumbling, mangled version of her name is pronounced.

The book canvasses the many different ways a child of immigrant parents can be othered, leaving her to question where does she truly belong and “what’s in a name” anyway.

The story itself is not unique, and its references are right there on the page (Bend it Like Beckham, Diwale Dulhania Le Jayenge): a child grappling with the tension of following her own dreams versus the expectations of her parents. But, it is very nice done! The writing is tight, the supporting characters are fleshed out, and I personally loved learning more about the protagonists art history passions. The science jokes/puns were top notch!

I thought the editing and length were good too, although I would have liked a little bit more from the adult characters both parents and teachers (maybe that was intentional). I also would have liked more of the sweet little budding romance.

This book would be great for 12-17 year olds (and their mums and dads!). A very enjoyable read.

Releasing 29 September 2026

Thank you to @allenandunwin for approving an ARC request for this tiny passionate account. All views are my own.