Susan is the good girl: an innocent Indian Christian newly-transplanted from Saudi Arabia to Mississauga, Ontario, eager to please her parents by getting excellent grades, obeying the rules, and staying out of trouble and away from boys. Malcolm is the bad boy: a Canadian-Indian Parsi troublemaker, former alcohol and drug abuser, and angry teen since his mother’s death two years before. Despite her sheltered background and his apparent disregard for authority and responsibility, they’re drawn to each other. As Susan shares her dream of becoming an artist in defiance of her parents’ plans and her anger over their possible divorce and Malcolm (“The One Without a Future, according to every adult in his life”) reveals his father’s abuse, neglect, and adultery while his mom was wasting away from cancer, they start to have a positive influence on each other. Then that trust is broken. With time and determination, will they get a second chance?
Bhathena has written a riveting teen romance that goes beyond the standard meet cute, break-up, and reconciliation formula. In choosing to tell the story from the points of view of both Susan and Malcolm, she’s given readers an intimate view of the damage that parental expectation, alienation, and selfishness have on children. All of the characters are well-developed and both Susan’s art and the various Indian religions are also key elements that drive this culturally-diverse story. Highly recommended and a first choice for libraries that serve teens.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
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