#my sister's big fat indian wedding

[bookcoversonly]

Title: My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding | Author: Sajni Patel | Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (2022)

[wttnblog]

6 Incredible Books to Read This AAPI Heritage Month

It���s Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month, and that means it’s a great time to make sure you’re reading and uplifting AAPI authors! I compiled a list of six great books that have been published over the past two years (and that I read in this past one) written by AAPI authors. These books span genre, time period, age range, and setting but each centers their Asian protagonist. She…

[richincolor]

New Releases

Sometimes in dark moments books can allow us to escape to other worlds, other times and lift our spirits. Here are three new releases this week to help give us comfort during this dark time. 

When We Become Ours: A YA Adoptee Anthology edited by Shannon Gibney & Nicole Chung Harper Teen

Two teens take the stage and find their voice. . . A girl learns about her heritage and begins to find her community. . . A sister is haunted by the ghosts of loved ones lost. . . There is no universal adoption experience, and no two adoptees have the same story. This anthology for teens edited by Shannon Gibney and Nicole Chung contains a wide range of powerful, poignant, and evocative stories in a variety of genres. These tales from fifteen bestselling, acclaimed, and emerging adoptee authors genuinely and authentically reflect the complexity, breadth, and depth of adoptee experiences. This groundbreaking collection centers what it’s like growing up as an adoptee. These are stories by adoptees, for adoptees, reclaiming their own narrative.

The Search for Us by Susan Azim Boyer Wednesday Books

Two half-siblings who have never met embark on a search together for the Iranian immigrant and U.S. Army veteran father they never knew. Samira Murphy will do anything to keep her fractured family from falling apart, including caring for her widowed grandmother and getting her older brother into recovery for alcohol addiction. With attendance at her dream college on the line, she takes a long shot DNA test to find the support she so desperately needs from a father she hasn’t seen since she was a baby. Henry Owen is torn between his well-meaning but unreliable bio-mom and his overly strict aunt and uncle, who stepped in to raise him but don’t seem to see him for who he is. Looking to forge a stronger connection to his own identity, he takes a DNA test to find the one person who might love him for exactly who he is―the biological father he never knew. Instead of a DNA match with their father, Samira and Henry are matched with each other. They begin to search for their father together and slowly unravel the difficult truth of their shared past, forming a connection that only siblings can have and recovering precious parts of their past that have been lost. Brimming with emotional resonance, Susan Azim Boyer’s The Search for Us beautifully renders what it means to find your place in the world through the deep and abiding power of family.

Sleepless in Dubai by Sajni Patel Amulet Books

In this hate-to-love teen rom-com from the author of My Sister’s Big Fat Indian Wedding, Nikki, an aspiring photographer, accompanies her family on a trip to Dubai to celebrate the five days of Diwali in style. It should be the trip of a lifetime, if Yash, the boy next door–with whom Nikki has a rocky history–weren’t on board. Oblivious to the tension, Nikki’s matchmaking family encourages Nikki to get better acquainted with Yash. Turns out a lot can change on a 12-hour flight beyond just continents. But can betrayals and conflicting ambitions be set aside long enough for the two teens to discover the true meaning of the Festival of Lights?

[nana--lover]

HEY YOU! DO YOU NOT LIKE MINDY KALING?

I know a lot of people (including me) have been complaining about Mindy Kaling  But I’m not here to talk about that. I’m here to talk about media that represents brown girls and guys alike (books, movies, and Content Creators) Also I don’t like how JK rowling writes her brown characters sooo here we go 

Pavi Sharma’s guide to going home (Bridget Farr)

- My Sisters Big fat Indian Wedding  (Sajni Patel)

Save Me A Seat (Gita Vardarajan + Sara Weeks) 

Hani and Ishuu’s guide to fake dating (I’ve heard so many good things) (Adiba Jaigirdar) 

The Knockout (Sajni Patel)

As American As Paneer Pie (Supriya Kelkar)

Movies (I only know Like One or Two good ones)

Wedding Season (tom dey) (2022)

3 idiots (2009) (they ripped it off in mexico I can’tttt) (They also took it off of netflix USA)

Vaathi (On Netflix) (2023)

Thunivu (On netflix) (2023)

Vikram (2022)

Avvai Shanmugi (1996)

ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020) It’s on netflix

Fidaa (2017) netflix 

Jeans (1998)

Content Creators (it’s the same thing across all their platforms)

- My Pawfect Family 

- Beextravegant 

- Rootedinspice

- The Global Vegitarian

- Iconicakes (sara and avni)

Pls reply if there’s anything else you want me to reccomend!!

[sosuigeneris]

If you went, how was it?

I was travelling, so my sister went instead. She’s way closer to the bride than I am, anyway - I’m also highly uncomfortable with large, dense crowds and I have claustrophobia. Said the crowd was crazy, super super packed inside but she enjoyed the wedding and its festivities with her circle. I saw all the pictures she posted on her close friends and it seemed exactly like the pap photos - big fat Indian wedding for sure.

[pumpkinbutt700]

What I Read in 2024

January:

The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig

The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Wilig

The Watchers by AM Shine

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

February:

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland

My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki

The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig

A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson

The Betrayal of the Blood Lilly by Lauren Willig

Beloved by Toni Morrison

March:

The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding by Sajni Patel

April:

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig

The Garden Intrigue by Lauren Willig

Ivy & Intrigue: A Very Selwick Christmas by Lauren Willig

Away in a Manger: A Very Turnip Wedding Night by Lauren Willig

Bunny & Biscuits: A Very Dorrington Valentine's Day by Lauren Willig

If There Be Thorns by VC Andrews

Seeds of Yesterday by VC Andrews

Seven Devils by Laura Lam & Elizabeth May

May:

Seven Mercies by Laura Lam & Elizabeth May

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

The Takedown by Lily Chu

Bestiary by K Ming Chang (DNFed 130 pages in)

My Imaginary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle

Devilman G by Go Nagai and Rui Takato, Volume 1-5

The Passion of the Purple Plumeria by Lauren Willig

June:

The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla by Lauren Willig

Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

Bug Boys Vol 1 by Laura Knetzger

Apostles of Mercy by Lindsay Ellis

Heaven by VC Andrews

July:

The Lure of the Moonflower by Lauren Willig

Dark Angel by VC Andrews

Fallen Hearts by VC Andrews

The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

August:

Just Pretend by Tori Sharp

A Lethal Lady by Nekesa Afia

Persephone Station by Stina Leicht

September:

Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham

Filthy Rich Fae by Geneva Lee

The Exhibition of Persephone Q by Jessi Jezewska Stevens

Prudence by Gail Carriger

October:

The Harlequin by Laurell K Hamilton

Garden of Shadows by VC Andrews

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

Slewfoot by Brom

Fangs by Sarah Andersen

November:

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

Gyo by Junji Ito

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

December:

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

My Husband by Maud Ventura

[kurodachiluvr]

IM GONNA SHIT MYSELF. I JUST START TO GROW UP AND VENTURE THE WORLD AND I FEEL ALIVE AND I FINALLY FEEL LIKE I CAN STEP OUT OF THE SHELL IVE BEEN IN FOREVER AND I FUCKING MOVE. I LEAVE EVERYTHING THAT IVE EVER WANTED FOR EVERYTHING THAT IVE EVER WANTED. I HATE THE DUALITY OF MAN. I WANT DESI JOY I WANT TO ATTEND MY SISTERS BIG FAT INDIAN WEDDING I WANT TO DANCE IN A BARAAT I WANT TO HANG OUT IN THE CAFES IN MUMBAI I WANT TO EXPLORE THE CITY MORE I WANT TO BE THERE I WANT TO FINALLY BE ALIVE IN THE CITY I GREW UP IN

[dreams-of-fate]

I need My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding to be a movie, asap.

[readingawaymyshelf]

My Sisters Big Fat Indian Wedding Review

3.75/5 

Some of my favorite old Indian movies always have a big wedding sequence in them and I was missing those nostalgic big cheesy Indian wedding vibes in the Indian movies these days. This book made me feel all types of nostalgia because it had everything you could want, the wedding chaos, the copious amount of food, nosey relatives, the aunties always trying to set the singles up, cheesy romance where the love interests fall in love in the matter of days. I loved it!

Also can we talk about the cover!

[publishedtoday]

My Sister’s Big Fat Indian Wedding - Sajni Patel

A fresh, witty rom-com romp set against the backdrop of a high-profile music competition and a riotous Indian wedding Zurika Damani is a naturally gifted violinist with a particular love for hip hop beats. But when you’re part of a big Indian family, everyone has expectations, and those certainly don’t include hip hop violin. After being rejected by Juilliard, Zuri's last hope is a contest judged by a panel of top tier college scouts. The only problem? This coveted competition happens to take place during Zuri’s sister’s extravagant wedding week. And Zuri has already been warned, repeatedly, that she is not to miss a single moment.

[book-waas-x]

Review - My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding

Title: My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding Author: Sajni Patel Date Finished: January 17, 2022 Book Publication Date: April 19, 2022 Goodreads Links: [Book] [Review]

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Thank you ABRAMS Kids, Amulet Books and NetGalley for providing this book to me in exchange for an honest review!]

Review:

4.5-rounded-to-five stars! Sajni Patel isn’t a new author for me. I really loved The Trouble with Hating You and First Love, Take Two, and this book is next in line! This book is young adult and follows Zurika Damani as she immerses herself into her sister’s huge wedding festivities while grappling with her dreams on the side. There’s a contest for a full-ride scholarship at a musical college, and Zurika wants to show them what she’s made off, right on the heels of a Juilliard rejection. The contest, though, falls smack dab in the middle of her sister's wedding. Zurika's ready with a plan, but it might take a village to pull it off. Enter Naveen, who shares this dream with her, and off they go on an adventure to show the world what they’re made off — and maybe prove to themselves that their dreams aren’t as far-fetched as they feel. Naveen is in the same boat, and after hitching a ride with the girl who nearly runs him over, a new rivalry is formed! I loved Naveen so much, because he is exactly what I picture a young Bollywood-esque hero as, with his filmy dialogues, looks, and the way he sets out to make Zurika fall in love with him during this wedding week. Aside from the romance, Sajni Patel does an amazing job of spinning this tale of a young girl who wants to follow her dream of being a musician, which is against any South Asian doctrine — we have the “respectable” careers, and then we have the arts. So many of us have felt torn between these, and I think that watching Zurika be so unsure during her college applications resonated with me because of it — especially given that her older sisters are lawyers, so the bar is pretty high for her! The whole book spans a single week, so I genuinely felt like I was attending the wedding right with them, and having all of those functions that are made impossible by the pandemic right now means that I could live vicariously through them. Desi weddings tend to be huge in splendor, traditions, outfits, jewelry, food and of course, family. This book is basically a week into desi life! There’s the intergenerational conflicts, because we see Zurika interact with aunts and uncles and grandmothers. Whether it’s fairness creams, or body hair, or open criticism about desi communities, Zurika brings a fierceness and need for justice to the table that’s pretty much what we would like to say to our families! I loved how she was scrappy, brutally honest, but was still respectful of the other person’s place in her family. Even if she crossed a line, she made up for it, and that balance is so important. But outside of the extended family, Zurika's also torn and guilty about missing part of her sister's wedding festivities because of the contest. I loved seeing her reasoning play out, and I loved that at the end, she chose what was most important to her, but that didn't mean she had to lose the other as well. A lot of the time, there's this underlying message of "you can have this or that, not both" but that's not always how life works! I grew up with very little books that were about my culture, or followed desi communities. The importance of traditions even when you don't understand them, the importance of family, trying to carry the culture after emigrating somewhere else are all struggles that immigrant families face. Zuri's character and her motivations are important for the next generation of readers because she brings an understanding to the table — a way for young readers to see themselves in her and be able to parse both sides of the coin. Being Gujarati myself, it’s not often that I get to read a book with so much Gujarati lore and reference. This book was absolutely filled with it and we’re all the more better for it. There was also respect paid to Zurika’s mother’s Trinidadian heritage, which was amazing to see. I learned a few things and piqued my interest into learning more! As much as I loved the book, and as much as I did squeal at all the filmy tropes, I did feel that the romance fell a little flat for me. Naveen and Zurika were meant to be introduced (read:

match-making) before they fell into this competition, but by the end, I think they become something between friends and lovers, rather than just lovers. I think I would've liked if that was extended a bit to clarify. Other than that, the last two chapters were filled with everything and compared to the pace of the rest of the book, it was a lot. I think the story would've benefitted from a slightly slower end - though desi weddings end faster than you can blink, so if that's what the author was going for, they're spot on! If you're looking for a Bollywood movie in book form? This is it. It's a whole masala movie, with the sweeping romantic descriptions, the bright colors and chaos of an Indian wedding, and an underlying message that rings true for all of us. Highly recommend!

[bunnyandbooks]

Prettiest book mail

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I'm really excited to spend some of my downtime this summer reading, so I've found three more books to add to my TBR list that came out earlier this year. Have you read them? What did you think?

Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space Wednesday Books

Seventeen fantasy and science fiction short stories from leading voices in the Latin American diaspora!

Reclaim the Stars is a collection of bestselling and acclaimed YA authors that take the Latin American diaspora to places fantastical and out of this world. From princesses warring in space, to the all too-near devastation of climate change, to haunting ghost stories in Argentina, and mermaids off the coast of the Caribbean. This is science fiction and fantasy that breaks borders and realms, and proves that stories are truly universal.

Authors include Daniel José Older, Yamile Saied Méndez, Anna-Marie McLemore, Mark Oshiro, Romina Garber, David Bowles, Lilliam Rivera, Claribel Ortega, Isabel Ibañez, Sara Faring, Maya Motayne, Nina Moreno, Vita Ayala, J.C. Cervantes, Circe Moskowitz, Linda Nieves Pérez, and Zoraida Córdova.

You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen Inkyard Press

In this compelling and thought-provoking debut novel, after a terrorist attack rocks the country and anti-Islamic sentiment stirs, three Black Muslim girls create a space where they can shatter assumptions and share truths.

Sabriya has her whole summer planned out in color-coded glory, but those plans go out the window after a terrorist attack near her home. When the terrorist is assumed to be Muslim and Islamophobia grows, Sabriya turns to her online journal for comfort. You Truly Assumed was never meant to be anything more than an outlet, but the blog goes viral as fellow Muslim teens around the country flock to it and find solace and a sense of community.

Soon two more teens, Zakat and Farah, join Bri to run You Truly Assumed and the three quickly form a strong friendship. But as the blog’s popularity grows, so do the pushback and hateful comments. When one of them is threatened, the search to find out who is behind it all begins, and their friendship is put to the test when all three must decide whether to shut down the blog and lose what they’ve worked for…or take a stand and risk everything to make their voices heard.

My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding by Sajni Patel Amulet

Zurika Damani is a naturally gifted violinist with a particular love for hip hop beats. But when you’re part of a big Indian family, everyone has expectations, and those certainly don’t include hip hop violin. After being rejected by Juilliard, Zuri's last hope is a contest judged by a panel of top tier college scouts. The only problem? This coveted competition happens to take place during Zuri’s sister’s extravagant wedding week. And Zuri has already been warned, repeatedly, that she is not to miss a single moment.

In the midst of the chaos, Zuri’s mom is in matchmaking mode with the groom’s South African cousin Naveen—who just happens to be a cocky vocalist set on stealing Zuri’s spotlight at the scouting competition. Luckily Zuri has a crew of loud and loyal female cousins cheering her on. Now, all she has to do is to wow the judges for a top spot, evade getting caught by her parents, resist Naveen’s charms, and, oh yeah . . . not mess up her sister’s big fat Indian wedding. What could possibly go wrong? -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

[2ifbyseabrook]

My Sister’s Big Fat Indian Wedding

My Sister’s Big Fat Indian Wedding- 4 stars

By- Sajni Patel

My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding tells the story of Zurika Damani.  The biggest music competition of her young life is the same weekend as her older sister's wedding.  Add into the mix a cute boy who is also the competition and you get a big fat mess. 

I thought this book was very cute.  I enjoyed the romance aspect as well as Zuri's struggle to find her way in life.  I especially enjoyed learning about all the customs and traditions that make up an Indian wedding.   My only complaint is the warp speed in which Zuri and Naveen fell in love.  Talk about insta love.  Overall, though, I would recommend this book.

[horse-shit]

I LOVE READING CHARACTERS DESCRIBE WHEN THEY PLAY MUSIC I LOVE IT SO MICH MORE BOOKS SHOULD HAVE THIS IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!

[bookaddict24-7]

(New Young Adult Releases Coming Out Today! (April 19th, 2022)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Standalones/First in a Series:

I Am the Ghost in Your House by Maria Romasco-Moore

Debating Darcy by Sayantani DasGupta

Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf

Sofi & the Bone Song by Adrienne Tooley

The Drowning Summer by Christine Lynn Herman

Flirting with Fate by J.C. Cervantes 

With & Without You by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

My Sister’s Big Fat Indian Wedding by Sajni Patel

Getting Over Max Cooper by Marcelle Karp

New Sequel: 

The Genesis Wars (The Infinity Courts #2) by Akemi Dawn Bowman

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Happy reading!