Spoiler Free Review:
My rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Similar Books: The Kissing Booth (Girl falls for her best friend's older brother causing general chaos in her life)
Romance, intrigue, drama, humor, and movie making, if you haven’t already picked up From Twinkle with Love just from that sentence, then what are you waiting for? Twinkle has two dreams, to become a famous and impactfull director, and for Neil Roy to acknowledge her existence and fall in love with her. So when Neil’s twin brother Sahil approaches her about making a movie together, Twinkle realizes maybe both of her dreams could come true! But as the movie making progresses, Twinkle finds herself having feelings for the wrong person, and just when it seemed like Neil had noticed her! This book is exactly what a contemporary YA romance novel should be. It has great character development with a totally original story, that provides great entertainment, while still giving exposure to greater world issues. Twinkle is very relatable, and while her drama sometimes feels a little unrealistic, it only adds to the story. I was really impressed by how satisfying the story was, as I am usually left wanting more after a standalone. It takes a lot of talent to effectively wrap up a story and still have it end with a bang. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a cute contemporary!
Recommended Mindset For Reading
This is not a book to pick up and put down again! I would set aside a few hours to just read the whole thing because it goes by pretty quickly. If you are in the mood to get into a whole series then this book is not for you because it is fast and its a standalone. If you just want a cute summer read or something to get you out of a reading slump, then I would start reading as soon as possible! This book is pretty PG so if you like romance without all the, well, romance, then this book is for you.
Initial Reaction
My initial reaction to this book was OMG, I can not put this down! I received this book in my June Owlcrate box and I read it as soon as I got the plastic wrap off! Not only was the cover so beautiful that I could not resist cracking it open, but the synopsis was so cute and I knew it would be a perfect way to kick off my summer. This book definitely started off adorable and ended adorable and I was entertained throughout the whole story. There are not a lot of books where they are so good that I dedicate my whole day to finishing them. My only negative reaction to this book was the over dramatic tension between Twinkle and the gang of rich popular girls because it felt way too stereotypical. For a book set on exposing a real teenage experience of an immigrant Indian family, the rich kid drama felt like it was played off wrong. Instead of showing how it feels like to grow up in a low income family in a high income area, it showed a whiny girl who stereotypes wealthy girls. Luckily, the rest of the book was so good that this was only a minor issue.
Character Analysis
Twinkle was surprisingly only my second favorite character! I loved her passion and her humor and I can definitely relate to her awkwardness. I think her struggle to find herself is something many young adults can relate to. Everyone has, at one point in their life, pondered how if they could just change themselves, then great things will happen, and Twinkle's realization that forcing yourself to change will have negative consequences was handled really well. Twinkle's romance with Sahil is so cute and I just wanted to scream at her the whole time to forget about Neil and pick Sahil already! I was not a fan of the online admirer thing because it is a pretty common trope in YA books and honestly really predictable. The second Brij was introduced I knew he was the secret admirer, but watching Twinkle delude herself into thinking it as Neil was pretty interesting. Twinkle's family life was very interesting and I know that the whole parents not supporting your dream thing is extremely relatable to so many people. I have so many friends who are on the breaking point of Twinkle's shouting fest at her parents, because they feel so unseen. I have been lucky enough to be born into a family who have always supported all of my dreams and encouraged me to follow any passion. I hope stories like these inspire people who are not in my situation to make their families aware of the importance of following what you love. Another interesting part of Twinkle's family is her relationship with her mother. This was such a sad and beautiful part of the story that showed the reality of immigration and the pain that comes from those who get left behind. I loved how real this book was able to get while still maintaining that fun and cute YA romance mentality.
So my favorite character was definitely Sahil because he was so freaking adorable. His experience living in the shadows of his brother is something so many people experience and his personality reminds me of a good friend of mine. I loved his friend group and every single one of his interactions with Twinkle. Including the group chats between Sahil and his friends, which was such a great addition, and it gave a very humorous and cute look into Sahil's mind. I also felt an instant connection to him due to our mutual love of blogging (see, all the cool kids are bloggers). It was very interesting that Menon decided to make Neil and Sahil identical twins. Twinkle's attraction to Neil seems to be entirly based on his looks, yet she describes him as identical to Sahil. Twinkle finally noticing Sahil because of his personality is a lovely reminder about how people are important for who they are, not what they look like or how much money they have.
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