There's Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon Series: When Dimple Met Rishi #2
Published by Simon Pulse on May 14th 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult, YA
Goodreads
The irresistible companion novel to the New York Times bestseller When Dimple Met Rishi, which follows Rishi’s brother, Ashish, and a confident fat athlete named Sweetie as they both discover what love means to them.
Ashish Patel didn’t know love could be so…sucky. After being dumped by his ex-girlfriend, his mojo goes AWOL. Even worse, his parents are annoyingly, smugly confident they could find him a better match. So, in a moment of weakness, Ash challenges them to set him up.
The Patels insist that Ashish date an Indian-American girl—under contract. Per subclause 1(a), he’ll be taking his date on “fun” excursions like visiting the Hindu temple and his eccentric Gita Auntie. Kill him now. How is this ever going to work?
Sweetie Nair is many things: a formidable track athlete who can outrun most people in California, a loyal friend, a shower-singing champion. Oh, and she’s also fat. To Sweetie’s traditional parents, this last detail is the kiss of death.
Sweetie loves her parents, but she’s so tired of being told she’s lacking because she’s fat. She decides it’s time to kick off the Sassy Sweetie Project, where she’ll show the world (and herself) what she’s really made of.
Ashish and Sweetie both have something to prove. But with each date they realize there’s an unexpected magic growing between them. Can they find their true selves without losing each other?
I received a copy of this book for review. This does influence my thoughts on the book or this review.
I loved When Dimple Met Rishi so when I heard a sequel was being published, I knew I had to read it. There’s Something About Sweetie is the perfect companion to a wonderful series.
There’s Something About Sweetie stars Ashish, a junior in high school who’s lost his dating mojo. Seeing the success of his brother’s relationship, he decides to get his parents to set him up. Sweetie, the other starring character, is loyal to her friends, a great athlete, and fat. This last fact is a point of tension with her mother, who can’t seem to accept her. Both Ashish and Sweetie of have something to prove to themselves and the time they spend together helps them grow closer but also helps them figure out who they really are.
Ashish was definitely a character I was interested in from When Dimple Met Rishi so I really adored reading his story. There was definitely a depth to Ashish that extends beyond my first impressions of him and I really liked reading his POV. He showed so much growth since the beginning of the book to the end and I really loved seeing that journey.
I also really liked Sweetie. She was definitely one of my favourite characters that I’ve read about in a while. Sweetie accepted who she was and she had a lot of confidence but it was still hard to read about the pressures placed on her by her family and societal perceptions. I really wanted to jump into the book and punch every negative thought and person away from her.
Overall, I definitely recommend There’s Something About Sweetie. Not only is it a lovely romance, it also contains so many messages about body positivity that I think many people, adults and teenagers alike, will be able to identify with.
