When Dimple Met Rishi

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family—and from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?
Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, show more stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.
The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitating toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?
Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways. show less

Never have I rooted for a couple as hard as I rooted for Dimple and Rishi.

Right out of the gate, I knew I was going to love Dimple Shah. There’s just something about girls who love their parents but still roll their eyes at them that set my heart on fire. I did not, however, expect to love Rishi the way I did. Seriously, I want a “Protect Rishi Patel at all costs” shirt.

The book starts out with Dimple’s mom hounding her about being more womanly and needing to “fix herself up” to find the IIH- Ideal Indian Husband. I was cringing the entire time but then Dimple broke out with “Mom, your so misogynistic!” and I immediately fell in love. While I am not Indian American, I do understand traditional cultures, aunties, and how show more sometimes that older generation doesn’t understand why the younger can’t be, well, more submissive and seeing Dimple give it right back to them was a blast of fresh air. I also loved Dimple’s dad- how he sort of just went along with the flow and really only wanted both of the ladies in his life to be happy. Even if they did have ulterior motives (seemingly), I also loved how both parents were willing to front money for their child’s education. That’s an element I sometimes feel is missing from a lot of diverse books- PoC and Native/Indigenous parents are usually willing to sacrifice everything to give their kid an education.

While Dimple resists her mom’s push for traditionalism, Rishis Patel embraces it. And this isn’t a ‘I’ll do what my parents say but internally mope about it’. No, Rishi honestly believes in the power of tradition and wants very much to be the good son, even sacrificing what he really wants out of life in order to secure a more “financially secure” future. That part touched me in inexplicable ways. Most YA novels feature MCs who are going to do what they want to do and chase their dreams recklessly. While I appreciate that sentiment, it doesn’t ring true for me. Rishi wants to work towards a future that includes being able to provide for his family, and not just his wife and children. He explicitly states that he wants to be able to take care of his parents in their old age and that felt truer to me than anything else in the book. I come from a fairly traditional background where we take care of our elders (parents, grandparents, uncles/aunties without children) and I think this is what connected me so deeply to Rishi.

If you follow me on twitter, you know my first reacting to Rishi and Dimple meeting was “RISHI NO!” This kid… is a dork. He’s a huge dork. He’s a huge, classy dork who makes bad jokes, can’t dance, and pretty much falls for Dimple the first time he meets her. Dimple is a little more… reluctant. While this book has a happy ending (a big, sweeping, beautiful happy ending), it also stays very true to it’s characters and their beliefs. It was interesting to see a YA story where the love interest had to give in more than the MC and, let’s be honest, I really enjoyed that. I enjoyed seeing the boy give in so that the girl can have what she needs.

This book is also super sex positive. I was a little worried about how sexuality would be treated in the book but it’s definitely portrayed in a positive light. There is a lot of consent-seeking in the book and GREAT communication of what each partner needed or wanted or didn’t want. Dimple’s roommate has a very quick, very random hook-up and she isn’t shamed for it. In fact, the shock of the hook-up isn’t the act itself but rather who her partner was.

I loved the relationship between Rishi and his brother, Ashish, and how we got to see it unfold. Ashish is the exact opposite of Rishi in every respect and there is a lot of tension between them during most of their scenes together. It was nice to see that tension somewhat resolved by the end.

Listen, there is nothing about this book I didn’t like. It’s hard for me to find a YA book that keeps me smiling the whole way through, but this one did. Even when there was a conflict, I knew Dimple and Rishi were going to get their happy ending. Not just because it’s YA contemporary and that’s how it goes, but because they fit together so well and the author developed so much chemistry between the two that there was NO WAY they wouldn’t end up with a happily ever after.

If you’re looking for a feel good book, this one is for you show less

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of show more tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.

Only drawback on this story is that even though they'd agreed it was too soon for marriage for them, they still made love. The scene was handled pretty well, but it just wasn't necessary. I feel we include far too much sex in our young adult literature, television, etc. We seem to push them into sexual situations whether they are ready or not! show less

I honestly was not expecting to like this as much as I did. Both Rishi and Dimple are products of their culture, and are forced together by their parents in an arranged match. Only Dimple's having none of it, and Rishi is determined to have his great arranged marriage romance like his parents.

There is lots here about familial expectations, following your own dreams, and making your own path while still acknowledging where you came from. As a child of immigrants, much of this book resonated with me.

The only thing that really didn't sit right with me here is that the arrangement by their parents ultimately worked out. I understand where the author is coming from - the idea that Dimple and Rishi got together despite their parents, instead show more of because of them. But the idea of the matchmaking achieving its goal in a book that celebrated breaking free of familial and cultural expectations seemed to be a disconnect. show less

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Omg, I loved this book so much. I've been anticipating this book ever since when I first saw it, and I'm so happy that it met my expectations.

First of all, I really liked Dimple. She's such a fierce character and honestly so relatable, specifically about her cultural views. I loved how she wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed in. On the other hand, there's Rishi and his very traditional views. Rishi is such a sweet and funny guy. I couldn't help but root for him throughout the novel. I thought both Dimple and Rishi had good character development as they both struggle to follow their own path.

I also loved how culturally infused this book was with the inclusion of Hindi and other aspects of Indian show more culture like their traditional outfits/makeup and Bhangra.

Overall, I highly recommend this book for those looking for a cute romance book! show less

DIMPLE SHAH is an only child who loves her parents but is desperate to leave the nest: she thinks that her mother, particularly, only cares about her appearance and marriageability, when what Dimple cares about is coding. She's been accepted to Stanford, but in the meantime, she longs to go to Insomnia Con, a summer program in San Francisco. To her surprise, her parents agree that she can go - but she doesn't realize she's being set up with...

RISHI PATEL, described (by his brother) as a thirty-five-year-old in an eighteen-year-old's body. Rishi is a Good Indian Boy who loves and honors his parents and his culture; he feels a duty to go to MIT, become an engineer, marry an Indian woman, and produce grandchildren. He is genuinely excited show more to meet Dimple, but their first interaction is a disaster, because he doesn't know that she has no idea who he is.

Menon neatly avoids tired plot points and character (re)actions; despite their terrible meet cute, Dimple and Rishi work together as partners at Insomnia Con and get to know each other; though Dimple has made clear she is not interested in giving up a career for marriage, she comes to care about Rishi, and they make a good team. Rishi is secretly a comic book artist, and when Dimple finds out about his passion, she encourages him to follow his dream, even if it's not practical. Each partner takes steps to defend the other (from the "Aberzombies," for example) and advance their interests (with each other's mentors).

A secondary plot line involving Dimple's roommate Celia and Rishi's younger brother Ashish is woven nicely into the primary story of Dimple and Rishi, and the ending is cinematic.

Dimple is an outspoken feminist with career goals and a big heart; Rishi is considerate and kind. It's easy to root for this pair.

See also: The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon, I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle, You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins

Quotes

...like they didn't know what to do with someone who was so obviously at home with his uncoolness. Someone who had the audacity to feel like he was the cool one when he so obviously wasn't. (105-106)

Lajawab: without answer. (221) show less

This is a delightful, heartwarming, slightly far-fetched (but aren't the best stories) teen romance.

There are scenes that subtly reference past bullying, racist incidents aimed at the main characters, misogynistic episodes, plus multiple incidents where the wealth of some characters is used to the detriment of others, but they are predominantly seen from Dimple Shah's American born, traditionally raised, feminist middle-class Indian perspective. And she is such a fabulous character.

The other viewpoint character is Rishi Patel, but he only comes in to it once Dimple meets him, so more mention than that risks spoilers.

They meet at 'InsomniaCon', a six week summer residential 'camp' for young adults that is aimed at pairs developing a show more phone/web app. This is Dimple's passion, and the aspects of the story that deal with her fight to carve out a space for herself in a very white, very male field are very well handled -- the punches are only slightly pulled, because otherwise this would be less a love story and more a scream into the void. show less