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  • At first I really couldn't get into this novel. One the girls that regularly attends book club, reccommended we try it for book club. It is on the Best Books for 2003 put out by the ALA, so I thought it would be good to try. After about half-way through I finally got to a point where I had a hard ti ... Continue

    At first I really couldn't get into this novel. One the girls that regularly attends book club, reccommended we try it for book club. It is on the Best Books for 2003 put out by the ALA, so I thought it would be good to try. After about half-way through I finally got to a point where I had a hard time putting it down and wanted to continue reading it. I think it will be a good book for discussion. It brings up the normal teenage issues, but it brings in a fresh perspective with the main character being Indian (South Asian). I definately learned alot about the Indian culture and at times it made me want to learn more. The plot was a little predictable, but I think for the most part high school girls would like this book.**Quotes**p. 153 --"I didn't get it. Was he blind? Had he taken the muddled name of the song my father had requested literally? But no: He'd said the bench was empty, with a capital M. Did he really like only Indian music--so much so that he didn't even want to hear this piece?But I had a feeling it wasn't any of that."--Dimple begins to suspect there is more to Karsh then she allowed herself to think based on her first impression.p. 165--"--Crazy as it sounds, Dimple, sometimes you have to get lost to get found, said Sabina. --It's not such a bad thing, a little confusion. It makes you ask questions."p. 173--"Their [Kavita and Sabina] hair mingled when they hugged. It was an embrace that excluded everyone, and I came backt to myself, and somehow I'd gone int the sad part of the punch. It was hard to believe I'd been able to the limits of this room when I first walked in; now it seemed there were noe. What a trip sim;y crossing it had been: from insecurity, to hope, to fear, to curious jubilation, and now to a strange strain of melancholy. These seemed to be the ingredients of the fish tank drink, not so much arrack and water, sugar and citurs spice." What a great voice the author gives to Dimple. She is so descriptive and illustrates to the reader exactly what Dimple is feeling.p. 179--"Then he [Karsh] told me a story and it was a beautiful story. He whispered tiny breezes into my ear, a current and an undertow." WOW!!! If that doesn't melt your heart I don't know what would.**Discusion Questions**1. Why do you think Gwyn and Dimple are friends?2. Who is more insecure Gwyn or Dimple? In what ways?3. How are Dimple and Gwyn the same? Different?4. Why do you think Dimple denied or avoided her Indian herritage? What motivates her to start reading and learning about it?5. What can Dimple, Karsh and Gwyn teach us about relationships? How would you have done things differently had you been in there place?6. Who is the charecter you can best relate to? Why?7. Do you ever feel lost or confused like Dimple? Why?8. How are Dimple and her mother similar? Different?9. Are Dimple's relationships with friends and family realistic? Why or why not?

    

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