Book Review: No Ordinary Thursday by Anoop Judge

No Ordinary Thursday by Anoop Judge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A riveting story and compelling reading.

From the publisher:

“A family, broken by the shattering turns of a single day, will do anything to find their way back to one another.

Lena Sharma is a successful San Francisco restaurateur. An immigrant, she’s cultivated an image of conservatism and tradition in her close-knit Indian community. But when Lena’s carefully constructed world begins to crumble, her ties to her daughter, Maya, and son, Sameer—both raised in thoroughly modern California—slip further away.

Maya, divorced once, becomes engaged to a man twelve years her junior: Veer Kapoor, the son of Lena’s longtime friend. Immediately Maya feels her mother’s disgrace and the judgment of an insular society she was born into but never chose, while Lena’s cherished friendship frays. Meanwhile, Maya’s younger brother, Sameer, struggles with an addiction that reaches a devastating and very public turning point, upending his already tenuous future.

As the mother, daughter, and son are compromised by tragedy, secrets, and misconceptions, they each must determine what it will take to rebuild their bonds and salvage what’s left of their family.”

My review:

No Ordinary Thursday by Anoop Judge is the immersive tale of an Indian American family living in the San Francisco area, facing tragedy and censure in their tightly-knit cultural community. Judge is a consummate storyteller, and I was completely drawn into this family in crisis and utterly invested in the outcome.

The small Sharma family was torn apart by divorce after Lena discovered her husband Goldie’s infidelity. A further rift occurred when she eventually remarried, and her son decided to go live with his father. Lena depends on her lifelong female friends, Pinkie and Anita, to get her through these hard times, and she has a shoulder for them whenever it is needed.

Living with Goldie wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, and the teenage Sameer is basically neglected, left without needed guidance or a proper male role model. Goldie is an awful father, and his skewed attitudes toward women and Lena, in particular, color the now-adult Sameer’s core beliefs. A car accident and his actions afterward have tragic results.

Sameer’s sister Maya has fallen in love with the much younger son of her mother’s best friend, Pinkie, and their engagement has the entire community judging her harshly. Worse, though, is the rift this liaison causes between their mothers, so a critical part of Lena’s support system is out of reach. Maya doesn’t escape unscathed, either. While she loves Veer, she despises the idea of being seen as a cougar, and because his family has money, some are adding the label of gold digger as well. She also feels guilty about letting her relationship with her brother drift away, thinking she could have prevented his current situation.

From the shocking opening chapter, the plot is rife with twists and surprises. The story unfolds from multiple family members’ points of view, but their voices are so distinct I had no trouble keeping their stories straight. Each character is well-developed. I felt like I knew these people intimately and had to know what was going to happen to them next, and I had no idea where things were going to end up.

The author does a wonderful job describing the Sharma family dynamics and those of the larger community. I felt like I got a good picture of the traditional relationships, values, and attitudes that were sometimes at odds with younger members who were born and reared in California.

I recommend NO ORDINARY THURSDAY to readers of literary fiction, ethnic family dramas, and women’s fiction.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through WOW! Women On Writing Book Tours.


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The Knockout by Sajni Patel

The Knockout by Sajni Patel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was on the edge of my seat whenever Kareena donned her gloves or got up close and personal with Amit.

Kareena Thakkar had practiced Muay Thai boxing since she was an eight-year-old and was performing at an elite level by the time she was a senior in high school. But she had learned her lesson long ago; girls weren’t supposed to participate, let alone excel, at contact sports, especially not Indian girls. Prejudice against her had cost her friendships and social acceptance in the close-knit, local Indian community, so she had learned to keep her sport to herself and, of course, her supportive mother and father.

When she hit high school, her father was stricken with a complicated renal disease, and the last couple of years had seen him in and out of the hospital, each time an emergency as he teetered on the brink of death. The medical bill mounted, and finances got worse when he was unable to continue working. The house and many possessions were sold, and Kareena’s mother took a second job to make ends meet.

Kareena’s refuge became the Muay Thai program, and as she worked to escape her fears, she pushed herself toward excellence. Then the letter inviting her to participate in the national Muay Thai competition arrived. Her coach urged her to accept, explaining this was her first step toward representing the US on the international stage and, perhaps, a spot on a future US Olympic team. The $50,000 prize awarded to the winner would also go a long way toward easing her family’s financial woes. But first, Kareena would have to raise the money to get to the competition, and finding that kind of funding seemed like an impossible hurdle.

The Knockout by Sajni Patel is a new contemporary young adult tale featuring the unique and tantalizing combination of Muay Thai boxing, Indian culture, learning to trust, and first love. Kareena Thakkar is a talented competitor in her senior year of high school, a time traditionally filled with many memorable activities that could easily become distractions in her preparations to compete nationally. Complicating everything is her father’s illness, its impact on the family’s financial health and future, and the toxic vibes Kareena has been getting from the local Indian community over the preceding years. Not only was the story compelling and emotion-filled, but it challenged societal views of gender-appropriate sports.

Kareena is smart and sassy, a fun and engaging girl under normal circumstances, and a wonderfully supportive daughter to her overwhelmed parents. She does an amazing job keeping her life on track but constantly worries because her parents aren’t telling her everything about her father’s condition and their financial situation; they still see her as a child and want to preserve that innocence and protect her from the grim truth. However, this girl’s no dummy. She’s been participating in the highly physical martial art of Muay Thai boxing since she was eight, and backed by her parents’ belief and support and a never-give-up attitude; she has excelled and found success, acceptance, and respect in the ring. It is no wonder that when things get off-balance at home, she begins to rely more and more on the gym as a refuge, a place she can feel she has some control over things in her life.

There are other pressures, social ones, bearing down as well, any one of which would be enough in itself: a friendship that dissolved over a misunderstanding over a boy resulting in a former confidant spreading malicious rumors about her at school and the continued censure of the aunties and uncles isolating her from the Indian community when they learn of her boxing. Kareena maintains superhuman control over her emotions when taunted by her former friend, Saanvi.

Another storyline is her developing relationship with classmate Amit Patel, the projected class valedictorian and “perfect Indian son.” Amit is an enigma to Kareena. Not only does he have secrets of his own, but she also doesn’t quite trust his involvement in her life because she’s been burned before. But the chemistry between the two is palpable, and I was rooting for Amit to prove to be as good as he seemed and become the true friend (and perhaps the love of her life) that Kareena deserved.

The teenage characters ring true throughout the book, feeling genuine and authentic in their words and deeds. The fight scenes were descriptive enough to depict the emotional and adrenaline-charged atmosphere without too many bloody details. The scenes were riveting and tense, and I was on the edge of my seat every time Kareena donned her gloves.

With its unique premise and engaging characters, I recommend THE KNOCKOUT to readers who enjoy contemporary young adult tales, sports themes, family dramas, and stories steeped in modern Indian culture.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through TBR and Beyond Book Tours.

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