Heartbreaker
Loyalty is at the core of teenager Saachi’s nature: she is fiercely loyal to her family (except, significantly, her mother) and friends. When the school charmer, Fahim, ghosts her best friend – adding her to his cohort of discarded, heart-broken girls – Saachi vows retribution. She hatches a plan to dupe Fahim into falling for her and then callously inflict heartbreak on him. What Saachi doesn’t anticipate is that she begins to fall for Fahim. This conflict tests her loyalty to the limits.
The narrative style should appeal to a variety of readers; the book has short chapters often ending on cliffhangers, and conventional text is interspersed with passages reproducing messaging app exchanges in the app format. Saachi is smart and spiky, as are her friends, so the dialogue is entertaining and engaging. The plot is somewhat predictable so the sub-plot about Saachi’s estranged mother is a welcome addition, as it elevates the book to more than just a romantic comedy. The protagonists in this book are South Asian, and a strength of the narrative is that Hussain does not pander to readers who are unfamiliar with aspects of South Asian culture. There are references to clothing, food, festivals etc. throughout the book, but the author does not resort to lengthy exposition of these elements, and nor is there need to.
A fun romantic comedy with some hidden depths for inspired teen move John Tucker Must Die.
