When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Amisha | Biotechnology High School Grade 9

Rating: ***

Sandhya Menon’s beautiful novel is a cultural explosion that tells the tale of how eighteen-year-old Dimple Shah, a strong willed and focused girl from a middle class Indian family falls for a boy of the same age, Rishi Patel. Dimple already has her future mapped out, which includes pursuing web development at Stanford College in the fall. On the other hand, Rishi was raised by his wealthy family who wanted him to pursue high paying careers such as being an engineer at MIT. Rishi believes that creating comics is a hobby and can’t be a successful career, though he is very skilled and passionate about art. The two meet from an arranged marriage, yet their opposite personalities and unsuspecting circumstances get them off to a bitter start. Dimple doesn’t want to get married the traditional way, whereas Rishi just wants to please his parents and follow their Indian customs. Sandhya Menon’s novel “When Dimple Met Rishi” encompasses themes of finding one’s true self, real friendships, and most importantly love.

This novel was very culturally immersive and incorporated many Indian traditions, language, and customs. For example, the characters use Hindi mixed in with their speech and eat Indian snacks. Furthermore, this novel is told in dual perspectives, so we get insight into the minds of both characters and how the actions of the other person affect him/her. Though I don’t have many critiques for this novel, at times, I felt each “chapter” alternated between perspectives too quickly, which didn’t allow the readers to fully connect with the characters. Additionally, though Menon’s descriptions were beautiful, I found her portrayals of the characters very repetitive. That being said, this novel is one that you will be able to enjoy if you are interested in diving into the lives of Dimple and Rishi.