From Twinkle, with Love is the perfect lighthearted summer read
Sandhya Menon’s newest young adult novel is the perfect book to add your summer reading list. From Twinkle, with Love is full of smart humor and romantic moments that will keep you flipping the pages.
Sandhya Menon took the young adult book community by storm last year, receiving tons of praise for her debut novel, When Dimple Met Rishi. After releasing such a huge hit, it’s no surprise that she’s back this summer with another brilliant story. From Twinkle, with Love is an adorkable rom-com that’s totally worthy of a spot in your beach bag.
Told in journal entries, the novel follows high-school junior Twinkle Mehra as she navigates both her dream of becoming a filmmaker and her school’s social scene. After losing her best friend to the popular crowd, Twinkle is determined to shed her “groundling” status and become one of the “silk feathered hats.”
Her chance to shine arrives when Sahil Roy, a boy from her class, asks her to join him in creating a film for the Midsummer Night arts festival. Not only will this allow her to kick-start her filmmaking career, but it will put her in proximity of Sahil’s brother and Twinkle’s lifelong crush, Neil Roy.
If she can catch Neil’s eye, Twinkle will have no problem winning back her bestie. Unfortunately, her magnificent plan to infiltrate the popular crowd doesn’t go as intended. The more time she spends with Sahil, the more she realizes that their relationship goes beyond that of director and producer.
To complicate matters, Twinkle also begins receiving anonymous emails from someone who calls himself “N.” He expresses his interest in her, leaving Twinkle torn between her lifelong fantasy of becoming popular and an unexpected future that’s forming right before her eyes.
Why you should read it
The best thing about From Twinkle, with Love is that it isn’t just a romance novel that uses art as a backdrop. Menon’s story dives right into Twinkle’s film project, directly involving readers in her artistic process. We get to bear witness as Twinkle and Sahil bring a gender-swapped Dracula to life, and we get to learn what goes into adapting such a thing.
There are also tons of culture references slipped into the texts, just waiting to be spotted by all the film buffs out there. Twinkle’s journal entries are all addressed to her favorite filmmakers, and she frequently compares her experiences to well-known fictional ones.
Even if you aren’t huge on film, you’ll find yourself nodding along to as Twinkle tells her story. Menon captures all of the staples of a high school experience, and she does it in a way that makes even the bad parts seem charming.
In particular, the author astutely portrays the unsteady friendships and awkward relationships that so often characterize our teenage years. Twinkle’s interactions will infuriate you one moment and leave you rooting for her the next.
And when it comes to conflicts between characters, Menon refuses to take the easy way out. There isn’t drama in this story resulting from “mean girls being mean.” Every character has reasons for acting as they do, just as most of us do in real life.
And while most of us don’t go into a romantic comedy looking for social commentary, it’s nice when an author can successfully blend the two. While From Twinkle, with Love doesn’t lecture its readers, but it definitely raises some valid points in regards to important issues.
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If Menon’s new release fits with your interest, you can buy the book now. The author will also be going on tour for From Twinkle, with Love from its release date until June 6.