That Thing about Bollywood
by Supriya Kelkar (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: You know how in Bollywood when people are in love, they sing and dance from the mountaintops? Eleven-year-old Sonali wonders if they do the same when they’re breaking up. The truth is, Sonali’s parents don’t get along, and it looks like they might be separating.
Sonali’s little brother, Ronak, is not taking the news well, constantly crying. Sonali would never do that. It’s embarrassing to let out so many feelings, to show the world how not okay you are. But then something strange happens, something magical, maybe. When Sonali gets upset during a field trip, she can’t bury her feelings like usual–instead, she suddenly bursts into a Bollywood song-and-dance routine about why she’s upset!
The next morning, much to her dismay, Sonali’s reality has shifted. Things seem brighter, almost too bright. Her parents have had Bollywood makeovers. Her friends are also breaking out into song and dance. And somehow, everyone is acting as if this is totally normal.
Sonali knows something has gone wrong, and she suspects it has something to do with her own mismanaged emotions. Can she figure it out before it’s too late?
Snippet: “Smile,” Zara said to me, linking elbows as she practically bounced. “New semester New beginnings. In just a few hours we will be in drama!”
I clearly had enough drama at home, so I wasn’t sure why I had let Zara convince me to sign up for drama at school. But I took a breath and faked a smile as we entered the building, pretending, like always, that everything was going to be okay.
Maybe I would be good at this acting thing.
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.