Three starred reviews for this charming romantic comedy about an aspiring teen filmmaker who finds her voice and falls in love, from the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi. Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to … geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy–a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.
When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.
Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?
Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.
“Cinematic.” —Teen Vogue
“Funny and sweet.” —Buzzfeed
“Delightful, inspiring.” —Book Riot
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Loved it! This author makes such lovable, diverse characters!
From Twinkle, With Love is such an amazing book. The story, the relationship, the diversity are all fantastically done. The format is different and intriguing. There is so much to love about this book. I love Sandhya Menon’s writing and am excited to read more of her works in the future. Trust me, the full review is way more detailed and gushing than this snippet. And even that can’t do it justice for how much I enjoyed this book.
I love it and I hope everyone gets a chance to read it 🙂
Another cute masterpiece by the talented author. I couldn’t stop myself from completing this book at one sitting.
I just finished this book, and I’m sitting here writing this review with tears still streaming down my face.
I love reading YA contemporary books, and obviously, they’re usually all predictable when it comes to tropes and endings. The last chapter of this book was so heart-felt and moving, that I started full-on sobbing and used 6 tissues in under 4 minutes. It moved me in a way that I was not expecting.
This was my first time reading Sandhya Menon (it won’t be my last, I immediately added her previous book to my cart), and I’m very happily giving this book 5 enthusiastic stars.
The story was put together in a very unique format. Twinkle writes letters in her journal to her favorite female filmmakers, and we read her recaps of what’s been going on. It was creative and a very imaginative way to tell a story in an unorthodox way, and it really worked! The story was captivating from page one.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was funny (I giggle-snorted on several occasions), cute and just all-around sweet. Twinkle has a likable narrative and it was wonderful to see her character progression and growth. I had an impossible time putting this book down, I read it all in under 24 hours (had to pause to sleep).
If you’re a fan of YA contemporary with unapologetically nerdy female protagonists and swoony dudes, then I 10/10 recommend you pick up this charming novel post haste.
If you, like me, struggle with epistolary literature, I’m here to tell you this one is worth trying. Yes, there are still some of the logistical issues that bother me about the genre but the larger story sucked me in. I did have to suspend disbelief that Twinkle would write in her journal in the car while her friend is driving her somewhere or that she’d take a break from a conversation and journal right in front of the person. And I was very worried someone would steal the journal, since she kept bringing it to school and writing in class. However, the texts, emails, and journal entries generally transcended the framework.
This is a book I would have loved to have read as a teenager. It’s still enjoyable as an adult is two decades older than Twinkle. Nonetheless, Twinkle’s actions for the first quarter of the book made me cringe, just based on my vantage point as someone who is older. I could relate to her desire to be a shinier, glossier, more noticeable version of herself but the way she thought it would happen—by dating the guy she has a crush on but who has no idea she exists—was rather delusional. Which makes sense, given her age. She was so oblivious to the people who did pay attention to her. I just wanted her to open her eyes and see that she wasn’t a wallflower to the people who truly mattered. But of course, this is one of those things we have to learn and figure out on her own.
Twinkle has a lot to figure out: the strained relationship with her best friend who is now hanging out with the popular kids, why her parents, particularly her mother, are so uninvolved in her life, and what to do with her burgeoning attraction to Sahil (her crush’s twin brother.) The story does a great job examining our insecurities, perceived wallflower statuses, and the ways friendship can change.
Twinkle was a great heroine to root for. I enjoyed her passion for filmmaking, although I wish the actual making of her film would have featured more in the story. My heart really went out to her as she navigated all her changing circumstances. Sahil was such a delightful cinnamon roll. He always believed the best in Twinkle and was able to call her out when she needed it. He has his own inner demons and it was interesting to see how he and Twinkle wrestled with some of the same insecurities.
There are great side characters, particularly Twinkle’s Dadi. I loved her metaphor for relationships involving sambandh powder. I would read a whole book just on Dadi’s wisdom alone!
CW: parental neglect, mother’s depression or grief (it’s not clear which it is), past death of grandmother
A teen romcom with a lovable main character who you’ll want to stick by, even as she makes some big mistakes.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: High school junior Twinkle is in a pickle:
– Her BFF has been hanging out with the (rich) elite in town, making T wonder whether they’re still BFFs
– Her longtime crush makes her so swoony, she becomes an absolute fool when he enters the room
– Both of them live in a world where only the kids from the wealthiest families get spotlights and important party invites, but Twinkle’s family can barely afford to send her to the special magnet school they all attend together and she feels so unseen that she’s not sure whether a spotlight could even find her if it tried
Twinkle decides that if she can find a way to get into that group of elites, she’ll get her BFF back and maybe even get a bit more backing to her lifelong dream of becoming a famous (female, brown-skinned) filmmaker. When her crush’s geeky twin brother suggests he produce a film Twinkle directs for their high school’s upcoming festival, she sees this as her big chance to do what she loves while rubbing elbows with the crowd she longs to be a part of.
This roller coaster of a story is carried forward through Twinkle’s eye-opening journal entries to her favorite female filmmakers and a smattering of emails, plus some group texts between her new producer and his best friends.
WHAT I THOUGHT: I was a BIG fan of Menon’s first novel, When Dimple Met Rishi (like, heart-eyes, floaty-head charmed in love with that book), so was excited to see my library had this one in its New YA section. I wasn’t sure how it’d hold me with the journal-entry format, but I ended up really liking how it got me into Twinkle’s head–and her film producer Sahil’s.
I was expecting another adorable romcom full of giggles and swooning, but what I got was a fantastic balance of that with the brutal truth of how we make mistakes when we’re 16/17 years old, trying to figure out what we want and how to get there. Twinkle is passionate about storytelling on film, and that carried over to her filling in the blanks as the relationships around her shifted during her mission to get some spotlight. Why does her BFF pull away some days and act so thoughtful on others? Why do the elite welcome one facet of her but not all of her? What should she do about her budding attraction to Sahil when there are other options that align better with her dreams, most notably his superstar of a twin brother? Do her parents even remember that she exists?
Here’s the thing that impressed me: when things got ugly as Twinkle propelled into the thick of figuring out these questions, the author did such a good job of making us understand how that could happen that we don’t close the book in frustration or disappointment (I mean, we are reading a romcom, right?). We really don’t know how things will turn out, but continue hoping for the best through the very last page.
And, yes, I had tears in my eyes as I closed the last page. You’ll have to read it for yourself as to know which kind, but I bet you’ll be glad you turned every page to get your answer.
Ages 13 and up.
(Teen, Fiction, Contemporary, Romantic Comedy, Self Esteem)
For whatever reason, this one worked for me so much better than When Dimple Met Rishi did.
I found Twinkle more likable than Dimple, I think, despite her obvious flaws. I liked how her flaws actually get dealt with–how people call her on the ways she’s being a total jerk. I liked that her focus is on making a movie, and that the ways she thinks about it and responds to the various social pressures she’s feeling through it felt believable to me. I liked the focus on her friendship with Maddie, and how friendships in high school can change in ways you don’t always understand. And Sahil! He is adorable. And his texts with Skid and Aaron cracked me up. I love all three of them so much!
This book is a little trope-y, but I dunno, I like how everything plays out in the end, and that the characters have actual conversations about things they’re upset about. I never felt the frustration I feel pretty frequently in teen (and heck, adult) romances when if the characters would only just TALK TO EACH OTHER, DANG IT everything would work out. Like, there’s virtually no angst, and I loved that.
I just thought this one was cute and fluffy and fun and I actually stayed up late to finish it because I was enjoying it so much after a bunch of dense, slow-moving books that took me forever to get through. I’m definitely looking forward to more from Menon!
This was a very cute story, and a fast read. Some parts were admittedly predictable, but Twinkle was a fun character to read and root for. I’m also a big fan of epistolary novels so this was fun for me, but I do wish there were more notes/emails/texts from some of the other characters, just to give the story a little more depth. I also think I liked everything but the very last chapter.
Filmmaking, girl-power, culture, and age-appropriate romance all wrapped up into one very YA novel. Lessons about confronting situations and learning who you (and others) are make this a worthwhile read for the YA crowd.
Actual Rating 3.50
It is very hard for me to rate this book because there were things I loved and things I didn’t. From reading other 3 star reviews I can say that my opinion of this book falls within the same consensus. Twinkle was a great female character in the sense that I loved her aspirations. She wants to be a director and make movies that will change the world. She wants to touch people and change their life with her art. Plus she’s very smart and has some great values. But she was also not very likable.
Twinkle had no self-esteem and thought very low of herself. She was so desperate to be with the cool kids for no reason. She was angry with her best friend for pretty much leaving her behind for the popular girls and now she’s trying to do everything to be part of the group that makes her feel like crap. Plus Maddie was a terrible friend. This turns Twinkle into a self-centered A-hole. She started treating all the people who were being true friends to her badly and let the directing go to her head lashing out at everyone. Not to mention she blamed kids for their well off parents and having everything they could possibly want like it was their fault. Money isn’t everything. This type of jealousy was a shocker to me and really had me disliking Twinkle.
Buuuttttt I loved Sahil and Twinkle together. They were so perfect. Sahil is so damn wonderful. I liked how much he inspired Twinkle and took away her self-doubt. He is the ultimate reason why she felt confident enough to even do the movie. He was so sweet to her, supportive, honest, and called her out when she was wrong like a real friend. I loved Sahil and Skid. All of Sahil’s friends were great.
Of course Twinkle basically used Sahil. She had some weird “love” and I use that loosely for Neil, Sahil’s twin brother, whom she interacted in the book with like twice. Neil wasn’t even at school through most of the book. So while she is falling in love with Sahil and he confesses how he feels for her, she is still harboring hope to be with Neil the entire book. At the same time she has a secret admirer who she emails and this also keeps her from exploring anything with Sahil. It was all very frustrating especially when it was clear she was completely in love with Sahil and he told her how much he hates how people compare him and his brother and think he’s better. Way to go Twinkle.
Like I said there are things to completely love about this book and things that will frustrate you. I’m kinda in the middle. I did enjoy reading this book. The behavior of the character compared to her ideals and dreams clashed a lot. As a reader I expected more from Twinkle behavior wise because of the great girl that I meet at the beginning of the book. I also really like the way the author writes and I look forward to reading more books by her in the future.