From Twinkle, with Love

This was a cute HEA (happily ever after) romance, but nothing to write home about.

While the writing was strong and I liked the back and forth POV’s. I think I preferred the format the author used in Dimple over the letter format. There were some things that didn't come across as effectively as a letter. It was still fun and easy to read. I loved that this represented her culture without being pointedly about it. (The crazy grandma was one of my favorites!) Twinkle does come across very juvenile and boy crazy, so there were parts I found a little annoying. Especially in regards to some bad decisions that contribute to her overall growth.
This had one of the same problems that Dimple had where we don't experience much of the actual hobby that the character is passionate about. Since it's in letter format most scenes occur before or afterwards. However I didn't mind too much since the focus of the story is mostly on Twinkle's personal growth and learning to fall in love with herself and then someone else.

All in all it was an adorable, predictable, HEA romance that I gobbled right up.

Recommend for fans of:
- Lighthearted Contemporaries
- Simple/HEA Love Stories
- Younger YA Readers

LOW three stars. I can kind of understand where this book was coming from, but I really didn’t appreciate how it panned out. Twinkle was so selfish and annoying (especially as the book went on) and Sahil was way too perfect. There wasn’t enough retribution for Twinkle’s acts, and the end was a little too perfect for me. If you’re looking for a cutesy romance with a diverse cast, this is probably the book for you. But if, like me, you’re expecting more to the story, I’d pass this one up. (And When Dimple Met Rishi was better than this one too)

A beautifully written book that touches a lot of subjects undergone roof . As an Indian and American I could completely relate to the book and brought back fond memories of childhood.

The story was okay. It felt weird listening as an audiobook when the format it's all letters, emails and text messages. But overall it was ok

I just finished From Twinkle With Love, and man, that last chapter has me choked up!This story is a rom-com readers delight! It has every element that you would ever hope for in a story. The characters have you hung on every word on the pages. The plot has you rooting and cheering along. The twists leave you in awe, and the romance leaves you breathless.Such a sweet, and clean love story.How I love this writer and the stories I have read. She is definitely a favorite now, and now on my auto-buy list!If you have read anything by her yet, I urge you to do so.

Just okay, so predictable. I had high hopes for this one.

Fans of WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI will not be disappointed in Sandhya Menon's newest book. The main character, Twinkle, is another Pakistani-American girl who is the off one out of her class at a charter school in Colorado. Most of her classmates are wealthy, upper-class "feathered silk hats," as Twinkle refers to them, so she feels like an outcast because her family is not even close to upper-class. Her dad works in a youth home and her mom is a substitute teacher. When her best friend, Maddie, starts hanging out with one of the feathered hats, Twinkle feels pushed aside and ignored, not just by her friend, but by her family as well.

Twinkle cooks up a plan to date Neil, the most popular and good looking boy in school, in order to get into the popular crowd and win Maddie back. Her plan is to make a movie with Neil's twin, Sahil, and win over Neil along the way, but she ends up falling for Sahil and making things worse between her and Maddie. Twinkle has to face herself, her family problems, and her friends before she can make things better between her ex-best friend and the boy she is falling for.

Twinkle is easily the most relatable character I have ever read; she is real and even when she knows she is doing something wrong, she can't stop herself. She allows her newfound director power to go to her head and loses sight of her original vision. Isn't this something that we all do? I loved getting to know this character and watching her growth. I also cried alongside her when she realizes how she feels about her mother's constant ignoring her and when she sees that Sahil truly cares for her.
Overall, Sandhya Menon did an outstanding job!

A copy of this became available through my library and I grabbed it. I'd read and really liked When Dimple Met Rishi.Although I didn't love this quite as much as I loved Dimple, I'd still recommend it. This one is set in high school so it reads less mature (but age appropriate and would recommend to girls maybe 14-17. Dimple/Rishi is set in early college and would recommend to more mature readers, maybe girls 16-19.Not that they're only enjoyable for/at that age.What I love about both of these books and this author:1) Her main characters (the female protagonist and her male love interest) are Indian - it's nice to see more diverse representation in characters. 2) She writes strong, young quirky female leads. Dimple is into coding. Twinkle is a filmmaker. Both follow their passions (unconventional and not typically female-heavy career interests) and don't settle. Both are unapologetically intelligent, driven and passionate about following their dreams and interests. Both are imperfect though--they mess up in relationships (both romantic and friendships in realistic ways and learn from it).3) Both girls (and their love interest) come from conservative and loving Indian families and parents. Family is important in the culture and to the characters and while there is some tension between the less traditional protagonists and their more conservative family members, it's handled with grace, respect and resolved in a healthy way.4) She writes conservatively age-appropriate romances. In the case of Twinkle/Sahil, there's kissing and that's about as far as it goes. Dimple/Rishi are older and it goes further, but all 'sexual' scenes are handled in a gentle and respectful way and most importantly - the portrayals of relationships are all healthy and both parties equal.5) Friendships (girl/girl, girl/boy, boy/boy) are handled in authentic ways, even when there's conflict and tension.6) Perhaps most importantly - while the female protagonists are somewhat unconventional in their career/professional aspirations, they're fairly traditional in their romantic pursuits. Although the focus is on the females and the story told primarily from her perspective, there's no boy bashing! The girls are built up for who they are and the characters make choices about boys that seems right for them and true to themselves. Shows in a gentle and non-preachy way that it's possible to be pro-female without being anti-male. That's really important for girls to know and sadly, isn't always the cultural message that's pushed forward these days.What I liked less about this book is in the construct of the plot itself. I didn't think the author's choices worked quite as well here. But, without belaboring those details, I read the whole thing and it worked well enough. These are stories that would be good for a girls' book group or as a readalong if mentoring a girl around this age.

2.5 Stars. This had some promising ideas, they just weren’t explored to the extent that I would have liked.Twinkle, an aspiring filmmaker, agrees to make a short film with Sahil, an aspiring critic, in hopes that it will not only set the stage for her career, but also elevate her status at school, landing her dream guy (Sahil’s twin), and wining back her best friend who’s grown apart from Twinkle. Aside from Sahil’s texts and blog posts, the book is mostly told from Twinkle’s point of view through journal entries written to her favorite female filmmakers. A clever concept, however, it mostly just stayed a concept as the entries/Twinkle’s experiences don’t really reflect or touch on these ladies’ films. I felt like Twinkle and Sahil’s romance and their characters would have benefited from having more of Neil (Sahil’s twin, Twinkle’s crush) in the story. With so little Neil, for the most part you’re just told that Sahil is in his shadow, you don’t often get to really feel the weight of that shadow on Sahil. And maybe a few more scenes of Twinkle interacting with Neil could have given the reader a glimpse of him beyond the superficial, so when Twinkle acts like she has this big choice to make between the brothers, it might have actually seemed like a big choice had she gotten to know Neil even a little, it might have seemed like there were higher stakes for Twinkle and for Sahil if she’d forged some sort of personal connection with Neil, too, instead, her struggle to choose made her seem shallow. Twinkle’s tension with her best friend was perhaps resolved a bit too easily and tidily, but emotionally their friendship woes were more interesting, more complex, and more real than the romance, where the awkwardness between Twinkle and Sahil often had a staged feel, the awkwardness between Twinkle and Maddie had an authentic bittersweet note to it. Much like with this author’s When Dimple Met Rishi, I found myself disappointed to be presented with a heroine who has a passion in her life (a passion that is not a boy) and yet, like Dimple, we hardly see Twinkle doing this thing she’s passionate about. Other than a temper tantrum, we barely see Twinkle on her movie sets, those moments are mostly glossed over/summarized as opposed to shown. We’re told throughout the book what a talented filmmaker Twinkle is, unfortunately we’re rarely shown her talent in action. When the estranged best friend is cast in the lead role, when Twinkle is trying to gain confidence in life and her future as a director, and when the producer, Sahil, happens to be her crush’s insecure brother who is crushing on Twinkle, that’s a juicy movie-focused set-up only to have more scenes take place on a hike, at a carnival, and at parties than in the making of the movie. The strongest conflict and comedy probably could have been mined from the film making, and it might have provided a source of inspiration to see a young woman actually direct, write a script or take an active role in the editing of her own film rather than leave the job solely to a boy. It seemed like there was an opportunity to tell a more original story by centering it around this girl making a movie instead of veering into contemporary romance clichés like having to take shelter from a storm. That hike may have made sense had they been scouting locations, but no, during the deadline for a movie, they somehow had time to just go off hiking for seemingly no purpose other than to get “romantically” caught in a storm. I know From Twinkle, With Love is marketed as a romantic comedy, that was the reason for the secret admirer, the getting caught in the storm, the carnival, etc., but to me, those things didn’t add much to the story. I can’t help feeling that there was a way for this to still be a romantic comedy and at the same time truly showcase the most appealing aspect of the story, seeing a girl striving to succeed in a field that isn’t all that open to females yet.

This novel is on the 2019 Lone Star list; it is realistic fiction with a lovely romance thrown in.Twinkle considers herself a groundling who one day will be a brilliant film director. Groundlings were the audience members at a Shakespearean play “who would have to stand in the front of the stage and got called out (unfairly, IMO) for being rowdy and smelly and having the mange or whatnot” (2). Twinkle calls the rich kids in her class the “silk feathered hats.” Twinkle doesn’t feel that her life is going well. Her best friend doesn’t spend much time with her anymore; instead, Maddie, the best friend, spends her time with the silk feathered hats. One thing that Twinkle thinks differentiates her from them is that she is from a poor family; she doesn’t have a cell phone, cannot afford coffee at a popular hangout, or buy anything extra. She also feels unloved at home. She spends most of her time with her Dadi (grandmother), but her parents are absent a lot. She envisions a future where she is a silk-feathered hat. She imagines dating Neil, the most popular boy who is great at literally everything. Consequently, she’ll get her best friend back. Of course, her future-future self will then become a brilliant film director. The future looks great--it’s the now that’s the problem.Sahil has been crazy about Twinkle for years, but she doesn’t know that. He knows that she is talented and after she notices him, suggests that she enter the Midsummer Night Arts Festival. He has film abilities as well and would like to produce her film. He even has ideas as to what the film should entail. They begin to work together and Twinkle sees how wonderful and smart and cute and kind and talented Sahil is. She just can’t quite commit because she’s had her fantasy idea in her head for quite a while. The other problem is that the famous Neil is Sahil’s twin brother. She’s also a little bitter about her best friend and the silk feathered hats. Directing this movie will show everyone how great she is instead of them. This is her chance!Twinkle’s journey isn’t a straight line. She meanders about as she gets to know all of these people she’s judged from afar. My favorite character if Victoria. She is a well-grounded (pun-intended) silk feathered hat, knowing exactly who she is and accepting of others and who they are. I also like Sahil. These two character show how to be a friend. If you don’t have friends like them, you need to find some additional friends!This is ultimately a novel about relationships, particularly friendships. The “lesson” is that true friends talk with honesty to each other, not in a hurtful way, but in a way to make us better people. If we truly have good friends, we need to listen to them. Sometimes we don’t make the best decisions and need to be called on it gently by our friends. Also, be someone who uplifts people.

This was a cute YA contemporary romance. I enjoyed it and read it very quickly. This should appeal to YA contemporary romance fans.The story is about a girl who is really into film making and gets talked into making a film for a school festival. Along the way many social and romantic antics ensue. The book also has some coming of age themes about getting to know yourself and getting comfortable with who you are.This was a super easy read, I read it in one sitting. The characters were fun and lovable.Overall this was a well done feel-good YA contemporary romance. It was fun and easy to read and a great light diversion. I would recommend to fans of YA contemporary romance. If you enjoy books by Stephanie Perkins, Jennifer E. Smith, or Simone Elkeles you will probably enjoy this book.

Sandhya Menon, with only two books, has become my go-to for nerdy girl teen romance.

This was a quick, fluffy read from the author of "When Dimple Met Rishi", but I much preferred Dimple. Twinkle felt younger than sixteen and was often very immature and shallow. Her insecurities became annoying and she was forever putting herself and others down. The term 'groundlings' was used far too frequently and it quickly started to grate on my nerves every time it was used.The secret admirer sub-plot was weak and it was far too easy to predict who it was. It was unnecessary and just filled up pages without adding to the book in any way. I was also disappointed with Twinkle's film. I was hoping for something original, not just a gender-reversal retelling of Dracula. There was potential to make this a really powerful part of the book, but the author took the easy road and there was very little focus on the filmmaking process.Sahil was a sweetie and I thought Twinkle treated him badly on more than one occasion. He lived too often in the shadow of his popular twin brother, Neil, even though he was a talented film producer, very loyal and a genuinely nice guy.However, my favourite character was Twinkle's grandmother, Dadi. She was very refreshing and rather zany, and she brought humour to the book. I often found myself smiling at her antics. Although Sahil and Dadi were great characters, for me the others were fairly one dimensional and flat, and I never connected with them.Sadly, after enjoying "When Dimple Met Rishi" so much "From Twinkle with Love" was a disappointment.

This book has some major character development, which is great! In the beginning of the book Twinkle really annoyed me. I mean her actions and thoughts made her sound more like 13 instead of 16. She was SO naïve, it made sense to a point because it did seem like she had lived a pretty sheltered life but it was still annoying. She definitely gets better as the story goes along and as she has new experiences. Then she starts getting really full of herself and was annoying all over again! Overall really cute book with as I said great character development and Sahil was totally swoon worthy!

Twinkle is no Dimple--cover similarities aside, the stories are different. Twinkle is a budding filmmaker and the novel is set up in an epistolary style as she pens her innermost thoughts to various female directors. Add in Sahil's very thinly disguised blog posts (thank goodness for zero page views) and the story flows very easily. It wouldn't be a teen romance without unrequited love, and in this case, it is Sahil's much more suave twin brother. When Sahil asks Twinkle to work on a film for the Midsummer Night Arts Festival, she does it both for a chance to show truth to her classmates and get closer to Neil. (the brother) I didn't actually like all of Twinkle's actions during the book, but Sahil's adorable dorkiness makes up for it.

Twinkle Mehra wants to be a filmmaker, but her ventures thus far have been limited. When Sahil Roy, aspiring film critic, suggests that she produce a film for her school's Midsummer festival, she agrees: not only will this give her a chance to develop her art, but maybe it will bring her closer to Sahil's crush-worthy twin brother Neil. As they work on the project together, Twinkle can't deny that she has feelings for Sahil -- but Neil could be her ticket into the popular clique at school, and that's a dream she's not quite ready to give up -- especially since she's been getting secret admirer emails from someone who signs his name "N." When Twinkle starts power-tripping and her world begins to fall apart as a result, will she be able to pick up the pieces and learn from her mistakes?I enjoyed this book even more than When Dimple Met Rishi. Sahil is adorkably sweet and almost too perfect. Twinkle goes through a slightly over-the-top bout of self-centered nastiness in the middle of the book, but pulls out of it in a way that redeemed the character for me. If you like lighthearted realistic YA books, I'd recommend this one.