Bindi Babes, Bollywood Babes, and Bhangra Babes

I first saw Bindi Babes by Narinder Dhami in a bookstore at Gatwick Airport on my way back home from visiting my brother in London. I almost bought it and Bollywood Babes, the sequel, right then and there but I was already over my luggage weight limit, and it would have ended up being cheaper in Canada. Luckily, the library had them on order so I didn't have to spend a cent! I really enjoyed them though, so I just might go out and buy them as well as the third book, Bhangra Babes.

Bindi Babes is about three Indian-British sisters who try to be perfect in every way, to try to prove to everyone (themselves included) that they're coping well with their mother's death. Their father is obviously not coping all that well, and is hardly ever home. He buys them anything they want, which just adds to their perfect appearance. But then their nosy aunt arrives from India, and wrecks everything! In the end, the girls find out that they don't need to be perfect, that it's ok to grieve, and that the important thing is to be themselves.

In Bollywood Babes, the sisters find out that an ageing Bollywood star, who left the film industry amid scandal, is living in a town very close to them. The school is putting on a Bollywood night, so the sisters decide to try to convince the star to make an appearance. When they go to her house, they realize that she is destitute, so they invite her to live with them. They could never have predicted the effect that act of charity would have on them, their friends, their community, and their school.

In Bhangra Babes, the three sisters try to get the attention of the hot new boy at school, Rocky, who is into bhangra and has his own recording studio. They hire Rocky to be the DJ at their aunt's wedding, but when they hear his work, they realize they've made a BIG mistake.

Letting go of Bobby James, or how I found my self of steam

I picked this one up because of the title. How could I resist? Letting go of Bobby James, or how I found my self of steam by Valerie Hobbs is the story of sixteen-year-old Sally Jo (Jody) Walker, who is left behind at a gas station in Florida by her abusive husband, Bobby James. She's too proud to call home (in Texas) and try to get help, so she finds herself a job, sleeps in the cineplex, and eventually makes a few friends: Effaline, a pregnant girl, and Dooley, who works at the cineplex and lives in a group home. Everything seems to be going fine, until a hurricane hits and Bobby James shows up. An interesting book about friendship and survival. This would make a great audiobook, I bet. I could almost hear Jody's voice as I was reading.

Kalpana's Dream

I love everything South Asian, so I was really excited about reading Kalpana's Dream by Judith Clarke. It's the story of Kalpana, who lives in India, and her great-granddaughter Neema, who lives in Australia. Kalpana's husband died when he was 20 and she was 18, and she wishes she could see his face again. She has dreamt about her friends and family, all except her husband. She has one recurring dream where she's flying just above the ground, near a blue lake, and she knows that when she gets over the hill she'll see her husband's face, but she always wakes up too soon. Kalpana decides to go to Australia to visit Neema and her mother. Kalpana only speaks Hindi, so Neema feels insecure around her because she thinks Kalpana is disappointed in her. In addition, Neema and her schoolmates are having a really hard time with their English assignment - an essay entitled "Who am I?" I liked most of this book except for a weird side-story about the English teacher dating Dracula.

The Last Chance Texaco

"The Last Chance Texaco" is the nickname of a Kindle Home, the last chance group home for troubled teens before being sent to "Eat-Their-Young island", a scary place for even the toughest teens. Lucy Pitt, whose parents died when she was seven and who has been shuffled from foster home to foster home ever since, has resigned herself to the fact that she'll eventually end up on the island. Kindle Home is different than the other homes - besides the fact that the home itself is actually a run-down mansion complete with crystal chandelier, the staff actually care about the teens. But the therapist has it out for Lucy, as do some of the students at the ritzy high school who resent having a "homie" in their school. And when someone starts setting fires in the neighbourhood, the group home is threatened with closure. But is it really a Kindle Home resident who's setting the fires, or someone who wants them out of the neighbourhood?
The Last Chance Texaco by Brent Hartinger is a good read, and the identity of the arsonist totally surprised me. The ending is a little too perfect and there were elements of the story that didn't seem realistic to me, but other than that, I really enjoyed this book.

So B. It

Last night I read So B. It by Sarah Weeks. It's the story of Heidi's quest to find out more about her mentally challenged mother. Their neighbour, Bernadette, has been taking care of them since Heidi and her mom showed up at her doorstep when Heidi was only a week old. Heidi's mom knows only 23 words, one of which is "soof". Heidi is determined to find out what "soof" is, and hopefully in the process find out more about her mother. Heidi finds out that her mom used to live in Liberty, New York, a 3 1/2 day bus trip away from Reno, where they live now. Problem is, Bernadette's agoraphobic, and Heidi is only 12, 3 years too young to go on an interstate bus trip alone. The ending's a tearjerker, but this was a really good book. It's easy and fast to read, and it's divided into 23 short chapters, one for each word Heidi's mom knows.