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INTERMEDIATE FICTION
Kelkar, Supriya

That Thing About Bollywood

352 pp. | Simon | May, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-5344-6673-9 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-5344-6675-3 $10.99
(2) 4-6 Eleven-year-old Indian American Sonali keeps her emotions to herself. She maintains a stoic demeanor in order to protect her younger brother from her parents' constant arguments, and she attempts to unite the family with weekly Bollywood movie nights. When her parents announce a trial separation and her best friend grows closer to the popular girl at their Los Angeles middle school, Sonali's feelings bubble to the surface and break out as "Bollywooditis." In this alternate reality, her entire life is a Bollywood movie, and as such her emotions are on full display in disruptive musical solos she can't help singing at inopportune moments. A horrified Sonali attempts to tamp down her personal soundtrack, garish makeovers, and coordinated background dancers, to no avail. It is only when she faces up to the reality of her parents' divorce and communicates her pent-up feelings that the "filmi magic" fades. Kelkar creates sympathetic characters burdened by family secrets, cultural expectations, and bottled-up emotions. She deftly draws out the impact divorce can have on friendships, schoolwork, and a child's inner life. The heaviness of these themes is lightened by Bollywood touches, which also explore the seesaw effect of both loving and cringing at one’s culture.
Reviewer: Sadaf Siddique | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

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