Gita Desai Is Not Here to Shut Up

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Author(s)

Sonia Patel

Publisher

Dial Books

Genre(s)

Age Range

14+

Release Date

September 10, 2024

ISBN

978-0593463185

Buy This Book

From Morris Award finalist Sonia Patel comes a sharply written YA about a girl grappling with a dark, painful secret from her past, perfect for fans of All My Rage and The Way I Used to Be.

It’s eighteen-year-old Gita Desai’s first year at Stanford, and the fact that she’s here and not already married off by her traditional Gujarati parents is a miracle. She’s determined to death-grip her good-girl, model student rep all the way to med school, which means no social life or standing out in any way. Should be easy: If there’s one thing she’s learned from her family, it’s how to chup-re—to “shut up,” fade into the background. But when childhood memories of her aunt’s desertion and her then-uncle’s best friend resurface, Gita ends up ditching the books night after night in favor of partying and hooking up with strangers. Still, nothing can stop the little voice growing louder and louder inside her that says something is wrong. . . . And the only way she can burst forward is to stop shutting up about the past.

Editor review

1 review

Gritty and Emotional

October 29, 2024

Overall rating

3.7

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

3.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Gita has her life at Stanford all planned out, even though her parents prefer her to marry a man to support her instead of studying. However, when she gets there, she finds herself straying from her strict timeline. Choosing to go out with new friends instead of studying, Gita starts to fall behind. She also gets into uncomfortable situations and instead of speaking up, she holds her tongue and tells herself to shut up. That is, until things boil over and become too much.

GITA DESAI IS NOT HERE TO SHUT UP is an emotional rollercoaster that will crush your heart. It’s a contemporary coming of age story that’s all about learning from your bad decisions in life. Gita makes lots of horrible mistakes but learns to find her voice. I do want to mention trigger warnings for sensitive topics like racism and rape. Gita comes from a family of immigrants and struggles to break out of there old fashioned demands of her. She wants her own identity and not the one her parents try to force upon her. The author isn’t afraid to tackle all of these sensitive themes and we’re given a story full of raw emotion.

Final Verdict: I would recommend this story to older teens and adults who like gritty, sensitive contemporaries. This book will rip you apart and get your mind spinning.