Lovetorn

3.0

3.3 (1)

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Author(s)

Kavita Daswani

Publisher

HarperTeen

Genre(s)

Romance

Age Range

14+

Release Date

January 17, 2012

ISBN

0061673110

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When Shalini’s father gets a new job in L.A., she is torn away from her life in India and the boy to whom she’s been betrothed since she was three. L.A. is so different, and Shalini dresses and talks all wrong. She isn’t sure she’ll survive high school in America without her fiancé, Vikram, and now she has to cope with her mom’s homesickness and depression. A new friend, chill and confident Renuka, helps Shalini find her way and get up the courage to join the Food4Life club at school. But she gets more than just a friend when she meets Toby—she gets a major crush. Shalini thinks she loves Vikram, but he never made her feel like this.

In Lovetorn, Shalini discovers that your heart ultimately makes its own choices, even when it seems as if your destiny has already been chosen.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Lovetorn

February 26, 2012 (Updated: February 26, 2012)

Overall rating

3.0

Plot

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Characters

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The premise of Lovetorn was intriguing to me. Shalini and her family move to the United States from India and they must learn to adjust and find their place. Shalini has been engaged to Vikram since she was three years old. When she first comes to America she cannot imagine life without him, but once she makes some friends and meets Toby, she wonders what else there might be out there for her.

I was glad that Shalini and her sister were finding a way to be a part of their new community and were still able to stay true to their roots and beliefs. They were able to keep pieces of their life in India while adding in pieces to their new lives. Their mother does not have such an easy transition and battles with severe depression throughout the book. I did feel bad for the girls and their father as they had to watch their mother suffer so much.

I don't feel that I was the best audience for this book. I had a hard time relating to the characters mostly because I have not had to make that kind of transition and adjustment in my life. I cannot imagine what that would feel like. There was a lot of vocabulary and Indian terms that I was not familiar with, so I was grateful that there was a glossary included.

Overall, I appreciated the innocence of this story. I also liked that Shalini stayed true to her feelings, no matter how hard it was.

Claire Johnson, Staff Reviewer Top 50 Reviewer 238 reviews

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1 review

Overall rating

3.3

Plot

3.0(1)

Characters

5.0(1)

Writing Style

2.0(1)

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Review: Lovetorn

July 15, 2013

Overall rating

3.3

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Okay, let's start criticizing this book. This will be fun for me. Yes, criticizing is fun.

Not criticizing paragraphs:

As promised Shalini is torn from her life. She had trouble blending in with her fellow classmates. Her classmates bully her, tease her, and make fun of her. Shalini has no clue of fashion. She doesn't know what to wear and doesn't know how to act. Back at home, she has trouble with her fiance. People in the US don't get engaged/betrothed till they are like eighteen or nineteen years old. But her? Three years old. Poor girl.

Shalini's mother is depressed. She hates the US. She hates living there. She wants to go home, back to India. She gets more and more depressed and homesick.

The behaviors of the other characters were realistic. *Applauds* Good job Kavita Daswani. You got the minds of the characters down. Excellent. Brilliant. It's a job well done.

Renuka is the rock of Shalini. She helps Shalini cope with the freaky world of America. She helps her learn the basics and attitudes of Americans.

The writing was good. It flows really well for me.

The plot was cute and adorable, but I will talk a lot more about it in the "Criticizing Paragraphs" section.

Criticizing Paragraphs:

First of all, Toby. Yes, he is a cute guy. I could feel the his hotness rolling off the pages of "Lovetorn." That hot. Plus he plays an instrument. Even hotter.

The bad part is that he appears after the halfway mark of the book. AFTER. What the cuss is this author thinking! The hot guy appears at the beginning so you won't bored your reader! OMG! It's THAT SIMPLE.

The plot. UGH! I felt the plot was a little unbelievable. Truly. After being engaged for most of his life, how could he let her go so easily. He loved her so much. It was obvious! The author let Virkam go way too easily. He needs to put up a fight.

*Sigh*

This book's rating: Three out of Five.

BOOM! DONE!

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