Review Detail

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.