10 Things I Hate About Pinky

Gr 9 Up–Pinky Kumar and her family are spending the summer at a vacation home on Cape Cod with her relatives. As stresses increase between Pinky and her mother, Pinky wonders if her parents would prefer her to be more like her cousin Dolly. With all the demands, Pinky insists that she has a perfect boyfriend back home who has transformed her from reckless to responsible. Meanwhile, Pinky’s frenemy Samir is everything her parents would want in a son-in-law, and she persuades him to spend the summer with her family as her pretend beau. This story is a layered mix of emotion and merriment, with an entire cast of Desi characters. Pinky and Samir have fleshed-out personalities that are relatable. Pinky is stubborn and strong-minded, resolute to be a dissenting voice in the world when her parents don’t fully support her. The friendship between Pinky and Samir stimulates the story with touching charm, and that is where the heart of the novel resonates.