Born Confused
Seventeen-year-old Dimple Lala is a first generation Indian American living in New Jersey. She fails to claim her passion for photography just as she fails to embrace her Indian heritage as a positive part of her identity. Dimple's parent seem determined connect her with a suitable boy, and they believe they've found one in Karsh, the son of an old friend from medical school in India. At first, as Dimple tells her best friend, Gwyn, she is seriously uninterested in Karsh. But just as she's taking a second look, tall, thin, blonde-haired, picture-perfect Gwyn, who's just been dumped, looks too, complicating Dimple's feelings for both her best friend and this young man who has begun to intrigue her. Dimple is also becoming immersed for the first time in a vibrant South Asian club culture in New York City, thanks in part to her cousin Kavita, recently arrived from India and a student at NYU. Kavita also invites Dimple to attend a student conference on South Asian identity. That Gwyn participates even more eagerly than Dimple, throwing herself into "becoming more Indian" because of her interest in Karsh, and her need to find something to fill the void of an emotionally barren family, is just one of the many funny, embarrassing, authentic, and genuine moments that abound in this sparkling, complex, appealing first novel. It's hard for Dimple to navigate her changing relationship with Gwyn, especially after discovering that her best friend, whom she thought she knew so well, has been holding back a lot from her. But perhaps the greatest revelation she has by summer's end -- beyond her own newfound ability to embrace who she is and what she cares about -- is that her parents are so much more complex and extraordinary than she ever imagined. Their greatest wish is not for Dimple to find a husband, but rather a soul-mate, whoever that might be. ©2002 Cooperative Children's Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 14 and older
Age Range:
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Art and Artists
Asian Americans
Families
Friendship
Humor
Identity
Indians and Indian Americans
Diversity subject:
Asian
Publisher:
Scholastic Press
Publish Year: 2002
Pages: 413
ISBN: 0439357624
CCBC Location: Fiction, Hidier