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The Grand Plan to Fix Everything
Indian American Dini and her best friend, Maddie, are two heartbroken eleven-year-olds after learning Dini’s family is moving to India for two years after her mother receives a medical grant to work in the village of Swampnagiri. There’s only one bright spot: Dini and Maddie are huge fans of Dolly Singh, star of their favorite Bollywood movies. Dini thinks she can track Dolly down and meet her, despite Bombay (as all the filmi people call Mumbai) being far from Swampnagiri. Uma Krishnaswami’s lighthearted escapade is plotted like a Bollywood film, meaning the many obstacles that would seem to stand between Dini and Dolly will surely be overcome. There’s plenty of coincidence fueling their eventual encounter in a story that not only follows Dini’s life in India and her ongoing connection with Maddie via email, but also peeks in on the lives of Dolly and a variety of other characters who all have a role to play in Dini and Dolly’s meeting. An over-the-top, movielike happy ending with all the characters’ assorted problems clearing up simultaneously is simply part of the charm of this funny and original novel. ©2011 Cooperative Children's Book Center
Illustrated by Abigail Halpin
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 8-11
Age Range:
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Acting and Actors
Asian Americans
Celebrity/Fame
Film, Movies and Television
Friendship
Humor
Indians and Indian Americans
Moving
Diversity subject:
Asian
Publisher:
Atheneum
Publish Year: 2011
Pages: 266
ISBN: 9781416995890
CCBC Location: Fiction, Krishnaswami