From Twinkle, with Love

From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SPOILERS AHEAD

Romance with a side of feminism and also bad decisions. For the most part, I really admired Twinkle, with her clear vision as a filmmaker and desire to use her talents to push forward the stories of those who don't normally see themselves on screen. Her idea for a gender-swapped Dracula sounds fascinating and I find myself wishing I could watch her movie, as delightful as it is described. Sahil, her producer and personal love interest, is both deeply caring and incredibly thoughtful, and also a true feminist, supporting Twinkle in her vision and decisions and doing everything in his power to help her do her job.

As admirable as Twinkle's vision is, I have a lot of issues with her actions and motivations, especially as the book went on. Yes, Twinkle's main goal in life is to become a filmmaker, and enact true change in the world. Unfortunately, her short-term goals seem to be more focused on becoming popular enough to hang with the cool kids, in order to gain back her former best friend Maddie's love and attention. Twinkle spends a good portion of the book alternately kissing Sahil and pushing him away because, despite their obvious connection ("our souls are the same"), she thinks she needs to date Sahil's twin Neil in order to truly become a part of Maddie's life again. And then, at some point, Twinkle gets so wrapped up in the drama surrounding Maddie and Hannah's behavior towards her that she feels like her job is to "expose the truth" about the cool kids - how they talk behind each other's backs, and the ways they hurt one another. Of course, Maddie and Hannah aren't blameless in this whole fiasco. Maddie let Hannah's jealousy over her and Twinkle's friendship stop her from being a true friend, and basically abandoned Twinkle after years of friendship. I don't blame Twinkle for being hurt and upset by the way she was treated. I'm just glad that she realized how crazy she had become before she truly did something she would regret. What Twinkle came to learn is something that we could all bear to keep in mind: "I wanted to make movies that would bring people together, not ones that would tear them apart."

The best example of female friendship in this book is Victoria. Even though Twinkle always seems to question her motives, since she's one of the cool kids, Victoria spends this book being kind, giving, welcoming, and honest. Victoria volunteers to help with Twinkle's movie; she comes when Twinkle calls asking for help her with her hair and makeup; she insists on inviting Twinkle to her house, despite Hannah not wanting her there and Maddie telling Twinkle she should stay away; she invests her time into hanging out with Twinkle when she could easily be off doing her own thing; she selflessly works to bring Maddie and Twinkle back together and help heal their relationship. Victoria becomes an important sounding board and voice of reason for Twinkle, as she fights her way back to finding her true center. All of us can only hope to one day have as great of a friend as Victoria.

The true heart of this book is Sahil. He was a true support for Twinkle at the times she needed it most, and was always honest with her about what he thought, even when he thought it would cost him a chance at a relationship with her. After his initial nerves, Sahil was consistently open with Twinkle about his feelings for her, and was willing to give her all the time she needed to figure things out. I don't blame Sahil for being hurt when he found out Twinkle's hesitation was because of his own brother, especially after he had told her about the issues he's had since childhood of living in Neil's shadow. To think that the girl you love, that is your match in every way, might still prefer your brother -- that would be heartbreaking. I'm just happy that his wonderful nature extends to include a willingness to forgive and hopefully forget Twinkle's mistakes of the heart. The love and kindness Sahil showed to Twinkle and her family is almost mind-blowing, and I hope his example of love and thoughtfulness has a lasting effect on her and everyone around them.

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