Born Confused (Bccb Blue Ribbon Fiction Books (Awards)) (Hardcover)

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From Publishers Weekly
In this enlightening first novel, Hidier offers readers an engrossing, personal account of the Indian-American experience through the eyes of an insightful narrator. Dimple Lala, a New Jersey teen interested in photography, has been confused about her identity since she entered the world the "wrong way," causing her mother "twelve treacherous hours of painful labor." Her fascination with photography reveals Dimple's keen sense of perception as well as her role as an observer rather than a participant. "Not quite Indian, and not quite American," Dimple unsuccessfully tries to blend in, riding on the coattails of her blue-eyed, blonde best friend, Gwyn. The author nimbly describes the shared outsider status that drew together the two, "the rich little girl who lived like an orphan and the brown little girl who existed as if she were still umbilically attached to her parents." During Dimple's 17th year, however, the tables suddenly turn when Dimple's parents introduce her to Karsh Kapoor, the son of their close friends from India. Through their meeting, the author reveals Dimple's mother's own secret creative aspirations (to become a dancer in her youth) as well as another first-generation teen's attempt to straddle both cultures. When Gwyn becomes infatuated with Karsh, Dimple helps Gwyn become a suitable girlfriend for him, even as she gradually comes to admire Karsh herself. In the process, the heroine embarks on a journey of self-discovery. On one level, the book explores the growing pains, rebellious phases, peer pressures and first love experienced universally by teens. On a deeper level, it celebrates a harmonious blending of cultures as it traces one adolescent's bumpy trek towards self-actualization. If a few subplots take the main action on a slight detour (e.g., Gwyn's relationship with her high school-cum-college boyfriend, etc.), the sparkling prose will carry readers along. The author seamlessly integrates descriptions of Indian food, dress and customs, often spiced with Dimple's sarcastic commentary. But even as Dimple distances herself from her family's traditions, her sense of respect and genuine affection for her accomplished parents (both doctors) are never far from the surface. The author poetically captures the essence of her characters and the richness of seemingly insignificant moments. Absorbing and intoxicating, this book is sure to leave a lasting impression. Ages 13-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up-Dimple Lala has spent her entire life trying to fit in. In India, she is too American, while in America she feels unable to conform, largely because of her parents' efforts to educate and involve her in Indian culture. By her 17th birthday, she feels incapable of making anyone happy and is hopelessly confused as to where she belongs. Her parents are unhappy about her obsession with photography and her dating activities, while Dimple herself feels that her best friend, Gwyn, is either ignoring her for a new boyfriend or trying to usurp Dimple's family. Her parents come up with what they think is a perfect solution-they introduce her to Karsh, a suitable boy. Dimple is turned off at the thought. Just when she is sure that things can't get more complicated, she meets him again, now involved in activities that would render him completely unsuitable to her parents but that interest her. By this time Gwyn decides that he seems like the perfect boyfriend for her and Dimple ends up with a number of tricky situations. This involving story, filled with detail about the protagonist's life and background, will reward its readers. The family background and richness in cultural information add a new level to the familiar girl-meets-boy story. Teens will be rooting for Dimple and her quest to find her own place in her family and country.
Betsy Fraser, Calgary Public Library, Canada
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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First Sentence:
I guess the whole mess started around my birthday. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
darkening room, suitable boy Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, South Asian, Chica Tikka, Meera Maasi, Dimple Lala, New Jersey, Style Child, Ansel Adams, Gwyn Sexton, Lata Mangeshkar, Maria Theresa Montana, Mirror Lake, Bobby O'Malley, Lancaster Road, Radha Kapoor, American Born Confused Desi, Central Park, Hush-Hush Aunty, Jackson Heights, Julian Rothschild, Karsh Kapoor, Photo Girl, Zakir Mehra, Bad Luck House, East Is Feast New!
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87 Reviews 5 star:  (50) 4 star:  (22) 3 star:  (5) 2 star:  (5) 1 star:  (5)           Average Customer Review 4.2 out of 5 stars (87 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   17 of 17 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars A great slice of youthful cultural confusion, June 7, 2004 By  D. Movahedpour "doeadear" (CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This book is a rare treat, in that it presents the life of a typical American teenager with an atypical life, is honest, but doesn't stoop to cliches and stereotypes to tell its tale. This is the story of Dimple Lala, a young woman, born and raised in New Jersey of Indian immigrant parents, who is turning 17 at the beginning of summer. Dimple rejects her parents old-world culture and wants to be an All-American girl, but everyone else sees her as Indian. For her parents, Dimple getting drunk once while out with friends on her birthday is cause for a silent treatment and punishment of international proportions. In one of my favorite lines from the book, Dimple's mother says, "Giving birth to you was easy. It is now that I am needing the epidural!" Dimple, in comparison to her childhood friend, Gwyn, is positively a model child: a good student, a virgin who has only dated two boys, she doesn't do drugs or do anything out of the ordinary to cause her parents to worry. It turns out that both Dimple and her parents are failing to realize what they have: a caring, lovely family unit and a strong cultural background in Dimple's case, and a very good daughter, in the case of her parents. Dimple's friend, Gwyn, is beautiful and blonde and slim and the center of attention, but she comes from a home where she was abandoned by her father and ignored by her mother, and she craves the stability of Dimple's family unit, which, of course, Dimple does not understand, since she longs to be beautiful and blonde and free of parental restrictions. Dimple's parents seek to control their daughter by introducing her to a "suitable boy" meaning, of course, another Indian boy, an NYU computer major, and the son of her mother's best friend. Dimple rejects the boy on principal, but then discovers that he is a slightly unsuitable boy, and begins to fall in love with him, along with her friend, Gwyn. Dimple spends the bulk of the novel discovering herself and her life, and realizing that what she has is really a gift. She is exposed to the temptations of teenaged life, she has her heart broken and she rebels against her parents, but it takes a long summer for her to see that everything she has really is something to be envied. The book is written in a charming, witty style, and, except for a few sort of "romance novel" plot twists, it is very engrossing. It is perfect for both adults and teens, and really should be read by parents and their teenagers. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   9 of 9 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Stupendous!, October 31, 2002 By  S. Jones "Book Gourmet" (Fort Collins, CO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Tanuja Desai Hidier has written an incandescent coming-of-age novel about a young Indian (as in South Asian)woman who learns to connect with her culture, her family, and most extraordinarily, herself. At the beginning of the story, Dimple is not all that different from many teens. She finds her parents frighteningly clueless and alien at times and her best friend Gwyn is a personality-plus beauty who is everything that Dimple thinks she isn't. Dimple wears her ethnicity barely skin-deep to the point that she doesn't even identify herself as Indian when she is surrounded by other Indians in a nightclub with Gwynn. Her parents "set her up" with a nice Indian boy at informal chai-drinking visit and it's dislike-at-first-sight for Dimple. But then Dimple runs into the suitable boy again as a DJ in a nightclub and she is smitten deep down. They have a heart-to-heart conversation but then trouble develops when Gwynn, her best friend, falls in love with him too. This book is so well-written that I was sorry when it ended. This is a writer who has the ability to make her characters so real that you feel that you know them. I hope that she writes many more novels as wonderful as this one is. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   11 of 13 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars much more than culture barrier issues, September 29, 2002 By  Craig H. French (Toledo,OH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    When I first glanced at the summary of this amazing book, I thought that it was going to be another sappy teen romance with a twist of culture talk. A few short pages into the book, I was both surprised and hooked. The book focuses on the story of Dimple Lala, American born but with deep Indian roots. Her best friend is the "Marilyn Monroe for this generation" and each has something that the other finds irresistable. When Dimple's parents decide to find her a suitable Indian boy, it all goes downhill- not only is the boy suitable for Dimple, but her best friend sets her sights on him also. What is surprising about the book is that it is more about Dimple realizing that it is wonderful for her to be photo-taking self, expressing herself through her insightful photography. The story is as much about cross gender issues, cross-generational issues, how to deal with family and friends that seem both to close and to far away. It also exposes the insatiable american craving for the cultural traditions of other countries. While some parents might find certain elements unattractive, its difficult issues are presented with care and truth. I certainly would encourage both those who have difficulty fitting in, whatever culture they may hail from, as well as those who seem to find their place so easily because it truly is a book for everyone. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 87 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant coming-of-age story I've read many books in my life, but five years after completing this little novel I still remember it and it remains one of my favorite books to this day. Read more Published 16 days ago by Mary-Beth 5.0 out of 5 stars Born Consued book review "They say it's going to be an Indian summer" this quote (on page 500) is important in the realistic-fiction novel Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier. Read more Published 17 months ago 5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Worth Reading Born Confused is a great book for all. Although the book is focused on an Indian girl Dimple, who is living in New Jersey and is not surrounded by her kind of people. Read more Published 21 months ago by Kristen P. 4.0 out of 5 stars Good story Teenager Dimple Lala is confused about her whole Indian heritage thing, esp. when it touches on her love life. Read more Published on June 15, 2007 by Erin Brooks 4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good Born confused pretty much explains my own life. It makes me feel like theres someone out there that knows who I am in some way. Read more Published on April 11, 2007 2.0 out of 5 stars Major pushover and horrid friend ruin story... Born Confused follows the life of the culture-confused main character, Dimple Lala. Now I have to say, I know little about Indian cultures, but it seemed to me that... Read more Published on February 23, 2007 by Audrey 5.0 out of 5 stars Born Confused I guess the whole mess started around my first birthday. Amendment: my first birthday... So, I came out the wrong way and have been getting it all wrong ever since. (p. Read more Published on September 25, 2006 5.0 out of 5 stars Don't be confused anymore, k? I really enjoyed this book - I read the liner notes for it, and it really was a great, read-it-one-sitting book. Read more Published on July 29, 2006 by Michelle L. Kellar 2.0 out of 5 stars Could Have Been a Good Book, If Only........................... I got this book from the library, after having taken out, and IMMENSELY enjoyed other books with similar themes by Indian, and/or Indian-American authors, like Kavita Daswani,... Read more Published on July 10, 2006 by benbrattlover 5.0 out of 5 stars Born Confused? Were you born in American but have Indian parents? Do you feel confused and out of place at times? Well you aren't alone! Read more Published on June 8, 2006 by Desigirl Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 87 customer reviews...

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