If there was ever a summer when 'beach reads' were truly needed, the summer of 2020 was it. Even so, my summer reading list was still full of heavy nonfiction, and fiction that dealt with some serious topics. Even the books for YA Fest were filled with weighty material, and I would not necessarily consider any of them to be 'light' reading. So it took me until late August to pick up something that could even remotely be considered a beach read, and 10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon is the perfect remedy to a stressful summer. It is Menon's third book in the Dimple and Rishi universe, which includes When Dimple Met Rishi, and There's Something About Sweetie.
The Situation: Pinky Kumar is a social justice warrior. She knows when most people use that label to decribe her, they mean it to be an insult, but she wears that label with pride. No cause is too small, and if it upsets people, especially her severe and stern lawyer mother, than all the better. She is almost the direct opposite of Samir Jha, a friend of a friend who has had the definition of a sheltered life. Homeschooled his entire life, and used to planning his days through lists, Samir would rather play it safe, respect authority, and plan is future. When his summer internship at a law firm in Washington, DC falls through, Samir faces the somewhat distasteful choice of returning home to his overprotective mother. But then he receives a text from the most unlikely person: Pinky. Turns out she needs a favor, and as crazy as her proposition is, it will at least keep Samir from having to return home to a disappointing summer.
The Problem: Samir may be a fool to agree to being Pinky's fake boyfriend for the summer, but he believes Pinky is even more of a fool for even thinking it up. Desperate to impress her mother and not be looked at as a screw-up for once, Pinky told her parents that she had a respectable boyfriend with goals in life. Unfortunately, this boyfriend does not exist, but Samir's sudden lack of summer plans, and his desire to not return home, and the possibility of obtaining a fall internship with Pinky's mother, make him the perfect stand-in...until the two pretend love birds remember how much they dislike each other. Where Samir is all about order and safety, Pinky is all about chaos, and relishes her identity as a troublemaker and black sheep. The fake couple struggle to hold simple conversations; they cannot agree on anything; and everything is a fight. Until it isn't. Until they start to get along (somewhat). Until they start to see the positives in each other, and this crazy scheme doesn't seem so crazy anymore.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult fiction novel set mostly in and around the Cape Cod lake house Pinky's family retreats to every summer (for those who are wondering how the book fits into the Dimpleverse, Pinky and Samir both appeared in There's Something About Sweetie as friends of Ash). From the beginning, Pinky and Samir are set up as opposites of each other. Pinky has multi-colored hair, loves to protest and support unconventional causes, and when she does something, she does it with everything she has. Samir, on the other hand, irons his clothes every day, plays everything safe, and thinks people like Pinky are reckless and selfish. These are two people from two different worlds, struggling to understand each other, and for most of the book, they fail miserably. Samir is certainly a product of his upbringing, as he spent a fair amount of his childhood taking care of his mother when she had cancer. And while Pinky loves to have people believe she does not care what anyone thinks, the truth is she cares deeply what they think, and wants to be seen as the protesting rebel who causes trouble. If she finds herself attracted to someone like Samir, then what does that really say about her? In this book, Menon tackles that always complicated issue of identity, which always seems to be at its most complicated during the teenage years.
My Verdict: This is such a fun book, so much so that as annoying as Pinky was to me, I still enjoyed every part of it. I feel like if I went to school with Pinky, I could probably hold a conversation with her and get along with her fine, but I would not want to actually hang out with her. We would have had different friend circles for sure. But I admire her passion, and it hurt to see how much she wanted to connect with her mother, but could not quite seem to make it happen. Anyone who has ever felt misunderstood by their parents - or simply not seen or not heard - will appreciate what Pinky is going through. And anyone who has lived their life trying to always play it safe, mostly due to past trauma, will be able to relate to Samir. Sure, it is the classic enemies-to-lovers trope, but as usual, Menon adds a level of fun and wonder all her own.
Favorite Moment: When Pinky is able to learn from her aunt why her stern mother is the way she is.
Favorite Character: As much as Pinky likes to poke fun at Samir and his straight-laced lifestyle, I definitely connected more with him than I did with her. Sure, he could stand to live a little, but there is nothing wrong with doing a little research before diving into something.
Recommended Reading: All three books in the Dimpleverse are wonderful. I also recommend From Twinkle, With Love.
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