Verdict: ☆☆☆☆. Simply A heart-touching tale of a young girl blend with emotions. As a girl, I could simply relate to Ananya and her life.. An appealing and enthralling tale by a young debutante writer. A must read book.
About The Author: A chemical engineer from IIT Roorkee, Shilpa Gupta holds a postgraduate degree in management from IIM Ahmedabad. While she has many published financial research papers to her credit, Ananya marks her debut into the world of fiction.
About The book: An engaging read from a talented young writer. ' Ira Trivedi, bestselling author of India in Love. 'I took the test and prayed for the color of the lines on the strip to stay as they were. But they did not. The test was positive. I felt my entire world come crashing down around me. ' Meet Ananya Sharma, not your regular, teenage girl-next-door.
Sure, she loves hanging out with her friends and engaging in whispers confidences at sleepovers, but when it comes to boys, she has competition on her mind rather than romance. At school, she is passionate about math and the sciences and completely focussed on cracking the IIT entrance exams. But when distraction enters her life in the form of the handsome and charming Rohit, Ananya discovers love, longing and betrayal, all at once. Finding herself pregnant at the age of seventeen, she learns that the world is a very different place once you are on its wrong side. The discovery of the fault lines in her parents' relationship which until then had seemed perfect to her further breaks her.
Will Ananya be able to reverse the downward spiral that her life has plunged into and find meaning once again? In this wonderfully stark and honest portrayal of a teenager's life, Ananya: A Bittersweet Journey has managed to encapsulate an entire generation's struggle of growing up in today's often troubled times.
Review: The cover of the book is simply beautiful and perfectly suited with the title and blurb. A young school girl standing and facing the criticism of people for one wrong act. Why always women suffer only and not the opposite sex when both of them are involved together. Shilpa had beautifully described about the life of Ananya-the main protagonist of the book. The emotions captured by the Author were heart-touching. Every young girl can relate to Ananya. The book not only deals with Sexual issue, but also it states that We have a patriarchal society where only mothers have a responsibility towards the upbringing of their child rather than joint responsibility. Both the situations are well written by the Author. An astonishing and evocative narration by the author which will keep you captivated till the end. As a reader, I feel both girls and boys should be given knowledge of sex rather than girls alone as both are responsible for the wrong act. But in our society only women suffer. I hope with this novel youth should be more alert. The end was also well-written. This book is a source of inspiration for all the young man and woman. As a woman, I was thoroughly connected to Ananya and her fighting spirit. The way she fought with her life was praiseworthy. The pain, Sorrows of a young teenage girl was brilliantly written. As a debut Author, I would truly appreciate her writing and would suggest everyone to read this book.
Drawback: As a reader, I felt that Rohit and Ananya should encounter once in the end so that Rohit should see the sudden change in Anany’s life and her fighting spirit. Secondly. At some parts of the book that narration was a bit fast and one got confused.
All the best Shilpa for a wonderful and inspirational book.