Book Review: “American Betiya” by Anuradha D. Rajurkar

“American Betiya” by Anuradha D. Rajurkar (2021)

Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, YA

Page Length: 368 pages (electronic review edition)

Synopsis:

Fans of Sandhya Menon, Erika Sanchez and Jandy Nelson will identify with this powerful story of a young artist grappling with first love, family boundaries, and the complications of a cross-cultural relationship.

Rani Kelkar has never lied to her parents, until she meets Oliver. The same qualities that draw her in–his tattoos, his charisma, his passion for art–make him her mother’s worst nightmare.

They begin dating in secret, but when Oliver’s troubled home life unravels, he starts to ask more of Rani than she knows how to give, desperately trying to fit into her world, no matter how high the cost. When a twist of fate leads Rani from Evanston, Illinois to Pune, India for a summer, she has a reckoning with herself–and what’s really brewing beneath the surface of her first love.

Winner of the SCBWI Emerging Voices award, Anuradha Rajurkar takes an honest look at the ways cultures can clash in an interracial relationship. Braiding together themes of sexuality, artistic expression, and appropriation, she gives voice to a girl claiming ownership of her identity, one shattered stereotype at a time. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

American Betiya‘s main character is Rani, a teenager at a crossroads. She loves her culture and feels a deep tie to it but feels conflicted because her mother uses her background to keep a hold on her. Her upbringing has been school, scholarships, and no boys. While Rani knows her parents want the best for her she feels constrained because she feels as if she cant explore more of the world around her. When Rani meets Oliver an artsy kid she immediately falls hard for him. Though they come from two different backgrounds they share a deep connection. But will those same differences tear them apart?

This is also a coming of age narrative filled with rich culture and heritage. Rani’s interracial relationship brings up many discussions about cultural differences and socio-economic backgrounds. Rani is coming to grips with choosing a college, trying to get some space from her family, navigating high school. Meeting Oliver shakes things up exposes her to new ideas while he learns more about her culture.

Though everything seems sweet with Oliver at first things are not what they seem. I appreciated how this novel explores culture and heritage. It brings up questions about how cultures clash, respecting others’ culture, and traditions vs a modern world. Its thought-provoking and it opens a large discussion about racism, ethnicity, and feeling conflicted about your upbringing. While Rani has a loving and supportive family but also feels like they overstep boundaries. Which is something everyone has experienced being a teenager. It’s a story about crossroads, growing up, and the consequences of our actions which is summed in this conversation between Rani and her grandmother:

“The best masalas use spices slow-roasted over the flame,” she says, “browned, even a little burned. We are like that only— we burn a little to attain the complex flavor.”

This is a beautifully written YA contemporary debut and I enjoyed it thoroughly. American Betiya is a book that you should add to your TBR.

TW: Racism, Drugs/Alcohol

Final Verdict:

Final Verdict: I recieved this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.