From Twinkle, with Love

March 19, 2018
Sixteen-year-old Twinkle Mehra fantasizes about becoming a successful filmmaker, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have regular teenage problems: she’s in love with a boy named Neil, who barely knows she exists; her best friend, Maddie, is acting strangely toward her; and her crush’s twin brother, Sahil (also an aspiring filmmaker), is paying her a lot of attention. After Sahil convinces Twinkle to collaborate on a documentary film project, she starts receiving emails from an admirer, who signs his letters N, and Twinkle hopes it’s Neil. Then Twinkle starts to fall for Sahil, she grows confused about her admirer, and her relationship with Maddie goes off the rails. Menon brings an effervescent energy to Twinkle’s story, which is reminiscent in tone to Menon’s When Dimple Met Rishi. The story is told, in part, through Twinkle’s confessional letters to famous filmmakers that serve effectively as diary entries. Mehra’s story line and characters lack a degree of cohesion, and the story’s epistolary content isn’t always well integrated. Nevertheless, Twinkle’s relationship with Sahil is sweet and believable, while the heart of this story hangs on Twinkle’s conflict with Maddie, and the pain she feels when Maddie drops her for the popular girls. Twinkle’s relatable quandaries and her worthy professional aspirations give Menon’s heroine solid appeal. Ages 12–up. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.