An Un-Calibrated Centrifuge

Born Confused

Born Confused - Tanuja Desai Hidier

I feel a little silly giving this book up seeing as I've read 200+ pages of it so far. But it's a library book. I have 10+ library books out right now. This one isn't holding my attention. I've read 200+ pages but it feels like nothing much has happened yet. In many ways it feels like I just reached the start of the plot. I'll give it another try some other time.

 

ETA: I really liked that the book was unapologetically Indian. By which I mean, not everything was explained to death. It's something I've noticed particularly in Korean YA books, but anything too Korean is explained again and again. It's annoying because it makes the books feel like they're written for outsiders (people reading the book won't know halmoni so I'll emphasize it's meaning ten times in two paragraphs) rather than Korean teens who would understand all of that without the explanations (unrelated note: I really want some kimchee now). 

 

Hidier avoids that which I loved, even if I was constantly looking things up while reading the book. 

 

Also, I have a love/hate relationship with Gywn (it seems like most readers really dislike her). Yes, she's annoying, but I liked some of the conversations she raised as the white friend (especially when she was talking about the invisibility of whiteness). I just feel like I've known a lot of people like Gwyn, so it was nice to see that reflected in a book.