Sandhya Menon

There's Something about Sweetie

'I'm head-over-heels for this charming, funny, romantic, life-affirming book.' Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda The irresistible companion novel to the New York Times bestseller When Dimple Met Rishi, which follows Rishi's brother, Ashish, and a confident, self-proclaimed fat athlete named Sweetie as they both discover what love means to them. Ashish Patel didn't know love could be so...sucky. After being dumped by his ex-girlfriend, his mojo goes AWOL. Even worse, his parents are annoyingly, smugly confident they could find him a better match. So, in a moment of weakness, Ash challenges them to set him up. The Patels insist that Ashish date an Indian-American girl-under contract. Per subclause 1(a), he'll be taking his date on "fun" excursions like visiting the Hindu temple and his eccentric Gita Auntie. Kill him now. How is this ever going to work? Sweetie Nair is many things: a formidable track athlete who can outrun most people in California, a loyal friend, a shower-singing champion. Oh, and she's also fat. To Sweetie's traditional parents, this last detail is the kiss of death. Sweetie loves her parents, but she's so tired of being told she's lacking because she's fat. She decides it's time to kick off the Sassy Sweetie Project, where she'll show the world (and herself) what she's really made of. Ashish and Sweetie both have something to prove. But with each date they realize there's an unexpected magic growing between them. Can they find their true selves without losing each other? 'A thoroughly delightful romance featuring a spirited, confident, and lovable heroine and an unexpectedly dashing romantic hero. Add to your must-read shelves!' Melissa de la Cruz

There's Something About Sweetie

Mel 

This is by no means a perfect book but I wanted fluffy romance and I got fluffy romance so that’s an A+ in my book.

Amelia 

I absolutely loved every single thing about this book. It is so hard to find stories/books with plus sized main characters. 

Sweetie was a real badass. As a larger woman, I really could connect with this story. Sweetie loved herself and she didn't let her size get in the way of love. 

Sweetie and Ashish have my entire heart. Now I just need to find my Ashish :) 

If you want to read a cute ass love story then this is the one. It was very uplifting and diverse.

Nedu

this series has been like reading a high quality tellywood show that never inevitably dips in quality. can't wait for samir & pinky's book

Alexa Auerbach 

Didn’t realize I needed to read a body/fat positive book. Wow.

Courtney ✿ @librarycutie

this was so cute!! i love that this is not only a diverse own-voices book, but also deals with fat-phobia and shaming and it deals with it perfectly in my opinion. in the beginning i really disliked sweetie’s mom, she was so inconsiderate and rude and controlling. she’s the whole reason sweetie has such a huge issue with her body image, and her dad just sits back and allows it basically. that i did not like—at all.

but the romance was so cute, both characters are dealing with something and helping each other grow into a better person during their one month of knowing each other. i almost wanted to have a problem with how insta-lovey it was, but they’re young and as the saying goes—young and in love. so i let it slide, i guess i just thought they were jumping into it too fast given ashish’s circumstances and sweetie’s reasoning.

overall it was a lighthearted read given the large discussions of fat shaming and phobia. i really love companion novels, i actually enjoyed this better than When Dimple Met Rishi!

“Adorable, joyous.” —BuzzFeed “I’m head-over-heels for this charming, funny, romantic, life-affirming book.” —Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Leah on the Offbeat The irresistible companion novel to the New York Times bestseller When Dimple Met Rishi, which follows Rishi’s brother, Ashish, and a confident, self-proclaimed fat athlete named Sweetie as they both discover what love means to them. Ashish Patel didn’t know love could be so…sucky. After being dumped by his ex-girlfriend, his mojo goes AWOL. Even worse, his parents are annoyingly, smugly confident they could find him a better match. So, in a moment of weakness, Ash challenges them to set him up. The Patels insist that Ashish date an Indian-American girl—under contract. Per subclause 1(a), he’ll be taking his date on “fun” excursions like visiting the Hindu temple and his eccentric Gita Auntie. Kill him now. How is this ever going to work? Sweetie Nair is many things: a formidable track athlete who can outrun most people in California, a loyal friend, a shower-singing champion. Oh, and she’s also fat. To Sweetie’s traditional parents, this last detail is the kiss of death. Sweetie loves her parents, but she’s so tired of being told she’s lacking because she’s fat. She decides it’s time to kick off the Sassy Sweetie Project, where she’ll show the world (and herself) what she’s really made of. Ashish and Sweetie both have something to prove. But with each date they realize there’s an unexpected magic growing between them. Can they find their true selves without losing each other?

Sahi K

If I thought When Dimple Met Rishi was wonderful, there is no way I could have described how excited I was for this one. While getting a story about Ashish was in itself a draw, my main reason to read this was a fat brown desi heroine. They so so rare in media that I don’t even look for this representation, so it was such a pleasant surprise when I first saw the amazing cover of this book. And I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it. 

We already know from the first book that Ashish is a cocky jock, and here he is heartbroken after his breakup with Celia. He has always tried to reject his Indianness because he didn’t like his parents hovering over him, but finally decides to let go of the resentment and embrace their decisions for a change. This leads to his introduction to Sweetie. She is the top track star of her school, is comfortable in her own body for the most part, but her mother’s incessant comments about her weight chip away at her little by little. And she decides to just do something rebellious for once and prove to herself that she is wonderful and desirable just as she is. 

I loved all the scenes they were together. The relationship development was very cute, all their “parental approved” dates really sweet and hilarious, and I could see why they really were good together. She helped him embrace his culture a bit more and also be able to show his vulnerability, and he gave her all the respect she deserved and always stood up for her. While this book is definitely a case of instalove, I kind of decided to go with the flow because it’s not really that unbelievable for their age. 

Just like the previous two books, Sandhya’s writing is so pleasing and fun to read that I flew through this one in a matter of hours. I had a huge smile on my face for the most part because of all the cuteness and some hilarious pop culture references. I also liked the way the author manages to make these kids self respecting and strong, wanting to stand up for themselves, without ever disrespecting their parents. I also felt that the desiness of the book was very inherent and organic, it didn’t exactly stand out like the author was forcing it but it was just a part and parcel of these characters’ lives. My only gripe probably would be that Sweetie was too wise for her sixteen years, and I don’t know if teenagers really can give such sage advice all the time. 

Obviously the major element of this book is body positivity and I loved how happy Sweetie was being the way she was. She still got hurt or felt bad when someone commented on her body, either intentionally or just due to ignorance, but she never lets it affect her perception of herself. The major conflict obviously comes from her mother’s character - she is constantly telling Sweetie to lose weight, saying that she wouldn’t be happy if she wasn’t thin, going as far as saying that even if she turned out to be both fat and happy, it would be a lucky miracle. These constant comments really hurt Sweetie and me because I have heard so much of this myself (I do even now). Such conversations have been so much a part of my life that for very long, I didn’t even realize fat shaming was wrong or that was the reason I kept feeling bad. While it’s awesome how Sweetie and the author reiterate the message of accepting our fatness and curves, I don’t know if I’m there yet. I try not to let them hurt me much, but acceptance will probably take a while. And that’s why this book is so important and I’m so happy it exists. Hopefully more books like these will help me too. And the one thing that stuck with me was that despite the reconciliation that happens at the end, Sweetie’s mom never actually apologizes for her fat shaming comments and I would have liked that to happen in a book, because it would probably never happen in real life. 

If you liked Sandhya’s previous books, then you’ll definitely like this one too. It’s an adorable and sweet lovely, albeit slightly unrealistic at times, but still very enjoyable. But the reason I want everyone to read this one is for its important messaging, the fat acceptance and general body positivity, because this representation is very much needed and more so for desi readers.

Katie

Sweetie is a kick-ass athlete whose mom constantly wants her to lose weight, even though she 's happy the way she is. Ashish is brokenhearted after the only girl he's ever truly cared about cheated on him. Once the two of them meet, unexpected sparks fly.

Um. Wow.

Woooooooooowwwwwwwwww.

This book has its flaws--most notably teenagers jumping into saying "I love you" way too quickly, which is deeply irritating to me and the reason this book is 4 stars--but other than that. Woooooooooowwwwwwwwww.

Sandhya Menon has once again crafted realistic and heartwarming teenage characters. I loved seeing them interact with each other, while hating it when they were hurt. Sweetie and Ashish both dealt with some real issues, and it hurt me to see them hurt. I think that the way Menon depicted the people who care about Sweetie the most, especially her mother, as the ones who make her feel the worst about her weight and her body, is an unfortunately true experience across cultures. amd it was done very well. Ashish's first heartbreak and his healing from that was also wonderful to read about as he got support from family and friends.

This is a mostly a fun, lighthearted contemporary. I liked seeing little cameos from Dimple and Rishi, and it was overall wonderful to be in their little world again!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy free for review. All opinions are my own.

Josee Blanchard

Hello guys,

Well this was the first time i read a book by Sandhya Menon. and was it ever a good leap. 
i just really connected to Sweetie. ( as i am overweight also) and i just understood her so much. and i have been through what her mom does to her. and i just loved this book so much. from all the up and down she goes through. If you feel like a good cheezy/ complicated romance pick this one up you will not regret it.
5Stars for sure!!!

Jelke Lenaerts

This book has a content warning for fatphobia.

Oh my god, I loved this book so much. Sweetie is one of the best protagonists I've read about in a while. I just love her confidence and her joy. Reading from her perspective just made me happy. She does have insecureties but I loved that those weren't surrounding her having to lose weight. That was never a thought that crossed her mind and it felt so refreshing to read. I also loved the complex family dynamics that came with her perspective. I could gush about Sweetie for days. However, that doesn't mean I didn't also love Asish. He was amazing as well. He's a great person and I loved seeing his insecureties. Most of his story was about him getting over his first heartbreak and being insecure in a new one because he doesn't want to get hurt again. Again, this felt very refreshing to read. Especially, because he was a player in the past. It's just a nuance we don't often get from love interests. I mean, he does have a perspective but I still see Sweetie as the absolute main character from the two, as most of the story is motivated around her and her struggles. Their romance was so fucking cute and brought me so much joy. I also appreciated to strong friends and family aspects to this novel, and I can't wait to read 10 Things I Hate About Pinky. I really loved seeing her in this book. I am completely in love with this story and it just brought me a lot of joy throughout a rough week. It does have some heavy moments and those HIT but the balance of those moments were great.

Lacey

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes and all opinions expressed are my own.

This is a book that I needed as a teenager. Being fat, you are told that you are not good enough. As a teenager, I internalized that. I never felt like I was enough.

This book is about two teens, Sweetie and Ashish. Both are athletes, but no one expects Sweetie to be athletic. This is a love story, but one of romantic love and loving yourself. 

I deeply enjoyed this book. The love between Sweetie and Ashish was adorable because he always had her back and didn’t buckle to peer pressure.

Chelsea White

Very cute book, a sweet romance and enough drama to keep it interesting. I loved getting to see the evolution of Sassy Sweetie, and how both Sweetie and Ashish became more invested in their relationship for the other person, rather than their underlying motivations.

Kinga 

It was cute, but also a little bit tedious. Underwhelming for sure.

Sarah Williams

4.5/5 stars

My heart feels infinitely fuller knowing that this book is out there. I so wish I’d had someone like Sweetie when I was growing up, a fat girl in a predominantly thin Asian family, but she exists now, and I sleep easier knowing that there are girls out there who will read this and feel seen. ⁣
⁣
Menon digs right into the heart of self-love. I found myself getting choked up at times. At 16-going-on-17, Sweetie articulated things that took me years to learn—things that I’m still learning. ⁣
⁣
There’s Something About Sweetie is about first love. And I don’t just mean the blossoming love between Sweetie and Ashish (which was endearing and swoon-worthy). Rather, this is a love story about a young, fat, girl of color falling in love with herself.

Geneviève Rouleau

"To all my fat readers who've been told 'fat' is a dirty, shameful word : they're wrong. You're enough. You always have been." - Sandhya Menon

This book was sooooo good!!! Sweetie is such a real, deeply layered character. She has her flaws, as does Ashish, but they are both so supportive of each other. I looooved all the sexual allusions, as well as the (many) awesome pop culture references. Oh, and btw, this is the story of two teenagers who fall in love with each other, despite their physical differences *gasps* whaaat because apparently fat people can't date thin people? (or that is.. according to Sweetie's mom). This is also the story of a teenager struggling with her parents' decisions, when all she wants is to make her own decisions and grow into who she is inside. I love how she reconciliated the relationships with her parents, towards the end! Btw, the parakeets were the best touch EVER. But of course, you'll have to read this book to understand what the hell I'm talking about ahaha. 4.5⭐

Kate

This was everything I hoped it would be and then some.
It was adorable, funny, infuriating, real, honest and empowering. I loved it with my whole heart.

There's Something about Sweetie

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