From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon

From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon
Pages: 330
Release Date: May 22, 2018
Rating: 💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Aspiring filmmaker Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy-a.k.a. Sahil's twin brother? Dream come true x 2.


I've been reading a lot of fantasy books lately (which is weird for me because I used to hate fantasy stories) but with summer coming to an end I decided to pick up a couple of cute romances to see off the sun once and for all. I was lucky enough to get this book in an Owlcrate box so not only is it gorgeous, but it's also signed!

The story follows a girl called Twinkle as she films her debut film, whilst navigating her way through high school. There was plenty of drama, romance and film stuff which filled my heart with so much joy. It was nice to see that even with all the drama that was going on in her life she stuck to her dream of becoming a famous director, but it is too commonly in books like these for the main character to 'forget' about their passion for the boy drama that is going on (*cough* Anna and the French Kiss *cough*). Luckily Twinkle was so hopeless at seeing the signs from the boys in her love square (?) that she didn't get too distracted by the boys who were clearly pining after her.

The writing style of this book is quite unique as it is told through diary entries, emails, letters and text messages. I LOVED that we got to see what other characters were talking about, so we had other people's perspectives on everything that was happening. The mixed-media approach was fun to read (although the handwriting of the letters was a little hard to read) and I really enjoyed the fact that Twinkle's diary was written to various different famous female directors. It gave an extra layer to her personality that, although it didn't add too much to the story, reinforced the fact that she truly loves film and everything surrounding it.

The representation in this book was quietly magnificent, with all different races and sexualities getting a spotlight in this novel. Apart from the Indian-American representation all of the  other representation was quietly bubbling along in the background, much like it does in real life. There were several black characters, a gay couple, a healthy look at grief and many, many looks at feminism and the need for women in certain fields. All of these topics, races and sexualities were given their moments in the book, but none of it felt forced. Too often representation like this feels forced (*cough* Marvel Endgame *cough*) but this felt natural. So good job, Sandhya Menon!

Overall, I loved this book. I'd been hesitant about reading it because I'd heard some negative things about When Dimple met Rishi and wasn't sure if this book had the same problems. I wish that I hadn't been so worried about other people's negative reviews and just read it as soon as I'd got it because it is such a happy and inspiring book.