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A Girl Named Indie
The protagonist is a girl very sure of herself and knows how to dress up right. Highlighted hair, a diamond nose stud, ethnic jewellery, good clothes and our girl is the cynosure of all eyes. Considered chubby by American standards, the lass feels fashion will help her ‘make any kind of mark’. The setting of this teenage fiction is very contemporary .The school environment reminds you of your days as a young scholar out to conquer the world with your dreams and aspirations. Many readers will be easily able to identify`A0themselves with the conservative upbringing of Indie who is a go-getter, has a dream and shows ample courage in following it. She is fascinated by clothes, shoes, models, ramp, trendy hairdos, designers and is very mssand an answer to her prayers. A talk by Aaralyn for the School’s Career Week makes Indie all the more determined to get the scholarship. She will do anything to be near the founder and editor of Celebrity`A0Style, even if it means babysitting Aarayln’s son Kyle. For parents who need to keep in touch with the latest fashion fads and teenage psyche, this book is the answer. For those of you who need a crash course`A0in the fashion world, A Girl Named Indie is an eye opener. Chanel, Gucci, Vogue, Noami Campbell, Nicole Kidman, etc., will soon become household names for the reader. Aaralyn is the sophisticated celebrity, an ideal personification of fashion who breastfeeds her son "like they did in Africa or Thailand". Aaralyn proves to be a good character study of a highly-strung personality living in the fast lane. The reader can easily draw a comparison between the oriental and the occidental. This becomes evident in the child-rearing practices. The occidental homes seem to have ‘baby-free’ zones in the house where children are not allowed. The oriental home seems to be open to the children, with no closed spaces and a mother who always seems to be around. Indie’s first day at babysitting turns into a disaster when she leaves the toddler unattended and makes use of the old newspapers needed by the great editor’s husband. Daswani is a great storyteller and her characters all appear real and none of them are larger than life. The book has a myriad of characters—Kim with her funky dressing style, Juno the naturopath, the very Indianish Inkys, shady Aldo and many more. This book beautifully depicts the Indian way of life overseas. Indians living abroad have a feeling of bonding with their countrymen. Whether people are related or unrelated to you by blood, all become uncles and aunts. Any occasion calls for a celebration where you`A0"wear something Indian". Indira’s family is also a member of ‘the community’ which means "that they are very good about attending religious festivals at the temple, arranging fund-raisers whenever some calamity hit the subcontinent" and keeping up-to-date`A0about the latest gossip of the community members. This is a coming-of-age novel that takes you on a roller coaster ride. No teenage fiction is complete without a touch of romance. Indie has been a wallflower at high school parties. Taking up the job of a babysitter introduces her to Cayman who shows a romantic inclination towards our young maiden. Indie gets to visit the famous offices of the fashion magazine and learns that someone is selling the magazine’s secrets. By sheer luck, the protagonist offers her employer a few scoops that save the magazine. The babysitting job also gives Indie an opportunity to visit Milan. The cut-throat world of glamour and glitz is opened slowly in front of the reader. The language is simple and the book has a racy feel. Will Indie be selected for the internship? Read on to know your answer. The book is simply awesome.
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THE protagonist Indie has
been named ‘Indira Gandhi’ after India’s first lady Prime
Minister, but she hates her very Indian name and prefers to go by the
name Indie. She is a carefree 15-year-old residing in suburban Los
Angeles with her neurologist father, a mother who is a housewife and
Dinesh, her baby brother. Unlike Indian girls of her age who want to
take up a ‘noble profession’ like medicine or engineering, Indie’s
sole aim in life is to become a fashion journalist.