BOOK TITLE: Hey
Dad! Meet my Mom…
ISBN: 9788192960982
AUTHOR: Sandeep
Sharma and Leepi Agrawal
GENRE: Fiction
– Comedy/Romance/Drama
NUMBER OF PAGES: 160
FORMAT: Paperback
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone
REVIEW BY: Dhivya
Balaji
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: The
author contacted us for a review and sent me a paperback for review. Thanks,
Sandeep!
SUMMARY:
From childhood, the world in which we
live, teaches us to bury our ‘bad’ past somewhere deep inside us, so deep, that
even we can’t dig it back and after that just move on.
What happens when a 10 year old child,
who claims to be your future son, comes to you to help you find a perfect match
for his mother? What happens when eventually you start to doubt on his
intentions? What happens when a girl starts to turn your dreams into
nightmares? What happens when your ‘Future son’ starts to haunt you? What
happens when your FUTURE starts to bleed in your PRESENT through your PAST?
‘Hey Dad! Meet My Mom!!!’ is nothing
less than a roller coaster ride of comedy, fear, love and don't forget to
expect the unexpected!
REVIEW:
Everything about the book, from its
title to the summary, is quirky. When the author contacted us for a review, I
was drawn by the title, the colour scheme of the cover page and also the bold
summary. Hey Dad! Meet my Mom… looked like just the book I would want to read,
away from the run of the mill romances and thrillers.
The story is the first person
narrative of Puneet, a bank officer who meets a girl in his bank and falls in
love immediately. But he is unsure of how to approach women. All of a sudden, a
small boy comes into his vision and calls him… yes, you got that right, ‘Dad’!
The unmarried Puneet is naturally confused and shocked. But slowly he realises
that the little boy, Rishi is here to help him find his future wife, that is,
Rishi’s mom.
The trials Puneet faces, with Rishi
constantly being in his presence and supplying hints to get girls is an attempt
at comedy that brings a mild grin to our faces. Very soon, everyone around
Puneet finds his behaviour strange and his mother starts worrying about his
sanity. Rishi is visible only to Puneet’s eyes and supplies hints only heard by
him. He slowly starts liking Rishi and his fondness and bonding grows as the
‘father-son’ duo start ‘Missions’ to help Puneet find a good wife.
But Rishi is haunted by dreams. They
are nightmares in which he sees a woman and three children, their faces
faceless (yes, again right)and their names just beyond the grasp of his memory.
These nightmares wreak havoc in his life and he slowly starts losing sleep. His
troubled mindset and behaviour upset both his mother and his girlfriend and
they try to convince him to seek help, which Puneet does.
The secrets Puneet uncovers form the
rest of the story. What is the meaning of his nightmares, who are the woman and
children in his dreams? Who is Rishi? Why does he appear in Puneet’s life? The
questions are answered mostly and though there are some questions as to the
reliability of the explanations, we can safely say that at least all holes have
been filled.
The story’s plotline is unique and the
story is indeed written well until the last few chapters, where there is a mild
disturbance in the sequence. The imagination and creativity are excellent in
this one and the episodes between father and son tickle the funny bone. The
overall story is written elaborately but has a rushed climax. The dreams /
nightmares and the psychological effects are explained well. The character
development is good, too. One character that stood out in the whole book was
Myra, for reasons that will be disclosed when you read the book.
The review will not be complete
without mentioning the special efforts taken to include verses at the beginning
of almost every chapter. They have tried to bring forth the feeling of love and
confusion and require a separate mention. A sample verse to go by! (This is
neither the best verse nor the one that stood out the most. This is just a
random verse taken from the book!)
Day is the witness of sunrise,
Night sustains till the moonlight shines.
Everything abides by routine.
Then what does this chaos in my life mean?
WHAT I LIKED:
The excellently unique plot, the
explanation that does not get into paranormal, thankfully. The funny scenes
with the creative imagination.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
The language could have been more grammatical
and tighter editing would have made the story a really interesting read.
The story has a lot of switches in
narrative between dreams, reality, nightmares, past and present. Better
sequencing would have made the story a real treat.
VERDICT: Congratulations
to the authors for this unique attempt. Go for this one if you like your
stories if you love out of the box plots!
RATING: 4/5
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
SANDEEP SHARMA
Sandeep Sharma (21), a dreamer from Agra,
the city of love and the Taj Mahal, is currently in his final year pursuing
B.Tech (Civil Engineering) from JSS Academy of Technical Education, Noida.
He is very passionate about writing
and has been writing short stories for a personal blog since 5 years. He has
also co-founded ‘The Author’s Blog’ which is a kind of a platform which tries
to bridge the gap between authors and readers. He is an avid reader and loves
to review books on his blog.
He has been previously associated with
many anthologies as a contributing author.
Sandeep Sharma loves to spend most of
his time with his parents. According to him, “Parents always have so much to
teach, it’s just a matter of your learning desire and time.”
Sandeep
Sharma can be contacted through:
LEEPI AGRAWAL
It is said that books are a person’s
best friend, so Leepi Agrawal started spending her time with this special
friend who then led her to write stories and poems at an early age. The Times
of India gave wing to her writing by publishing her works in their esteemed
newspaper.
Leepi is an “Ahmadavadi Chokri” filled
with zest and always strives to mark her work with perfection. She is a final
year student and a gold medalist for her academic excellence in Masters of
Computer Applications at Indus University, Ahmedabad. She has won the TechFest
in April 2014 at college and state level.
As writing is her passion, she loves
to roam in the “gallis of Ahmedabad” so that she can explore more about her
birthplace through writings. Apart from the previous successes of her
short-stories, now even one of her poems has been acclaimed on an international
platform.
She is quite obsessed with writing,
wires and machines and subsequently her obsession has turned into her passion
and profession.
EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Paperback
PRICE: Rs.
120
BOOK LINKS:
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