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Sunday, February 1, 2015

Hey Dad! Meet my Mom... by Sandeep Sharma and Leepi Agrawal: A review



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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