Navdeep Singh Dhillon

Sunny G is missing his older brother who has just died. While he tried treatment several times, in the end his alcoholism took his life. With his brother's art therapy notebook, he decides to try a night of rash decisions. He meets Mandii and they form a strong connection as they take turn introducing each other to components of their respective cultures. They try food, drink, spoken word poetry, and have all these adventures in their cosplay outfits. A fun, healing night as both teens are grieving losses of important people in their lives.… (més)

2.5 Stars

I enjoyed learning about Sikh Punjabi culture and religion through the eyes of the endearing main character, Sunny. The story was warm and humorous but I think the plot meandered around a bit so I never felt connected to the characters. There was a lot of reference to a fandom anime thingy I know nothing about so that created more distance. I really liked the characters there just needed to be more story development. Just okay for me.

CW: Alcoholism death of brother from alcohol consumption, ableism,

… (més)

This book is definitely made up of Sunny’s rash decisions that were pure amusement but also let him to the discovery that it’s ok to be yourself; that it’s ok to be mad at those who left before you and not understanding the “why” and to learning that friendships don’t end just because people move on. I did get lost in a lot of the cos-play references, but it didn’t detract from the story. The burgeoning romance between Mindii & Sunny was sweet and left me rooting for them to the end. The scene between Sunny & Goldy definitely brings out all the feels (no spoilers!)… (més)

Am I the only person who felt as if entire pages were missing in several scenes? Events come out of nowhere, characters reference things that haven't happened, confrontations just...don't have endings. I love Sunny and his friends. I love the many microcosms of fandom. I love all the elements of Sikh and Hmong culture, especially in needle- and threadcrafting. But this was so disconnected from itself at times that I wondered if the editor was even paying attention. (Given the typos and vanishing punctuation, perhaps not.) I can only hope Dhillon's next book will be more coherent.… (més)