Title of the Book: Rani & Sukh Author: Bali Rai Publisher, year: Corgi, 2004 Recommended by Danum School of Technology College

Synopsis:

Rani and Sukh is like many other Forbidden Love's but the twist within this text is that it's not about religion. Instead, it's a forbidden love between two members of families that detest each other. The hidden dislike between the two families goes a while back and is visited in the middle of the novel through a flashback.

One of the two teenagers who has been caught in this Forbidden Love remained oblivious to the family issues while the other knew. It caused a lot of strife in their lives, having a very emotional and moving ending.

I absolutely loved the characters and how they were drawn out. The way that Bali Rai made them seem like real life teenagers was absolutely perfect, in my opinion. After reading many books based on teen life, there are only few authors that I can admit can handle the mind of a teenager well. Bali Rai is one of these wonderful authors.

I loved Rani and how she found a love she didn't want to let go of. She followed her heart and loved Sukh so much. Sukh was you're typical teenager guy, he got into fights, he swore and he had this infatuation with female bodies (as you can tell from the blurb) although he had a slightly different - more caring - side to him. He loved his sister and was awfully close to her, but most of all, he loved Rani.

I found the book very gripping and the connection between the relationship and the history was fantastic. It's a book that left me lost for words and simply wanting more. It leaves you wondering what happened to the character in the end? How was the relationship with their parents affected? What happened to those caught in the criminal acts that I refuse to say a lot about? (I don't want to destroy the story!)

I didn't, though, enjoy how the past was meshed into the middle.I enjoyed the connection between the two but not the way it was set out. Compared to the story of the two teenagers, the story of the past was something that almost put me to sleep in some stages. I must admit, though, their were parts slightly more interesting. I would, however, prefer reading the story of Rani and Sukh, the two teenagers, a million times more than that of the past.

What I liked best about this book and the way this author writes:

• I loved how the teenagers were depicted as real teenagers. Some authors can never satisfy me with this criteria.
• I love how the book leaves things open for thought such as those above mentioned questions.
• The way that Bali Rai has gone about in putting this book together using different perspectives. It's such a simple thing but it really helped me understand the characters better, making me feel as if I knew them personally. This, then, made me feel a stronger than usual emotion when it came to the end.

This book in a word (or phrase):

heart-breaking

Discussion Questions/Topics:

1. Would you prefer the novel with or without the middle history?

2. What was your reaction to the ending?

3. Do you consider the ending well written or overdone?

4. Who would you recommend this book to? (age? Gender?)

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