Book Review #141 :The Worst Daughter Ever: Aarti V Raman

Blurb:


The black sheep of the Chakrapani clan is coming home... Lasya ‘LJ’ Raghavan is a spectacularly single, unsuccessful playwright with an estranged family, crippling debt, and a dead-end job. When the family matriarch Chandralekha Chakrapani dies, LJ has to face the family that considers her an epic failure… Especially her father, who has taken a vow of silence against her; her cousin sister, Ahalya, who blames LJ for destroying her marriage; and Bridezilla Kiki whose wedding has been cancelled. Adding to the family drama is Banjeet ‘Ben’ Dewar, her grandmother's lawyer who keeps showing up whenever LJ falls apart. Ben is everything LJ is looking for in a man, except Ahalya is interested in Ben too! Can LJ be selfish once more when the last time nearly destroyed her family? More importantly, can LJ’s family forgive her when she is the ‘worst daughter ever’? Written in the style of bestselling Indian rom-coms, The Worst Daughter Ever explores love, loss, friendship, family, redemption and forgiveness in a funny, emotional, coming-of-age tale.

My Take:

A beautiful story that talks about family,self esteem, misunderstandings, love and hatred. Takes us back to time when our cousins were our best friends. We never needed anyone outside the family to know what we feel. Reading this made me nostalgic and I started missing my cousins who always were there around when we needed them the most.

Lasya (LJ) is a author who has been unsuccessfully dabbing my hats and failing miserably. Her life is in shambles with her family out casting her, so called boyfriend dumping her for a receptionist,weight issues,a job that drives her to the wall and a house that is more of a liability now than an asset. Add to this back home a lawyer she's attracted to and wonders if she has a future with, the only glitch being even Ahalya is attracted to making a love triangle.

With hell bent in proving herself a success she gets a call that she would have to come home as the matriarch of the Charkapani clan is no more. Time for her to face the people who have outcast her and labelled her the black sheep. Her cousin Kiki whose wedding is postponed who's on a verge of a  nervous breakdown.Her cousin Ahalya who holds her responsible for her broken marriage and her financial condition, her father who's has broken all ties with her thanks to Ahalya.  Atharva her ever supportive brother who stands by her and shields her all the time .Will she be able to stand up for herself? Will she find love? Can all the misunderstandings/ accusations be cleared?

I loved the way the characters are developed, they sound realistic and believable and the back story to all the cousins justifies their behavior. Although everything is from LJ's point of view you can still relate to all of them.A typical South Indian family set against the picturesque Munnar, a will that ensures that the family has to stay together till the final rites complete. The sibling rivalries, sibling loyalties, love and hatred are something we all experience with our families.

The writing is simple, narration smooth and paced right. We can visualize the madness as they unfold as we read making it more entertaining. Delve in the madness of the Chakrapani clan and enjoy reading.

5/5 for this gem of a book.Thoroughly enjoyed and loved.