Reading this book was such a joy. I'm not gujrati, but I am a South Asian in Atlanta and this book just really resonated with me and made me kinda nostalgic.

It would be safe to say that almost everyone loves to be a part of enjoying a big, fat Indian wedding because the vibes are just rich, vibrant and so so immaculate. I am a big time fan of Ms. Patel’s work. So, it was quite nice to follow the journey of our enemies to lovers, MCs.. Along with that I really liked the whole family dynamic and how the issues among brown conservative family has been unapologetically and authentically portrayed. Also, the romance between the MCs was absolutely sweet and cute!!

i was looking forward to reading this book because of the premise but i thought it felt short of my expectations. the main romance wasn't very well developed and i think that the other relationships in the book weren't really written well either. however, i loved seeing the bits of desi culture throughout the book, and could really picture the wedding festivities. i don't think the music subplot was well executed either, and the book was quite predictable as a whole. overall, i think the premise of this book held promise, but fell short in terms of execution.

This book was such a cute and sweet romance! The family dynamics were interesting and relatable. All in love an enjoyable read for sure!

Thank you to ABRAMS Books for providing me with a physical ARC in exchange for an honest review!

It's no secret that Sajni Patel is one of my favorite authors of all time, and My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding just proved once again why she is. I'm obsessed with all the big desi wedding vibes--the outfits, the jewelry, the food, the traditions, the family shenanigans--in this book. The last and only time I've been to an Indian wedding was when I was three years old, so safe to say that I was living vicariously through Zuri in this book. I'm not gonna lie, I was feeling super nervous seeing Zuri sneaking out against her family's wishes to perform at her auditions, as I'm sure that many South Asian readers can relate to, lol.

The romance aspect of this book was also so charming, as always! Sajni's so good at writing the cocky, charming, flirty love interest, and it made me fall head over heels for Naveen. The lines that came out of this boy's mouth *swoon*. I loved how the rivals to lovers arc played out between them and how Naveen was set on winning Zuri over while Zuri was trying (and failing) not to fall for his advances. The Trinidadian-Indian rep was also so cool to learn more about in this book! I've only ever read one or two other books with South Asian rep like this, and we definitely need more books out there with MC's from other parts of the South Asian diaspora.

Of course, the themes of intergenerational conflict, specifically through Zuri's aunt recommending a skin-lightening cream to Zuri, was also handled well, as Sajni does with all her critiques of the South Asian community. Once again, I feel like this book and Zuri as a MC will be such a great role model for young South Asian readers. It was true for Kareena in The Knockout, and it was true in this novel as well. I'm so excited for everyone to read this book when it comes out in April!

I’m a huge fan of Sajni Patel’s adult books so I was super curious to see what her YA books were like (I have not read THE KNOCKOUT but it’s on my TBR). Plus, nothing says desi culture like a big wedding and I have missed out on wedding season for so many years now that I was just ready to get immersed in all the wedding vibes.
We follow Zurika in this story, an aspiring violinist in her senior year of high school with designs on Juilliard. Her older sister is also getting married so it’s a pretty hectic time for her!

Much her dismay and a large amount of anxiety, her only shot of getting into Juilliard comes by in the form of a contest that’s being judged by top college scouts…. right smack dab in the middle of wedding festivities.
Zuri is a little bit of a troublemaker in her family – she’s fiercely independent, scrappy and sometimes impulsive and out-spoken. Yet despite those qualities of her that are not really desirable in a brown girl, she is extremely loyal and considerate of her family and their feelings. Her biggest fear is letting her family down.

That’s why the internal struggle in Zuri is so compelling in this story – she’s trying to toe the line between staying true to herself and following her dreams while still managing the expectations of her family’s – something that I think any diaspora child can relate to, no matter which culture you belong to.

While I liked the love interest, Naveen, I didn’t feel too much chemistry between him and Zuri. This book is marketed as an enemies-to-lovers type of situation and while, yes, they totally are enemies at first (he’s competing in the same competition as her), I feel like they definitely end up as friends as opposed to love interests – despite how much their respective families were pushing them together.

I did love the meddlesome, matching making aunties in this. They felt so visceral and real – this is totally how aunties in real life behave and Zuri definitely handled it much better than I did when I was in high school!
I especially adored the commentary about how brown families tend to value STEM and Zuri, who wishes to pursue music full time, definitely has a chip on her shoulder regarding this – for good reason! We definitely need more artists and non-traditional career paths to be more accepted in our community.

The descriptors of the food and clothes made me super nostalgic as well and had me wishing that one of my friends would get married soon so that I could dress up in a fancy salwar kameez or lehenga and eat all the delicious wedding foods!

What was really, especially fascinating to me was that this book had Indian-Trinidadian diaspora representation. This demographic is woefully underrepresented in brown communities so the unapologetic portrayal of it was heartening.

Overall, this was a really great book that portrays the difficulty of staying true to yourself and your goals while still honoring your cultural traditions and background – without compromising the either of the two.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Amulet Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this arc!

This is a very sweet and loveable book. The wedding atmosphere is warm and wonderful and I loved all the themes surrounding family, sisterhood and the celebration of Indian culture food.

Loved this book. After a traumatic year of the pandemic, it was refreshing to read the My sister's big fat wedding. I enjoyed reading this book so much, the food, music, dance, clothes and the romance. It was witty and fresh. I felt like I was there in the festivities. Great read.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! The food, the clothes, the events, the love.. it was all so well done. Zuri’s family is everything and I adored their dynamic. This book was a wonderful blend of modernism meets traditional family values and finding the balance in the two. I honestly enjoyed reading this so much and didn’t want it to end.