The most beautiful expression of the trauma faced by so many delivered in the verse from I think adds to the emotional impact of this book. Superb!!

Tweety is a sociable, focused 16-year-old, determined to be principal dancer for the upcoming Pohela Boishakh festival. However, something has changed within her recently, and she is struggling. Desi Girl Speaking follows Tweety as she gradually sinks into depression, unable to speak to anyone. Tweety believes that her South Asian/Desi community does not believe in depression, and that she is alone. Then she finds a podcast by a girl who has been through similar experiences, and an online friendship develops.
I love the use of emails, podcasts and messages, giving us glimpses into Tweety’s life. It’s an important story for anyone struggling with their mental health, especially if they feel they would be judged or dismissed if they spoke out. It’s also a great read for teenagers to better understand how others may be feeling, and how they can support them. Best aimed at 14+, as there are discussions of self harm and suicide attempts, but ultimately the story is both realistic and hopeful.

What a fantastic book! This is such a great resource for teenagers, especially Desi teenagers, whether they are or aren’t currently dealing with mental health problems or a developing/existing mental illness. It contains plenty of resources not just to help the person struggling but also ways to help your struggling friends, too.

We follow Tweety, who lives a good life - she has kind parents, plenty of friends, and is getting good opportunities in her dance group. One day, she wakes up, and she doesn’t feel excited or happy. As it goes untreated, it begins to get worse and worse, until she makes a connection with another Desi girl struggling with depression and Tweety learns she isn’t alone, and she might have a friend to help her cope through this.

It got very dark in some places, but was very raw and honest in its descriptions of what depression can be like and how it can affect anyone, but also about navigating that within the Desi community.

Trigger Warning: Both this book and this review discuss mental health, depression, self-harm, suicide and suicidal ideation.
Desi Girl Speaking by A. S. Hussain follows Tweety, an experienced teenage dancer from the Desi community, who is on a mental health rollercoaster since being made the principal dancer of her dancing troupe. Tweety feels truly alone due to the common misconception that Desis cannot get depressed, that is, until she comes across the Desi Girl Speaking podcast, which helps her to understand her symptoms and realise that she is suffering from depression; from speaking to Desi girl, Maya, and supporting each other via email. However, things get much worse before they get better, as the depression takes over Tweety's life and drags her down to an extremely low point. Tweety eventually acknowledges that she is not alone and is supported by those around her.

This book is truly incredible. It is the best book I have read so far this year and potentially the best fictional book for young adults and teenagers on the subject of mental health that I have ever read. Starting with the structure and format of the book, the chapters were of varying length, both long and short, which allowed Hussain to both quicken the pace of the story and slow it down, which really allowed her to draw the reader in and make it an incredibly gripping book. I also loved the range of different formats this book took, from normal dialogue often found in books to podcast transcripts, emails and text messages. It is always amazing when authors use these various formats in their books, as it is not the most common, but it helps make the books more interesting and gives the reader a different format to digest. The characters were also very likeable in this story and emphasised how important friends are, especially in someone's time of need.

I also loved this book for how it discusses something which is not very well discussed in general, but this seems to be particularly the case in the Desi communities with the misconception that Desis do not get depressed, which this book makes a great effort to debunk. The book makes it clear that mental health does not discriminate and can indeed affect Desis the same as it can affect anyone else regardless of their gender, age, nationality, race and so on. The book talks about the different symptoms of depression but also some of the things this can lead to, such as suicide ideation and self-harm. Although this is a fictional book, the discussion of mental health, depression, and self-harm is all very factual and extremely helpful, which makes it an incredible educational resource. This is particularly the case with the tips to prevent one from self-harming, which is contained in one of the chapters of this book, including using rubber bands, handling ice cubes and drawing on one's skin with (usually red) felt tip pens, which are all recognised ways of trying to avoid more serious types of self-harm. Most importantly, the book emphasises the importance of talking.

There is nothing I can really criticise about this book. Some of the storylines were upsetting, both because it is a sensitive area and the book did take me on an emotional rollercoaster, but also because the storyline went in places which it would have been nice it didn't, for instance, when Tweety stopped talking to Maya. However, I can not criticise this as it is reflective of what depression is like; it can stop you from talking to people when talking to these people is possibly the exact thing you should be doing. There is also a point in the story when Tweety's parents walk in on her self-harming, which they describe as a "stupid" thing. It is important to look at this point in context, parents and even more so desi parents often don't understand mental health and the difficulties it can lead to such as self-harm and how sufferers may not see any other option. However, to some, the use of the word "stupid" may do more harm than good by making them more reluctant to ask for help. However, it's important that people see this point as a warning of how many of the older generation think this way and how, in modern society, we need to change this type of thinking. It was extremely reassuring to see Tweety's parents change their attitudes very quickly after this point.

Finally, another point I would make is that there appears to be slight gender bias in this book, although Hussain briefly addresses this matter in the end. This is because this book is about how mental health does not discriminate, but Tweety and Maya are both female desis who are suffering from depression, and many of the key characters in this book are female. This is concerning as, historically, mental health issues have been seen as a female problem, and men have been much more reluctant to speak about their mental health. However, this was addressed later in the book when it was discovered that Tweety's grandfather had depression and one of Tweety's friend's brother also had mental health issues and attempted suicide. Therefore, although this is not a big issue, it is worth remembering that mental illnesses can affect anyone; it does not discriminate based on gender.

Altogether, I rate this book 5 stars, making it an outstanding book and the best book I have read so far this year because it talks about an extremely important topic in a fictional story but also provides non-fiction information and practical advice which readers who are suffering from mental health can action. It also does a particularly amazing job of discussing mental health amongst an ethnic group who have been reluctant to understand that mental illnesses can affect them. If I was able to, I would give this book 6 stars! I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, especially if you are a teenager, especially if you are from a minority group (not necessarily ethnic), and if you yourself suffer from mental health, bearing in mind the trigger warning at the top of this post and throughout the book itself. I would like to say the biggest thank you to both NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book in return for an honest book review. I loved reading Hussain's This is How We Fall in Love last year, but this book is truly a masterpiece!

This book mentions how Tweety anonymously emails Desi Girl Speaking so they can talk about their mental health difficulties together to help support each other and spread understanding. It is recognised that being able to talk to people and support others can be really helpful when you are suffering, although it can be incredibly hard, especially when you are not anonymous. I would, therefore, highly recommend the Tellmi Tellmi app to anyone who is suffering from any mental health issue, not just depression or just diagnosed mental health conditions but anything mental struggles. This is an app for teenagers to anonymously share their struggles and support each other. It is moderated by the Tellmi team, and posts and comments are only publicly visible after they have been approved by the moderation team. The moderation team can also offer support and, in limited scenarios where someone appears to be in danger, can get the emergency services involved. This is an extremely helpful app and really helps you feel that you are not alone because you are not, so I would strongly recommend this app!

This was a very interesting read and I felt that Tweety really took me with her on her journey down the cold and dark rabbit hole of depression. I felt my chest heavy reading her story and I was fully invested in finding out how her it would all end.

It was very interesting understanding more how cultural influences hold people from acknowledging, accepting and dealing/supporting/ seeking help for mental health issues, even today when so much more knowledge and information is readily available and out there for us to develop our understanding and educate ourselves. There is still social stigma and in a multicultural society such as the one we live in here in the UK, it's heartbreaking to consider how many young people could potentially need help and support with their mental health and are not receiving it, ending up isolated and alone as a result. And very much like A.S. Hussain herself shares, this is a book she wishes was around when she was a teenager, I agree that access to such literary material is invaluable for these exact reasons. What if you feel alone, that's something is wrong with you but everyone around you fail to support you or you feel like you don't have anyone to turn to.

highly recommended. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy, all opinions are my own.

Desi Girl Speaking is such a well written, beautiful book that hit me emotionally, I don’t think I’ve ever connected so much to a character before, the way the mental health is written and demonstrated is so accurately illustrated and sensitive at the same time is truly wonderful. ( I say this as someone who deals with anxiety and depression myself)

This is a much needed book, I know from the foreword that it’s needed for the Desi community, but also for any reader, be it YA and beyond because everyone could benefit from reading this book, for some connection, understanding or learning empathy.

I would like to thank the author for such a wonderful read as it is so important that we let people know (especially teenagers and young adults) that they have a voice and we are listening to you, we are here for you and that there is support out there for everyone !

TRIGGER this book explores mental health, including discussion of depression, suicide and self-harm
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4.5

Never in the world would I have expected a YA book to hit so close to home. It's not often I read about characters discovering that they are suffering with a mental illness, but this one has been written with such care and delicacy, I highly recommend!

I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.