Rani Patel In Full Effect

2017 William C. Morris Award Finalist Almost seventeen, Rani Patel appears to be a kick-ass Indian girl breaking cultural norms as a hip-hop performer in full effect. But in truth, she's a nerdy flat-chested nobody who lives with her Gujarati immigrant parents on the remote Hawaiian island of Moloka'i, isolated from her high school peers by the unsettling norms of Indian culture where "husband is God." Her parents' traditionally arranged marriage is a sham. Her dad turns to her for all his needs—even the intimate ones. When Rani catches him two-timing with a woman barely older than herself, she feels like a widow and, like widows in India are often made to do, she shaves off her hair. Her sexy bald head and hard-driving rhyming skills attract the attention of Mark, the hot older customer who frequents her parents' store and is closer in age to her dad than to her. Mark makes the moves on her and Rani goes with it. He leads Rani into 4eva Flowin', an underground hip hop crew—and into other things she's never done. Rani ignores the red flags. Her naive choices look like they will undo her but ultimately give her the chance to discover her strengths and restore the things she thought she'd lost, including her mother. Sonia Patel is a psychiatrist who works with children and adults. She was trained at Stanford University and the University of Hawaii. She lives and practices in Hawaii. Rani Patel In Full Effect is her first young adult novel. BookExpo America Editor's Buzz Selection 2016 Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books 2016 New York Public Library 50 Best Teen Books 2016 Book Page Top 10 Best Teen Book 2016 Texas Library Associations Top 10 Teen Books 2017 Multnomah County Library Best Books 2016 The Volumes Bookcafe Staff's Best 20 of 2016 2017 Amelia Bloomer List Recommended Feminist Literature For Birth Through 18

About the Author :
Sonia Patel: Sonia Patel is a child and adolescent psychiatrist, trained at Stanford University and the University of Hawaii. She lives and practices in Hawaii. Rani Patel in Full Effect is her first young adult novel.

Review :
"Debut author Sonia Patel offers a unique perspective in Rani, whose punchy first-person narrative, peppered with early-’90s hip-hop references, Hawaiian, Hawaiian pidgin, Gujurati phrases, and her own slick rhymes packed with an empowering feminist message, commendably and strikingly stands out in the YA landscape." —Booklist Online, Starred Review “A powerfully particular, 100 percent genuine character commands this gutsy debut.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review “Sonia Patel sets her powerful debut novel in 1991, filling it with bygone rap references and an electric verbal blend of Gujarati, slang, Hawaiian pidgin, and the rhymes Rani crafts. Patel compassionately portrays Rani’s entangled emotions, lack of self-confidence, and burgeoning sense of empowerment as she moves forward from trauma.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review “[Rani’s] story will appeal to readers who prefer gritty, darker fiction without a pat, happy ending, and characters who don’t always overcome their challenges but must face them repeatedly. A strong, unique choice for YA collections.” —School Library Journal, Starred Review “You haven’t heard this voice in YA before.” —The Globe and Mail "Rani’s environment leaps off the page in vivid and satisfying detail, from the winding roads and small shops of Moloka’i to the intricacies of ’90s hip-hop fashion. … Author Sonia Patel is a psychiatrist, and her determination to portray Rani’s response to trauma truthfully is unrelenting." —BookPage “Rani Patel’s story spoke to me with power and intensity. I felt Rani’s pain, but also her energy, determination and her hope for healing … Get it soon especially if you enjoy references to 90s hip-hop.” —Rich In Color “It’s a book that is honest and realistic about how hard it is to come to terms with abuse: how willing and even eager we are to accept excuses and rationalizations, to forgive and give abusers ‘another chance’; of how much harder it is to see from the inside than the outside.” —Leila Roy, Kirkus Reviews “This book is an open wound. Sonia Patel does not sugar coat or try to weave a fairy tale from heartbreak, sorrow, and patriarchy. You know, the kinds of things intended to bend and break girls who rap and chop all their hair off. Girls like Rani. But Rani writes words. Words that go boom. And in Rani Patel in Full Effect, so does Patel.”—Isabel Quintero, author of "Gabi, A Girl in Pieces" “This book gutted me. Sonia Patel knocked it out of the f*cking park. Buy this book.” —Rachelle Strolle, Anderson’s Bookshop “Rani Patel In Full Effect by child and adolescent psychiatrist Sonia Patel is an extraordinary and deftly crafted novel that will have particular and special appeal to young readers ages 12 to 18.” —Midwest Book Review “One of the best new YA novels to enjoy with your apple cider.” —Bustle “Rani Patel, MC Sutra herself, is so much more than a character on the page. … Rani shows us the power every girl has inside themselves to break the cycle of abuse and reminds us that self love is what frees us up to become the amazing beings we are.” —Kristie Gadson, Cleaver Magazine "One of our favorite reads this fall is marketed for young adults, but make no mistake: Rani Patel in Full Effect will hit you just as hard, if not harder, than any 'adult' title." —The Riveter Magazine