gwensadventure's review against another edition
4.0
In this fiction YA nerdy book, I learned a LOT na dthoroughly enjoyed myself. IDK who is reading this, but there is something in this book for you.
This whole incredible adventure is set in grief and reconciling his brothers alcoholism, which sounds really sad but actually just makes the most perfect background for the duo to learn about each other's cultures and take off for a random night out. Sunny G's Series of Rash Decisions is the perfect mix of fandom culture and world culture. Specifically, Punjabi, siihk and Hmong.
I loved the mix of traditional arts and nerdy cosplay. I loved how poetry was interwoven. Poetry plays a big part in the story, and I like the concept, but wish there were more poems along with descriptions of how poems made our narrator feel. I also found the use of textile arts crossing with fandom cosplay creation fresh and cool.
I am truly fascinated that everyone in his world appears to be a giant nerd and somehow he sees the Trekkies as borderline cool and the marvel fans are the mean kids. Overall, there was a lot going on. Like a whole lot. But i really liked it and learned a lot. Now I am inspired to go look up some Bollywood films and how the Hmong assisted the CIA.
This whole incredible adventure is set in grief and reconciling his brothers alcoholism, which sounds really sad but actually just makes the most perfect background for the duo to learn about each other's cultures and take off for a random night out. Sunny G's Series of Rash Decisions is the perfect mix of fandom culture and world culture. Specifically, Punjabi, siihk and Hmong.
I loved the mix of traditional arts and nerdy cosplay. I loved how poetry was interwoven. Poetry plays a big part in the story, and I like the concept, but wish there were more poems along with descriptions of how poems made our narrator feel. I also found the use of textile arts crossing with fandom cosplay creation fresh and cool.
I am truly fascinated that everyone in his world appears to be a giant nerd and somehow he sees the Trekkies as borderline cool and the marvel fans are the mean kids. Overall, there was a lot going on. Like a whole lot. But i really liked it and learned a lot. Now I am inspired to go look up some Bollywood films and how the Hmong assisted the CIA.
amberinpieces's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Minor: Racism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Alcohol, and Racial slurs
graciousreads's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
thesapphicbooklover's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The representation in this book is amazing and I personally loved relating to the main character as a nerdy Sikh as well. I think it is great exposure for young people to other cultures in a short and enjoyable sotry. However, I don't think it would be as enjoyable for someone who does not get all the references. The plot is good but felt very rushed in reality and a bit all over the place. It still tackled a lot of things but could have gone further into depth for each plotline to make the story that bit better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Death
kazgriffin's review against another edition
Chornicly online is the best way to descrive why i stoped and it was just so slow
catejaj's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
cupitonians's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I enjoyed the own-voices aspect of this story and all of the Punjabi, Nigerian, Ghanaian, Hmong representation. The fandom/cosplay representation was also really nice to see. The romance was a bit forced and the amount of "I'm going to beat him" was a bit too much for my personal taste. Still, I would binge-watch this if it were a show/movie. As a book, not so much.
akacya's review against another edition
3.0
2023 reads: 140/350
sunny g has one thing from his late brother: his notebook, which sunny decides to fill up with a series of rash decisions. among these decisions includes not wearing his turban, cutting off his hair, and shaving off his beard. he looks like a new person, and he decides to bring this look to prom, though he has to go alone. mindii vang ends up stealing his notebook, causing sunny to run after her, and make even more rash decisions along the way.
i was so excited when i heard of this story. there are only a handful of young adult books in which the main character stutters, and the story sounded exciting besides that as well. i also like books that take place over a short timeframe, and this one mainly took place on prom night. sunny was also a fun character which i appreciated.
now, for what i didn’t like. i felt like the story bounced around too much. which…i get it, a story about rash decisions will be scattered. but the way this was executed in the book just threw me off. they’d be in one place and then all of a sudden in another, and i had no recollection of them getting to that other place. so, i think the transitions from one place to another could have been better, because it just really confused me and took me out of the story while it was happening. i wasn’t super enthralled by the story itself, either. i’m wondering if this could have been better if it were given a longer timeframe (maybe taking place over the semester/school year rather than one night), but i’m not too sure.
sunny g has one thing from his late brother: his notebook, which sunny decides to fill up with a series of rash decisions. among these decisions includes not wearing his turban, cutting off his hair, and shaving off his beard. he looks like a new person, and he decides to bring this look to prom, though he has to go alone. mindii vang ends up stealing his notebook, causing sunny to run after her, and make even more rash decisions along the way.
i was so excited when i heard of this story. there are only a handful of young adult books in which the main character stutters, and the story sounded exciting besides that as well. i also like books that take place over a short timeframe, and this one mainly took place on prom night. sunny was also a fun character which i appreciated.
now, for what i didn’t like. i felt like the story bounced around too much. which…i get it, a story about rash decisions will be scattered. but the way this was executed in the book just threw me off. they’d be in one place and then all of a sudden in another, and i had no recollection of them getting to that other place. so, i think the transitions from one place to another could have been better, because it just really confused me and took me out of the story while it was happening. i wasn’t super enthralled by the story itself, either. i’m wondering if this could have been better if it were given a longer timeframe (maybe taking place over the semester/school year rather than one night), but i’m not too sure.
theoverflowingbookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
Senior year of high school can be awkward for many people, but for the titular character of Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions, it seems like he’s the only one struggling. This debut novel by Navdeep Singh Dhillon, which is set to be released on February 8th, features a new kind of YA protagonist as he strives for one great, reckless night to be fearless and bold.
To be honest, I did not enjoy this YA contemporary as much as I thought I would. I thought it'd be very romcom-ish and fun, since it’s set on prom night, but instead the plot was just a little too fast-paced and filled with references I didn’t understand.
For example, I read a whole scene where Sunny, our main character, is at a cosplay party, but I didn't recognize any anime/manga character or show references except for “The Last Airbender” (which I didn't even watch as a kid). So, as the reader, I was totally lost because of the lack of explanation of these fandoms and references. I also think the maturity levels of the characters wasn’t quite up to par. Sunny and his friends are seniors in high school, yet it felt like their maturity level was more of an awkward freshman level. Therefore, the meshing of my lack of knowledge and the author’s lack of explanations, paired with a main character who's so awkward it's almost cringey, instead of endearing, made this a not-so-enjoyable reading experience for me.
While I was very intrigued by the cultural references, like the Punjabi dishes and words used and the Hmong historical references, I felt like I didn’t get the full effect of them because they were only half-explained. And neither my Kindle dictionary nor Google Translate were able to help me translate certain phrases I wanted clarification on (for example: it took me a third of the book to realize that "Biji" was referencing Sunny’s grandmother).
One thing I did like was the way the book discussed alcoholism and grieving the loss of a loved one. It helped add a bit of depth to the story and how Sunny is trying to keep his brother alive in some way. But it wasn’t quite enough to sway me into really liking the plot and events of the book.
I admire the way Dhillon tried to create a novel that featured some underrepresented voices in YA literature, including a Sikh main character, and tried to highlight cultural diversity. Maybe if I related more to some of the characters or experiences mentioned in the story or if I was still in my teenage years I’d appreciate this story more, but ultimately this book just wasn’t for me.
*I received an ARC from Penguin Teen in exchange for my honest opinion.
To be honest, I did not enjoy this YA contemporary as much as I thought I would. I thought it'd be very romcom-ish and fun, since it’s set on prom night, but instead the plot was just a little too fast-paced and filled with references I didn’t understand.
For example, I read a whole scene where Sunny, our main character, is at a cosplay party, but I didn't recognize any anime/manga character or show references except for “The Last Airbender” (which I didn't even watch as a kid). So, as the reader, I was totally lost because of the lack of explanation of these fandoms and references. I also think the maturity levels of the characters wasn’t quite up to par. Sunny and his friends are seniors in high school, yet it felt like their maturity level was more of an awkward freshman level. Therefore, the meshing of my lack of knowledge and the author’s lack of explanations, paired with a main character who's so awkward it's almost cringey, instead of endearing, made this a not-so-enjoyable reading experience for me.
While I was very intrigued by the cultural references, like the Punjabi dishes and words used and the Hmong historical references, I felt like I didn’t get the full effect of them because they were only half-explained. And neither my Kindle dictionary nor Google Translate were able to help me translate certain phrases I wanted clarification on (for example: it took me a third of the book to realize that "Biji" was referencing Sunny’s grandmother).
One thing I did like was the way the book discussed alcoholism and grieving the loss of a loved one. It helped add a bit of depth to the story and how Sunny is trying to keep his brother alive in some way. But it wasn’t quite enough to sway me into really liking the plot and events of the book.
I admire the way Dhillon tried to create a novel that featured some underrepresented voices in YA literature, including a Sikh main character, and tried to highlight cultural diversity. Maybe if I related more to some of the characters or experiences mentioned in the story or if I was still in my teenage years I’d appreciate this story more, but ultimately this book just wasn’t for me.
*I received an ARC from Penguin Teen in exchange for my honest opinion.