crystal_reading's review against another edition
5.0
Final copy from publisher - review posted at Rich in Color http://richincolor.com/2016/09/review-rani-patel-in-full-effect/
blakehalsey's review against another edition
5.0
Raw, achy, and empowering. I need to print out Rani's raps and post them all over my room.
internationalkris's review against another edition
3.0
This was a very unique book and I appreciated it a lot. Sixteen-year-old Rani has grown up in a dysfunctional family in which her dad treats her mom like a servant and his daughter like a his princess. This primarily involves doing a lot of fun things together (hikes, books, movies) but sometimes goes a bit far when Rani gets tucked in at night. Still, this is love to Rani and when her father leaves the family to date a young woman both she and her mother feel abandoned. As the story progresses they begin to find better paths forward. Some things seem too easy for Rani - she has plenty of cool friends and makes an easy move to become a local rapper. Other things struck me as particularly realistic like Rani's continued mixed feelings for her father and her unbalanced relationship with a 31 year old. The book was written by psychologist Sonia Patel who (like her main character) is an Indian immigrant to Hawaii. A Gujarati and Pidgin glossary in the back helps decode the slang which was used to great effect. (Recommended for readers 14 and up.)
sc104906's review against another edition
It is the 1990s and Rani is an Indian girl who lives in Hawaii. She is obsessed with rap and has her own designs on becoming a rapper. Music is the only outlet she has for getting away from her challenging personal life. Her parents are always fighting, her father treats her mother like a servant and she beats herself up (sometimes physically) because of this. Her father has treated Rani inappropriately, by raping her. He has now decided to move on to a new woman and demands that Rani and her mother allow him to move in his mistress. The two finally fight back and fight for themselves, which also forces them to confront the scars Rani's father has left behind.
Rani connects with a local underground rap group, where she further develops friendships and begins an unhealthy relationship with a recovering (?) addict. Rani confronts her worth and what she will accept as healthy love.
The subjects addressed in this novel are difficult, but I think it is important. Rani finds her only solace in music and I believe many people who are dealing with tough stuff in their life will be able to relate to this. I thought it was awesome how the various cultures and languages intersected around a tough issue that does not get addressed often. This is an important, yet difficult book.
Rani connects with a local underground rap group, where she further develops friendships and begins an unhealthy relationship with a recovering (?) addict. Rani confronts her worth and what she will accept as healthy love.
The subjects addressed in this novel are difficult, but I think it is important. Rani finds her only solace in music and I believe many people who are dealing with tough stuff in their life will be able to relate to this. I thought it was awesome how the various cultures and languages intersected around a tough issue that does not get addressed often. This is an important, yet difficult book.
storytimed's review against another edition
2.0
Deals with some important shit (incest, rape, cycle of abuse). Will not comment on how realistic it is, but the writer is a psychologist. The setting and MC's background (Gujarati girl in Hawaii) were pretty cool.
HOWEVER. Has a case of other-girl itis, with Emily and with Wendy. She realizes that her dad's new girlfriend is having TWIN DAUGHTERS and just... leaves them with him! Even though he's a child abuser and a rapist and will likely sexually abuse them as well! What the fuck! Rani just never rescues or thinks about her sisters at all and it's so fucked up.
HOWEVER. Has a case of other-girl itis, with Emily and with Wendy. She realizes that her dad's new girlfriend is having TWIN DAUGHTERS and just... leaves them with him! Even though he's a child abuser and a rapist and will likely sexually abuse them as well! What the fuck! Rani just never rescues or thinks about her sisters at all and it's so fucked up.
alex_s_113's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book over the course of 2 days. The first day I thought the rap, unique heroine, and cultural blending made it really good. The second day I thought the portrayal of abuse, character development, and psychological explanation from the author made it amazing.
This is easily the best book I have ever read on the topics of abuse and female empowerment: Rani's story and narration explore these topics directly and honestly, to the point where it barely felt like fiction. I would advise anyone old enough to handle the sexual content to at least try reading this book; it is, in my opinion, both an enjoyable and educational experience.
This is easily the best book I have ever read on the topics of abuse and female empowerment: Rani's story and narration explore these topics directly and honestly, to the point where it barely felt like fiction. I would advise anyone old enough to handle the sexual content to at least try reading this book; it is, in my opinion, both an enjoyable and educational experience.
melindagallagher's review against another edition
4.0
Set in Moloka'i Hawaii in the 90's, I very much enjoyed this book. Give this book to anyone who loves RAP and Hip Hop as it is filled with music references. Rani is a young Indian girl who just wants to be accepted but has been abused. Her Indian culture is confusing and gives her dad an excuse to be abusive. Rani goes through a lot in this book, but ultimately she finds out how strong she really is.
srmilesauthor's review against another edition
4.0
Rani is a teenage Gujarati girl living in Hawaii with her hardworking mother and her hardly working father. When her father leaves the family for a younger woman, Rani shaves her head in defiance and seeks solace in her rhymes. As her life gets more and more complicated, hip hop is always there. Rani Patel In Full Effect is about beats, rhymes and the will to overcome every kind of external threat and the internal ones too.
There are a lot of layers to this book and they are all salty-sweet. There is triumph and sadness and the all-too-lovely "What the hell is she doing?" Set in the early 90's there is terminology that I can't be sure is accurate or not and as someone who was not too young during the time I can't remember if everything feels authentic. Because the subculture and setting is so specific this can read like historical fiction. You have to forget the here and now and allow yourself to be transported. Patel gives us smells and tastes that let you know you're on the island, but also that you're in the home of a Gujarati woman and child.
From the first pages we see Rani in crisis. She's just shaved her head and hair is so integral to female identity that we know that this is nothing light. This is more than acting out and whatever has happened it is catastrophic and it proves to be so. In small glimpses we see that the family unit that Rani is so desperate to protect is gnarled and broken in ways that she has yet to grasp. This toxic thing is something she wants and until it's snatched from her without a hope of returning she can't see it for what it is. We go on this journey of realization with her and we have moments of jubilation, usually punctuated with dope rhymes from Rani herself.
It can't be overstated that hip-hop is a big part of Rani's life and the book itself and the fact that it is such a positive force warms my heart to no end. Often anything loved and manufactured by black boys is vilified, but Rani exalts the art form. It is a salve and a holy healing drink. That's dope!
Get discussion questions and more on my blog at www.shannamiles.net
There are a lot of layers to this book and they are all salty-sweet. There is triumph and sadness and the all-too-lovely "What the hell is she doing?" Set in the early 90's there is terminology that I can't be sure is accurate or not and as someone who was not too young during the time I can't remember if everything feels authentic. Because the subculture and setting is so specific this can read like historical fiction. You have to forget the here and now and allow yourself to be transported. Patel gives us smells and tastes that let you know you're on the island, but also that you're in the home of a Gujarati woman and child.
From the first pages we see Rani in crisis. She's just shaved her head and hair is so integral to female identity that we know that this is nothing light. This is more than acting out and whatever has happened it is catastrophic and it proves to be so. In small glimpses we see that the family unit that Rani is so desperate to protect is gnarled and broken in ways that she has yet to grasp. This toxic thing is something she wants and until it's snatched from her without a hope of returning she can't see it for what it is. We go on this journey of realization with her and we have moments of jubilation, usually punctuated with dope rhymes from Rani herself.
It can't be overstated that hip-hop is a big part of Rani's life and the book itself and the fact that it is such a positive force warms my heart to no end. Often anything loved and manufactured by black boys is vilified, but Rani exalts the art form. It is a salve and a holy healing drink. That's dope!
Get discussion questions and more on my blog at www.shannamiles.net
sujata's review against another edition
4.0
This was good but also hard. It’s a young adult book for older teenagers in my opinion. I loved the portrayal of indian American life in an even more multi cultural environment of Hawaii. Her rap lyrics were amazing and connective to me for those reasons. There were some serious issues in the book and I wish the book hadn’t ended so abruptly. As the in depth authors note indicates. Serious issues like those that happen in the book take time to recover from and there was nothin at all in the book about that. Would some people read this and hunk that after sexual abuse and rape, just give it time and everything will be okay? The author in real life clearly knows it doesn’t. Her note and resources make that clear. I just wish the book had taken us in Rani’s journey to healing and confronting.
katlikespie's review against another edition
4.0
Rani Patel is an Indian-American girl living on a small Hawaiian island, who finds herself by listening to and composing her own rap music. After she discovers her father cheating on her mother, she shaves her head and tries to take a stand by helping her mother take a stand - but nothing goes as planned.
I thought this would be a lighter read - not that parental divorce is a light topic, but I thought that was the heaviest of it. I was so wrong.
Rani - 16 years old - is finally coming to terms with her father's repeated sexual abuse of her over the years. She starts dating a 31 year old guy, who cheats on her, uses illegal drugs and lies about it, and - in a drunken, high, "he's not himself!" moment, rapes her. And she STILL wants to take him back.
So, I've been in abusive relationships and I have been in very similar situations to Rani's emotional abuse. On the one hand, I want to shake her HARD and tell her to snap out of it, she's worth so much more than this, you don't have to accept this treatment. On the other hand... holy crap, this is really realistic. It's terrifyingly realistic.
I thought this would be a lighter read - not that parental divorce is a light topic, but I thought that was the heaviest of it. I was so wrong.
Rani - 16 years old - is finally coming to terms with her father's repeated sexual abuse of her over the years. She starts dating a 31 year old guy, who cheats on her, uses illegal drugs and lies about it, and - in a drunken, high, "he's not himself!" moment, rapes her. And she STILL wants to take him back.
So, I've been in abusive relationships and I have been in very similar situations to Rani's emotional abuse. On the one hand, I want to shake her HARD and tell her to snap out of it, she's worth so much more than this, you don't have to accept this treatment. On the other hand... holy crap, this is really realistic. It's terrifyingly realistic.