A review by emeelee
Jaya and Rasa. a Love Story by Sonia Patel
3.0
This is a tough one to rate. I think on a personal enjoyment level this is in the range of 2-2.5 stars. But I'm rounding up because I can think of several reluctant reader friends I had in high school that I would have recommended this to. And, geez, how gorgeous is that cover??
This book has so many great things going for it, especially in the realm of representation. Jaya is a first-generation American son of Gujarati Indian immigrants, and a closeted transboy (his parents and schoolmates suspect he's a butch lesbian). His parents have a dysfunctional relationship: they've achieved the "American Dream" of wealth and success, yet Jaya's father is a cheater and his mother has developed bulimia to deal with her feelings. Rasa is the eldest daughter of a prostitute who tries to take care of their siblings in a poor and unstable home. She doesn't know who her father is, and I think she's at least some native Hawaiian? When her mother abandons her family (after grooming Rasa to view selling her body as empowerment), Rasa starts turning tricks herself in order to support her siblings. The story is set on Oahu, and it's clear that the author lives there herself with the amount of detail and ambiance this book has. There's a lot of Hawaiian and Gujarati vocabulary throughout, and Hawaiian pidgin gets a shout out which I was pleased by.
Jaya and Rasa features a myriad of themes, including: racial discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, pedophilia/ephebophilia, prostitution, child prostitution, rape/sexual assault of minors, poverty, colonialism, cultural appropriation, systemic oppression, depression, eating disorder, suicide, and drug use. It is written in very simplistic prose, which I think is one of the things that makes it engrossing and easier to swallow some of the heavier plot points. Yet, it also takes away from some of the emotional depth that these characters and situations should have. Overall, I think that this book had great bones, but poor execution. (I can't speak to the accuracy of the representation or execution of the various themes.)
Though it's purported to be a love story, the romance was the weakest part. Jaya and Rasa don't even meet until halfway through the book, at around page 150. What proceeds from there is basically a total love-at-first-sight, I-can-see-clearly-now, we-have-the-same-taste-in-music-so-we-must-be-meant-for-each-other teen romance. The book ends very abruptly, after a couple very drama-heavy chapters. There's hardly any resolution and several plotlines don't get wrapped up. Even if the rest of the book were perfect, the ending would be a huge letdown.
Several times through my reading, I thought it seemed like this book ought to have been set in the mid-to-late '90s. Especially because Nirvana and other grunge music/culture has such a consistent presence in the plot. A lot of the dialogue felt stilted and unnatural, especially some of the lingo. (Then again, idk, maybe people still say "laters" in Hawaii?)
In the end, while I was interested throughout my reading, I can think of several ways Jaya and Rasa could have been improved to be stronger overall (For example: starting the story with Jaya and Rasa's meeting, and then revealing their backstories slowly throughout instead of presenting it all as the first half of the book). I still think this will fit the interests of a lot of teen readers, especially a certain set of reluctant readers who enjoy stories of teens with lives harder than theirs-- and with great intersectional representation as a bonus.
This book has so many great things going for it, especially in the realm of representation. Jaya is a first-generation American son of Gujarati Indian immigrants, and a closeted transboy (his parents and schoolmates suspect he's a butch lesbian). His parents have a dysfunctional relationship: they've achieved the "American Dream" of wealth and success, yet Jaya's father is a cheater and his mother has developed bulimia to deal with her feelings. Rasa is the eldest daughter of a prostitute who tries to take care of their siblings in a poor and unstable home. She doesn't know who her father is, and I think she's at least some native Hawaiian? When her mother abandons her family (after grooming Rasa to view selling her body as empowerment), Rasa starts turning tricks herself in order to support her siblings. The story is set on Oahu, and it's clear that the author lives there herself with the amount of detail and ambiance this book has. There's a lot of Hawaiian and Gujarati vocabulary throughout, and Hawaiian pidgin gets a shout out which I was pleased by.
Jaya and Rasa features a myriad of themes, including: racial discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, pedophilia/ephebophilia, prostitution, child prostitution, rape/sexual assault of minors, poverty, colonialism, cultural appropriation, systemic oppression, depression, eating disorder, suicide, and drug use. It is written in very simplistic prose, which I think is one of the things that makes it engrossing and easier to swallow some of the heavier plot points. Yet, it also takes away from some of the emotional depth that these characters and situations should have. Overall, I think that this book had great bones, but poor execution. (I can't speak to the accuracy of the representation or execution of the various themes.)
Though it's purported to be a love story, the romance was the weakest part. Jaya and Rasa don't even meet until halfway through the book, at around page 150. What proceeds from there is basically a total love-at-first-sight, I-can-see-clearly-now, we-have-the-same-taste-in-music-so-we-must-be-meant-for-each-other teen romance. The book ends very abruptly, after a couple very drama-heavy chapters
Spoiler
, with Jaya convincing Rasa to go to the police about her situation. Aside from this being a strangely quick and easy decision for them to make (I find it strange that either of them would implicitly trust the police to handle this situation well? Rasa even knew her mother had officers as Johns...), it's a very strange place to end the storySeveral times through my reading, I thought it seemed like this book ought to have been set in the mid-to-late '90s. Especially because Nirvana and other grunge music/culture has such a consistent presence in the plot. A lot of the dialogue felt stilted and unnatural, especially some of the lingo. (Then again, idk, maybe people still say "laters" in Hawaii?)
In the end, while I was interested throughout my reading, I can think of several ways Jaya and Rasa could have been improved to be stronger overall (For example: starting the story with Jaya and Rasa's meeting, and then revealing their backstories slowly throughout instead of presenting it all as the first half of the book). I still think this will fit the interests of a lot of teen readers, especially a certain set of reluctant readers who enjoy stories of teens with lives harder than theirs-- and with great intersectional representation as a bonus.