All this could be different by Sarah Thankam Mathews ⏰ 05 (gifted by @wnbooks - thank you!)

This book was such a lovely surprise - it feels so truthful to what it’s like to be young, and is a really beautiful and realistic portrayal of friendship and family.

Sneha starts off this book on the up - she’s moved to Milwaukee with a well paid corporate job, she’s making new friends, exploring her sexuality and coming to terms with being separated from her parents who have returned to India. As the book goes on, Sneha is confronted with her own emotional repression and is faced with tough choices that make her wonder what would happen if her upbringing had been different.

The writing in this book is so addictive, Sneha is sarcastic and observant in a way that makes for a brilliant narrator. I was consistently stressed about her bad decision making but also recognised a lot of myself in her. I really enjoyed how the novel confronted her own biases and internalised fears that cultivated such a hollowness even when she was in a good place. Her coming to terms with her sexuality despite the fear of misunderstanding from her parents was really beautiful and sad too. This book has such emotional range and I felt so connected to it. There were so many “what if” situations that really portrayed the way everything could have been different if one thing had changed.

I found the ending frustrating in a way but also appreciated how real it was and that it still felt full of hope.

Ultimately I was just living for the drama, Sneha and her friends were just so fun to get to know and I’ll miss them a lot.