The Worlds Within You by @currentpass ✨

In many ways, this novel felt quite personal to me. There's a young lady who is mourning the death of her grandfather. Thatha, as she dearly calls him, was a sweet man who showered her with love. His death opens a deep well within her, pausing her world for days, not knowing what to do without him. Having lost my own grandfather a year ago, it felt like I was seeing bits of myself in the protagonist.

Ami Shekar takes a gap year from her University and comes back home to Chennai to collect her thoughts. Ever since her dear thatha passed away, her emotions are somewhere hanging between grief and pain and before she knows it, she slips into depression. When she decides to organise a writing class even though for a mere four students, she finally manages to give words to her emotions. As Ami wades through gloomy days, she constantly thinks back to the memories she shared with her thatha. Memories are tricky. One can never know in what way it'll trigger a person. For Ami, the world just didn't make sense anymore and so she clung to her past.

With the help of her parents and sister, Ami tries to stay afloat. This book stresses on mental health and how important a family's role is in helping those who aren't doing so well. Set in Chennai, Shreya paints a vivid picture of all the things that I witnessed while growing up as a South Indian.

Although this book tackles an important issue, I did feel that something was missing from the story. Certain characters felt unnecessary and the story wouldn't have changed much if they were excluded. However, this does make a good read about mental health. I breezed through the book and I most certainly will read what Shreya writes next.

Thank you for the copy @penguinindia ✨