Bad Town Kids Book Review: A simple yet not so simple tale of the course from innocence to adolescence
This Sneha Jaiswal’s book starts off as a breath of fresh air bringing nostalgic charm in the readers who easily get connected to the characters and find joy in their childish, naughty things that everyone would have done as kids. But soon the plot progresses introducing the hurdles faced by the teens starting from coping up with the academics, leaving the friends back, moving to a new town, relationships, and so on. While reading the book one gets caught in it unknowingly and completes it with a heart full of joy and emotion.
Table of contents
Plot and Narrative
The story takes place in a small picturesque town. The plot revolves around the lives of 4 childhood friends,2 of whom are cousins. Their immature actions as kids, their families, their studies, their relationships, their struggles form the crux of the story. It is really a big thrill to know why the protagonist who is a strong-headed, bubbly, pampered girl ended up in a very bizarre state, and the circumstances which pushed her are quite convincible.
The narrative is straight from the perspective of the protagonist. The writing is lucid. The author used simple words which created a rather good impact as a whole. The writing style is simple being suitable for all sections of Indian readers. The author described the situations and the places in which they take place in a very detailed manner which helps the readers to get a good idea of them.
Bad Town Kids Book Review
This book is quite simple and heart-touching rather than being a heavy one. This makes the readers go back and relive their childhood memories which they forget usually in the rush of life. The first half of the book shows the cute little things everyone did as kids, the family bondings that we held, the petty things we questioned, and the selfless friendship we held. With the progress in the story, the plot becomes intriguing and the author touches several taboos in the society from the adoption to the female suppression.
The climax comes as a shock but the conclusion makes us believe that: “Behind every smiling face that we see there is a volcano ready to erupt in their heads” And heat to the lava is added with the societal norms, the taboos, and the restrictions one is forced upon by. In this Sneha Jaiswal’s book unlike the general fiction books, the villain is no person whose sole purpose is to hurt the main lead. Instead, the circumstances had their part in making the people turn out in that way which is quite relatable with reality.
My favorite part in this book is the scene where the main lead tried to break the periods’ stigma at a temple and the way the author has described the difference between having faith in God and following taboos is tremendous
I am going to give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars. On the whole, this is a book one should read sitting beside a window when it is raining and reminisce their childhood before the reality of evil world struck them.
Review by @anonymousblogwriter
Where to Buy Bad Town Kids
About The Author
Sneha Jaiswal is a journalist who quit her full-time TV career to pursue independent writing. She had published 3 books so far. Her ‘Love, Loss, Lockdown’ is a collection of 10 short stories set in India. Her first book Death and darker realms is a collection of 40 poems and was published in 2019.
Visit Jaiswal’s twitter– @Miss_Jaiswal
Visit Jaiswal’s Instagram- @Writer_Jaiswal
We have also reviewed Jaiswal’s Love, Loss Lockdown. Read Review here
