From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon | Rating: ★★★★★

Ah, Sandhya Menon just knows how to tug at my heart! I cannot recommend her work enough to fans of Jenny Han and Stephanie Perkins. Last year's When Dimple Met Rishi was such a fun read and I felt like Menon was only just getting started. Spoiler alert: she DEFINITELY was and brought on the fluffy, warm and fuzzies with her latest book. Right now, if you were to ask me which I preferred, I would flinch and then run and hide from the question because they are both so... fun.

Menon's prose is just as sweet and to the point as it was in When Dimple Met Rishi, showcasing a very different, but still sweet, story. From Twinkle, with Love pulled me in from the start and I genuinely loved the characters we met throughout. I loved, loved, LOVED, the brief letters scattered throughout the novel. I feel like whereas When Dimple Met Rishi was a little more serious, but still quite lighthearted, From Twinkle, with Love, was a bit more soft and feel good.

What I loved most about From Twinkle, with Love, was that the two main characters were exactly as you want them to be: passionate and alive, but still flawed teenagers. There were many moments in the book where I scoffed at their actions, and more than a few moments of secondhand embarrassment for them, and I loved it!

Twinkle and Sahil felt real.

Menon is really great at writing from a teenage stand point. All the angst, the hope, the dreams, the little mistakes and fears--everything that makes youth, well, youthful, is present and ready to remind older readers what it was like to be a teenager; and to remind teenagers that they aren't alone in their flaws and passions. From Twinkle, with Love explores a lot of topics that create a balance of sweet and serious--each transition seamless and full of life.

I saw that a lot of readers took issues with Twinkle acting exactly as she should. She! Is! A! Kid! So, of course she is going to come off as self-centered and flawed. Isn't that the point? Since when do we critic teenagers for acting like teenagers? It's sad.

(And if that's your reason for not liking Twinkle, then we're going to have to have a conversation.)

(Kidding. But, seriously.)

That being said, there was a lot to love about this contemporary. Not only was the romance a sweet, first love, type of story--there were a lot of very real topics tackled. I loved the relationship between Twinkle and Sahil just as much as I liked the two as individuals. Twinkle's insecurities involving her place in school, and where she stands with her best friend, felt very real and relatable; in contrast, Sahil has a very different kind of insecurity involving whether or not he measures up to his twin brother. 

Overall, I adored From Twinkle, with Love. It was adorable, romantic and easy to read. Sandhya Menon does it again!