Bhangra Babes
by
Narinder Dhami
Order:
USA
Can
Delacorte, 2006 (2005)
Hardcover, Paperback
Reviewed by J. A. Kaszuba Locke
T
he final installment of Narinder Dhami's adventures of the Dhillon sisters - Amber, Jazz, and Geena - is
Bhangra Babes
. Amber spins the story in dialogue-dominant narrative, including deliciously descriptive and humorous comments, as the girls follow one inspiration to another, leading to ever bigger problems, and finally - success ... sort of!
I
t's the beginning of the new school year, and Geena has graduated to upper school. The newly-appointed head of the lower school, Mr. Jai Arora, asks Amber to help a new girl, Korin Kohli, with a gloomy attitude. Without knowing the circumstances of Korin's background, and why she's in a funk, Amber gives back to her as much as she gets. Around the corner is classmate George Botley, who has developed over the summer months into a deep-voiced, attractive young man. George has always been a delicate thorn in Amber's side, as her admirer over many school years.
A
untie (Dad's sister who has been the girls' caregiver since their Mom died) is getting married to Jai Arora, an arrangement the sisters successfully pulled off. Happy for the couple - as well as for themselves that Auntie will be moving out - the trio will finally be on their own. Unless, of course, Dad hires a housekeeper and a
babysitter
to take Auntie's place. Mr. Arora's Auntie becomes the '
interfering Auntie
' in Auntie Dhillon's life, as she sets out to take over the wedding plans. So Amber comes up with great ideas to get Jai's Auntie involved in volunteer work.
A
mber, Jazz, and Geena vie for the attention of a new '
Golden Boy
', wealthy and handsome Ragbir Gill -
Rocky
, a narcissistic would-be rapper. According to Amber, Rocky has a '
smile that could melt chocolate at twenty paces
', and is a Brad Pitt look-alike. The sisters make a bet as to which of them will gain Rocky's affections - the winner will have the other two sisters as
slaves
. In her efforts to impress the '
thinks-he-has-talent
' and lover of
bhangra
music, Amber makes a deal for Rocky to perform his first
gig
at Auntie's wedding. The other side of the deal is that Rocky must get close to Korin (lifting the Korin burden from Amber).
N
arinder Dhami's trilogy began the Dhillon sisters' experiences with
Bindi Babes
, followed by
Bollywood Babes
. Though
Bhangra Babes
is a stand-alone story, I encourage reading the first two in the series for the pleasure of it all. The Dhillon sisters are delightful in their parlance, and though they experience frazzled ups and downs in their plans and strategies, they teach that it's what's on the inside, not the outside, that counts.
Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons.
Find more Teens books on our
Shelves
or in our book
Reviews