WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK BY RASHI DUBEY

NAME- What will people think?
AUTHOR- Rashi Dubey
NO:OF PAGES- 100
GENRE- Contemporary fiction
FORMAT- Kindle edition
PUBLISHERS- Half baked beans

About the book-

Do you want to fulfill your dreams? If yes, then the next question should be 'how to move ahead' but is it really the next question you ask yourself? What about the numerous fears that precede this valid question like ' What will they think?' 'Should i?' 'Is it okay?' 'What about my image?' 'how will it look to other people' And at last, you crush your dreams. That's the choice most of us make. Isn't it?

This is a tale about one such middle class family, the Guptas. In spite of being a member of such a family,Riya chooses to follow her dreams. During her unconventional journey, her family disowns her.Will she be able to fulfill her dreams? Will the Guptas ever realize how one shouldn't be afraid to do something just because of the fear of what will people say? Will the family reunite?

My rating-★★★☆☆

My review-

We are living in a society where peoples' actions are highly determined by what the rest of the people think.Such mentality prevails even among the educated section.The battle against this mindset has been a long drawn one, but it is not finished yet. The battle has to continue in future too.

This novella is written upon this theme of unconventional path shaming as a result of which people tend to bury their dreams out this fear.

This is the story of Riya Gupta, whose parents want her to be a doctor. A painter, at heart she wants to pursue fine arts.Clashes start when she goes against her family's wishes to take up painting as her career. Also her brother Rishabh is the apple-of-the-eye for her parents, thy take every decision for him thus turning him into a machine with no thought process of his own.

The story progresses depicting Riya's struggles, emotional ones mainly as she questions herself for going against her parent's wishes. 

Will Riya end up with a happy life or will she reach a dead end just like her parent had predicted for her.

The story reflects upon the societal norms where people just need a topic to gossip and tend to put down any unconventional mind amongst them. The story also resonates with the emotions of being compared with the other sibling- who is expected to take care of the parents in future. It reinforces the motivation the only hope, in the darkest phases of life will ensure that every truth will prevail above false, the what-will-people think syndrome will just spoil your life- hence try to stay above them.

Though the story highlights such important aspect of the society it fails to evoke the emotions required. The story mainly focuses on the emotional turmoil Riya faces-due to her decision of being away from home, due to pursuing fine arts against her parents' wishes.

It completely fails to depict the struggles one has to go through when one decides pursue their dreams without the family support- which in reality, is something that should be considered.

Not everyone is as lucky as Riya.

Overall its a sweet story, having its ups and downs, makes the reader empathetic towards Riya, angry against her family and hopeful as Riya has loving and supportive friends. It strongly resonates with us as most of us have faced this situation at least once in our lives- where we had given up on a dream just because we were unsure of what people might think.

Characters-

Riya Gupta- she is the protagonist. A character depicting the typical 'good girl's who strives to make her parents proud. Until, she becomes this rebel, untimely getting disowned by her parents. A headstrong girl who wouldn't give up her dreams for anything, her character is a breath of fresh air who rises up above all adversities. She is a combination of happy-go-lucky and the-girl-next-door personality.

Rishabh Gupta-  Riya's brother and the spoilt brat of the family. He is the perfect son for Mrs and Mr Gupta. His tiffs with Riya verge on jealousy instead of the friendly sibling bickering. He is the id Al example of the prodigal son.

Mrs and Mr Gupta- Both of them represent the typical Indian parents who think more about the society than their children's happiness. They go to the extent of disowning Riya just because she went to lead a life against their wishes.

Mr Gupta is the stern, dominating stereotype dad and Mrs Gupta is his counterpart- the mother who cares for her child, but at the same time is apprehensive about society's judgement.

The other characters include Riya's friends both in her hometown Lucknow and Delhi where she works. It also includes the characters who gave Riya her job and a direction in her life.

To know more get the book, it's free on Kindle.

Writing style-

The writing style is lucid, easy to understand and conveys the messages through the plot quite well, however there is absolutely no character development. The ending is quite predictable though.

I would recommend people out there who are facing the same questions- what will people think. It might just give you a perception and hope. 

A light, enjoyable read conveying a strong meaning through a simple story.

I would like to thank half baked beans for giving me the Kindle version of this book in exchange of an honest review.

About the author-

Rashi Dubey is a software engineer by qualification, but her heart lies in reading and writing. She was brought up in India, in the city of Uttar Pradesh known as Aligarh. Currently, she is residing in Gurgaon with her husband and a five-year-old son. Apart from being a passionate reader and writer, she also enjoys travelling to new places, enjoys solitude, and loves trying different cuisines. She loves listening to fast beats and grooving on them. She has few eBooks in her name.