10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon Book Review

Of all Sandhya Menon’s Dimple Verse books, 10 Things I Hate About Pinky featured the most relatable characters. It was filled with the sense of humour I have come to know from Menon’s writing. It also tipped its hat to one of my favourite movies of all time 10 Things I Hate About You.

The story takes place over the summer on the New England coast. Pinky, Dolly, and their parents head to their lake home for the summer. Samir has an internship in DC that falls through and ends up at Pinky’s summer home. They pretend to fake date, and the story gets super exciting from there. 

Pinky dresses very edgy and has a love for all creatures. She is a social justice warrior and beats to her own drum. She reminds me a lot of my teenage self. I absolutely loved following her on this summer journey. 

Samir is a very straight laced young man. He wants to be a lawyer and prefers to play things safe. While he is very close with his mum, he has had to endure a tragic upbringing. He is traditional and loves to please parents. 

I enjoyed how Pinky and Samir came together and challenged each other all summer. They both have such big hearts when it comes to helping others, but how they go about things is different. I appreciate how Menon tells the main character’s stories through each of their points of view, so we understand their actions and thoughts as the book goes. 

I thoroughly loved the supporting characters as well. Drama Queen, the opossum, steals the show with her dramatic “dying.” Dolly, Pinky’s cousin, who is a lot like Samir, tries her hand at the wild side over her summer vacation. Dolly is loyal, supportive, and a horrible liar. I thought Pinky’s parents were extremely well written, and while I did not always agree with them, I highly respected both of them. 

There were deeper themes in this book. My favourite theme was the teenager and parent relationship between mothers and daughters, and how they are both beautiful and complicated. There is a butterfly garden that is going to be torn down, and while Pinky wants to save it, her mother wants her to leave it alone. I enjoyed how the butterflies that connected them when Pinky was younger, bring them back together by the end of the story. 

10 Things I Hate About Pinky was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and it did not disappoint! I highly recommend this book along with the other books in the series and all of Menon’s work. 

I received an electronic advanced reader copy. All opinions are 100% my own.