The White Coat Diaries by Madi Sinha. What a fun summer read! Norah is a well-drawn self-deprecating character. I loved the medical terminology, Indian food, and hot gossip in the call room. Highly recommend for readers 17-up.

Amazing read. This book had interesting medical facts, and an inside look at the health care system.
Our main character was developed well and I had a sense of friendship with her on her journey.
The book does use profanity and those offended by the use of the f-word might avoid the book.
Mature topics and descriptive medical procedures that are not for the faint of heart.
The story development and character are five star. One star removed due to not being able to recommend to all due to language

I stayed up until 3:00 in the morning devouring THE WHITE COAT DIARIES. I'm not sure the last time I read an entire book in one night. I couldn't put it down. The heroine was so thoroughly charming, I was rooting for her from the first cringe-worthy, wrought days as a new medical intern through her challenges to reconcile family and cultural expectations, and along her journey of professional and personal self-discovery. Sinha's writing is funny (I laughed out loud several times), heartfelt without tipping into melodramatic, and it delivers a pointed and deeply human insider view of life in a hospital. While a romantic entanglement is part of Norah's journey, this book is unflinchingly a story of personal growth.

Thank you to the author and Berkley for an early copy.

Norah is an intern at a hospital in Philadelphia, torn between memories of her late father and his devotion to medicine with the traditional expectations of her mother, brother and South Asian family. Norah is socially naive, after having spent her time with a nose in books, so is unprepared when a resident shows her some attention. I was struck by the author’s indictment of the medical field for not putting the patient first, but the worries of lawsuits and insurance concerns impacting decisions. I like it, and thank NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Meet Norah Kapadia, new to the resident rotation at Philadelphia General Hospital. Norah’s dream has been to enter into the medical field, following her late father’s footsteps as a well-known and respected pediatrician. But her first day isn’t so promising. So far, she’s had a needle stick, and I won’t even tell you what happens to the code blue patient. Norah finds herself hiding in the supply closet, wondering if she has made the biggest mistake of her life.

Norah struggles with starting her career and dealing with patients, always conscious of her oath to do no harm. Or is she? What happens when a fatal error occurs, and ethics flies out the window? And can she manage to balance her duties and responsibilities of being a daughter, sister and friend with a schedule that involves an occasional night of rest? Oh, and love may have finally found her.

Sinha’s writing is witty, wryly humorous and heartfelt in all the right places. The book is definitely character-driven rather than plot-driven. Norah is someone you root for, even if she doesn’t always make the best choices. While I will say that I would have preferred a different ending, it was still a great book. If you were a fan of St. Elsewhere, ER and Grey’s Anatomy, then this is the book for you!

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Norah has made it through medical school and is entering her residency in Philadelphia while trying to help support her brother in north Jersey, who is trying to take care of their elderly, widowed mother and begin his life independent of her with his wife and children. Her mother really only wants Norah married off to a respectable Indian man and living nearby raising a family of her own--there's no need for her to become a doctor!

This was a quick and entertaining read!

Thank you to @berkleypub via @netgalley for a copy of this delightful book. It is that perfect combination of fun and substance. It dabbled in relationships via friends, lovers, and family to moral decisions, and the business piece in the medical/healthcare industry...all while medical scenarios were in the background. So I definitely felt liked it lived up to the hype of a mash up of Grey’s Anatomy and Scrubs so look out for this one when it publishes on September 15. You will definitely want to add this to your list for your fall reading. It will be just what the doctor ordered...I know...but I couldn’t resist. 😂🤣

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Norah has always had a one track mind. Follow in her fathers footsteps and become a doctor. She has finally reached her intern year and things aren’t going quite as planned. Her mother needs her more than ever, she hasn’t had a single solid nights sleep in forever, one of the Doctors has made her his errand boy, and she is still trying to live up to being the “perfect” Indian daughter. It’s not possible to do all of the above at the same time, and adding falling for her chief resident and covering up his mistake makes for a very stressful intern year.

Compare a book to Greys Anatomy and I’m there! While it had some Greys vibes, I think this one was a little bit more on the serious side, but I could see this situation happening on the show. This is the third book I have read recently where the main character is an Indian woman, and I have found the look at the culture to be fascinating. I loved that Norah had goals for herself and didn’t let her families wishes stop her from reaching those goals. I think this book is probably scarily similar to what a doctor faces during their intern year, and man, I just don’t get it. Why are we working people 80+ hours a week, until they are asleep on their feet? That seems counterproductive to having successful Doctors, but that’s just my opinion! Overall I really loved this one! If you are a Greys fan, you will too!

Norah has always known that she has wanted to be a doctor. Ever since her pediatrician father died in a car accident, Norah promised to carry on her father’s legacy and make him proud. But when on her first day she pricks herself with a patient’s needle and shocks a patient while they’re still awake, she realizes being a doctor isn’t as glamorous as she thought and she has a lot to learn. This novel follows Norah and her fellow crew of interns as they navigate the ins and outs of working in a hospital and how she begins pushing herself out of her comfort zone of books and studying, discovering that it is okay to live a little. It also touches on her major crush on her McSteamy, chief resident Ethan, and when asked to cover up a major mistake that could cost their jobs, Norah finds herself asking just how far is she willing to go? ⠀⠀
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If you’re a Grey’s Anatomy or any hospital drama series fan, you would enjoy this novel. I loved the daily struggles and the author really captured how stressful and intense working in a hospital actually is. Norah was an enjoyable character and I enjoyed when she was beginning to bust out of her shell because she was starting to get on my nerves a little with judging everyone. I loved her best friend Meryl and when Norah makes a big mistake and ruining their friendship, to me it almost seemed random and out of character and personally didn’t make sense at all. All in all, I thought this one was just okay, but not enough character development for me to get fully invested.⠀⠀
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🍷to sum it up: hospital dramedy, coming of age, self love and growth, Indian culture references, really captured the hospital vibe, I’d recommend if you like hospital drama books, but I wouldn’t read it again

I really enjoyed this and couldn’t stop reading - except at a few key moments where I was in such agony over the choices she made, and had to take a break! I especially liked all the behind-the-scenes stuff.

This is a great romantic comedy injected with a healthy dose of gravitas. Great for fans of own voices and romance.

I was thoroughly impressed with this novel! It was everything I wanted it to be and so much more! It's at once a love story as it is an impressive medical debut. I was just as much caught up in the romance aspect of the book as I was in the medicine storyline. The characters were extremely relatable, particularly the heroine, Norah. I really never knew what to expect. This book was refreshing, witty, and a pageturner. I would most certainly recommend it!

This is a great take on the life of a doctor in training. There are work relationships and personal relationships. The main character is one you root for from start to finish, which is a nice treat for readers. The writing style makes the book flow from beginning to end.

I loved this book! It's not a romcom or a romance, but it's about a young woman learning to become a doctor and her journey of self discovery. More of a coming of age story. I found the main character delightful and relatable, and the plot moves along nicely. I liked how the author layers in the medical information so that it's not overwhelming to a lay person, and how the ethical dilemma—which does come later in the book—is foreshadowed throughout. Careful readers will pick up on the clever way this plot was written. Definitely different from most books I've read, and I really enjoyed it and would recommend it!

2.5 * This was such a fun behind the scenes look into an interns life. The un-glamorous truth of the pressures and politics in hospitals. I really liked Norah and (some of) the supporting characters. Until I didn't.

An issue I had with this book was that there was little to no plot other than the day to day life of an intern until about 75% into the book. The pacing was off as some parts were interesting, and then it just ground to a halt. There were too many story lines and scenarios.

The resolution was very disappointing to me, but the last few sentences reintroduced a bit of hope. It just seemed extremely out of character for Norah who I had grown fond of and felt I knew her well enough that it just didn't make sense.

A fascinating look at being a medical intern. Norah was a sympathetic and believable character, and I loved watching her come into her own and make tough decisions.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This wonderfully written book provides a voyeuristic view of the trials and tribulations of our protagonist: Norah Kapadia, a young doctor. Truly eye-opening, we not only get a realistic story of what our medical professionals face, but we also get a story delivered with heart and humor (one particular scene had me laughing out loud), touching upon family/personal relationships and finding yourself. Norah is a flawed character (like all real humans) and she makes mistakes and some very bad decisions. For me, this made her all the more relatable. Life, after all, isn’t perfect and can be very unpredictable.

3.5 stars

Norah Kapadia is a medical intern quickly learning the ropes of Philadelphia General Hospital. Each day presents new challenges and she quickly learns that sometimes, working in a hospital isn't always about putting the patients first. Between trying to follow in her father's footsteps, being the "perfect Indian daughter", and graduating from residency, she wonders how she can handle it all. When a fatal mistake results in a lawsuit, she must decide for herself where her loyalties lie.

This was an interesting read. I loved the medical detail and appreciated that a practicing physician authored the book. It was like "Grey's Anatomy" with the crazy cases and questionable relationships between medical personnel. The book's strongest aspects were the plots surrounding the grueling life of medical residents and inner working of a hospital.

Norah was an okay character for me. I didn't think there was much character development until the very end. Likewise, her relationship with her family and constant battle choosing between them and work was important for the first half of the book, then began to disappear, and then seemed to be mostly resolved without much explanation by the end. There was less romance than I expected after reading the book jacket summary and some of the supporting characters seemed to just have disappeared for the last 25% of the book.

It was a good read if you enjoy medical dramas, but if you are looking for a contemporary romance, you should look elsewhere. Overall, it was intriguing and I did enjoy reading about the characters, but I was disappointed by how the plot was resolved. It lacked proper closure and seemed a bit too convenient.

Mixed feelings here. Liked the depiction of desi immigrant experience, the struggles of being a lowly-ranked doctor at a hospital, and the writing. Didn't love the cover-up storyline or the heroine's lack of character development until the last 25%.

I loved this book! As an ER nurse this defiantly resonated with me. Honestly I will be excited to see what non medical people think of this book. I am not sure if I enjoyed it so much because I nodded my head like a billion times going - yep that is how the ED rolls because there is so much truth in this book. If you are expecting a rom-com I would say it really isn't that. It is more like the struggles that a new physician takes on in a crazy environment. I flew through this book in a day as I was completely entertained.

Norah - aka Dr. Kapadia is a resident that gets thrown into the craziness of the ED. Welcome to our world Norah. I love that this book shows how things really are. The general public I believe is under the impression that if you graduate medical school, you know it all. Okay people but not every situation can be taught in med school. Although Nora made some major mistakes, I can't say I have not seen things like this happen. Although in real life I think someone would have stepped in and stopped her, but that would not make this as entertaining or as shocking as it was.

I felt Norah's pain as she questioned herself and hid in the storage room. When she had her first needle stick- yep that will make you question- why the hell am I doing this? Better yet the abuse you take from the general public. She nailed it on some of that. Quite frankly she downplayed that because the readers probably wouldn't believe that patients actually do this stuff. HAHAHA- believe me they do. I have had someone pour their urine on my computer keyboard...because their doctor didn't give them what they wanted. So Norah's story nailed it!

Why I did give it 4 stars even though I loved it? It is because I was a bit put off by a huge moral dilemma that takes place. Let's just say I am one of those "ER nurses" that Norah thought were against her. I would not let that happen on my watch. I would go over Norah's head because it is my job to be my patient's advocate- not my job to worry if the physician is going to be mad at me.

I really enjoyed this book and it kept me flipping the pages. It was better than Grey's Anatomy because the author is a physician and knows the proper lingo. I don't know if some of this will be lost on non medical people, but it wasn't lost on me. Very enjoyable read for me. I loved it!