Dava Shastri’s Last Day follows the story of Dava Shastri, a wealthy philanthropist who learns she has terminal brain cancer. Rather than succumb to a protracted illness, Dava opts for medically assisted suicide. She gathers her family on her private island to spend her final days, but in an unexpected twist, Dava leaks the news of her death early to the media, hoping to witness the world's reaction to her legacy. This decision shocks her children and exposes long-buried family secrets.

The novel delves into themes of legacy, family secrets, and the dichotomy between public and private personas. It examines how personal choices shape one’s legacy and the impact of hidden truths on familial relationships. The narrative also touches on issues of mortality, ambition, and the complexities of love and redemption.

Dava Shastri’s Last Day stands out for its rich character development and the nuanced portrayal of a family grappling with profound truths. The book's strengths lie in its ability to blend humour with serious reflections on life and legacy. However, some readers may find the pacing uneven at times. Overall, it is an engaging and thought-provoking read that offers a fresh perspective on the themes of mortality and familial bonds.

By capturing the emotional complexity of its characters and the intricacies of their relationships, Kirthana Ramisetti's debut novel is a noteworthy addition to contemporary fiction that resonates deeply with readers.

Dava Shastri's Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti was a wonderful novel. It didn't grab me immediately, but once I got to about a third of the way through, I was glued to the page. Dava is one of my favorite characters I've read about recently. The theme of legacy was a really interesting one to read about. This book had a great balance of humor and seriousness. I really enjoyed reading it, even though I thought the first part was a little slow-going.

Oooof this book was not good! Why were we to care about these characters!? Dava is horrible and not someone I wanted a whole book about.

Dava Shastri's Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti fell flat for me; just was not the book I thought it was going to be.

The synopsis reeled me in; wealthy philanthropist chooses assisted dying, with her family surrounding her. The dying woman's secrets are revealed and she has limited time to make things right. The makings of an interesting read.

The secrets are mundane and not very interesting.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2023 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2023/01/2023-reading-list-announced-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Such a great read for a debut! A very unique read. This would be a great book club book because there are so many things to discuss! This one was definitely thought provoking and entertaining. I think this book is under hyped and deserves more recognition!

This book has such an interesting premise. Dava Shastri, billionaire philanthropist, calls her family home to her private island and informs them that she is dying and has planned for the news of her death to break before she is actually dead so she can read the obituaries written about her. Her children, their significant others, and her grandchildren descend on the island to spend time with Dava. As the family spends time together, secrets are revealed and the family takes a look at the lives they've led.

This is a very character driven novel and I found that the relationships among the characters were the strongest part of this book. I think that the family dynamics and how each individual fit into the family was written really well. The characters themselves are largely unlikable, although there are a couple good ones. They come across as wealthy and a little bit cliched. As we learn more about Dava's life, I did feel like I understood her motivations a little bit more but fell short of liking her as a person.

That being said, this book is very well written. The passages flow and while character driven novels usually move at a slow place, this one went by quickly and I did find myself turning the pages. Overall, I thought this book was a quick read and while the characters weren't my favorites, I look forward to reading what Ramisetti writes next!

Self-made billionaire, Dava Shastri plans to leak news of her death a day early, so she can bask in the glory of her life and legacy as written in her obituaries. But as the news spreads, her four adult children are forced to grapple with all the secrets Dava’s “death” uncovers.

After reading the synopsis, which also stated it’d be “chock full of humor,” I was excited to see a bunch of scrambling chickens with their heads cut off. I loved the idea of this book. But unfortunately, it wasn’t as outlandish as I had hoped.

This book was a study on how Dava’s decisions, for better or for worse, impacted her foundation, her family, and herself. It was interesting to see how her grandchildren viewed her foundation, and on the flip side how much thought Dava put into her choices.

This grandiose life legacy trope definitely had the vibes of both Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones, but I didn’t think Dava Shastri had as many intricacies or as much star power as either of those. I think if Dava had been taken in a more outrageous and satirical tone, it would be more memorable for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dava Shastri allows news of her death to be released before she actually passes to see what is said about her, her life and her legacy. The problem is her children are not aware of her health, impending death or so much about her life. The story is set in the future (2040) where euthanasia is legal but beyond that there doesn't seem to be much point to that. There were some musical references that would have been more appropriate had her story been in the current day and a few other references which didn't fit the timeline. Other than that it was an interesting premise - wouldn't we all want to know what people will say about us after we pass?

I can’t get through this book. I’m really glad it got published and it would probably be a good listen but I just can’t seem to get through it.

This book was archived before I had time to read it, so I am not able to give accurate feedback. Thank you for the opportunity, sorry I was unable to get to it in time.

I truly loved this novel! I struggled in the beginning with some of the character relationships, but focused instead simply on Dava and her story, which helped me sink in and fall in love. I still don't love a few of Dava's children, and dislike some of the decisions they made, but a flawed character (or three) makes for impecible storytelling, for sure!

This was a heavy but uplifting read. Dava Shastri’s last day is acmulticultural story about family, the choices we make consequences behind those decisions and what legacy will this person leave behind after passing away. There’s dual timelines throughout the story: one following the Shastri clan learning about the recent news of their mother and Dava’s past. Dava is obsessed of what people will think about her when she’s gone.

This book was really heavy. The writing was stunning and the story was intriguing but I had to keep taking breaks because it was emotionally draining.

The plot of Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti not surprisingly focuses on the last few days in the life of fictional self-made philanthropist, Dava Shastri. Having discovered that she is terminally ill, Dava decides to gather her family on her private island in order to inform them of her last wishes. She has also taken the unorthodox step of spreading the news of her demise early in order to find out how she will be remembered once she is gone. Throughout the course of the book, which is told through the perspective of Dava as well as various family members, long buried secrets are revealed and old resentments come to the forefront as the family struggles to say good bye and find ways to move forward with their respective lives.

I found Dava Shastri’s Last Day to be a book that one has to read slowly. There are a lot of players involved and the book is full of flashbacks so it can be very easy to get confused if you try to rush through.

The central themes of this story were family and legacy. Dava is an incredible woman, who has dedicated her life to giving back and helping others. Yet legacy has always been a major concern for her hence why she leaks the news of her demise to the press. Even as she reaches the last days of her life the reader sees Dava attempting to shape how she will be remembered often with little consideration as to how her actions will affect members of her family. In fact, it becomes very clearly as the story progresses that Dava’s family is deeply fractured thanks to her actions. Her attempts to create fellow philanthropists out of her children have backfired magnificently. Instead, Dava finds herself the mother of deeply flawed individuals. Faced with the realization that her carefully laid plans have come to naught Dava finds herself using her last days to not only attempt to re-shape her legacy, but also fix what is broken in her family.

A highlight of this book for me was how relatable the characters in this story were. The various Shastri children and grandchildren are struggling with everyday problems and emotions such as feeling lost or inadequate or overwhelmed. I thought it was a nice touch to give each of the major characters at least one POV chapter as it helped me, as the reader, understand them better and thereby relate to them more.

Finally, I enjoyed the fact that the author made the main character a compelling, but not necessarily likeable one. Dava is manipulative and dishonest and has definitely played a hand in the wreck that is her children’s lives. However, despite her flaws, she “actually made a real difference in the world… It’s not mere lip service. She’s helped hundreds, maybe thousands of people”. One cannot help, but admire her for that especially considering how hard the reader sees that she had to work in order to get to the position she was in at the time of her death.

In my opinion, this is a great book for those who enjoy contemporary fiction, don’t mind the absence of romance and enjoy reading about dysfunctional families.

Trigger warnings: character death, assisted suicide

Dava Shastri's Last Day is the best book I've read in a long time. It was truly a breath of fresh air. I absolutely adored Dava Shastri's character and how her life story - and legacy - was told throughout the book. To me, this book felt similar to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but with a bigger cultural impact. I particularly liked that the story didn't just focus on Dava being a WOC but instead gave her a well-rounded, captivating story. I wish more POC-centric stories were told this way. Kirthana Ramisetti is so talented and I absolutely cannot wait to read whatever she puts out next.

tldr; “Dava Shastri’s Last Day” by Kirthana Ramisetti is a heartfelt novel about a philanthropist with a terminal illness who chooses to end her life on her own terms and reconnects with her adult children on her last day.

Dava Shastri is a wealthy philanthropist who discovers that she has brain cancer at the age of 70. Instead of going through treatment, she decides to end her life on her own terms. She invites her adult children to her private island to reveal the news and allows the news of her death to break early so that she could see how the world reacts to her passing. As Dava and her children reminisce over Dava’s life, old secrets are revealed and tensions simmer on Dava’s last day.

I went into this novel expecting a glamorized story of the elite rivaling “Gossip Girl” or “Crazy Rich Asians,” but what I didn’t expect was a heartfelt novel about a family making their peace before the death of their matriarch. Dava is an egotistical character who is hard to empathize with at times, but I couldn't help but feel for her through the highs and lows of her life, especially the tender love for her husband, Arvid. Each of her children face their own struggles, despite being part of a rich family.

The characters initially came off as unlikeable; it took me a while to warm up to them, but I am glad that I continued to read. I think that the plot could have moved slightly quicker, which may have helped me appreciate the character development much more.

“Dava Shastri’s Last Day” covers some of the challenges of growing up Indian-American without overemphasizing cliches. Dava feels guilt about being an English literature major, which she considers nontraditional. She also grows up feeling isolated both from the white people in her hometown but also from Hindi-speaking Indians since she only speaks Telugu. She also knows that she will be consistently underestimated as a woman of color and is tightly protective of her brand, causing some resentment in her children.

Overall, “Dava Shastri’s Last Day” is a great book about family dynamics that I recommend to anyone who is willing to overlook the slower pace.

The concept of this book seemed interesting and intrigued me. But unfortunately, the writing style was not captivating me so I had to DNF the book.

When I first read the description for this novel, I was very excited. It has been a while since I have explored the "I'm going to fake my death in order to see what the world thinks of me" plot. That being said, this novel fell flat for me. None of the characters were very likeable and I had a hard time empathizing with any of them. I am not the type of person who thinks that in order for a book to be good that the characters have to be broadly appealing, but I am the type of person who needs to understand why the characters are so unlikeable. I felt like with this novel I never really got an in depth analysis of the characters and why they made the decisions that they did. I also found them to be really self-centered and snobby if I am being honest. Maybe it is because I can't relate to the plights of the wealthy, but I found a lot of their problems to be miniscule when compared to the problems that most people face in everyday life. I also found Dava to be a complex, if somewhat confusing character who I never was really able to figure out. I think that there will be people who will really love this book and enjoy it, it just was not exactly what I thought it was going to be.

The plot sounded amazing by I was hoping to dig a little deeper into each family member's life. I was left with surface-level details, questions, and a bit of confusion. I'm all for flawed-characters, but I like to know the why behind their actions in order to feel any type of connection. Otherwise, like with this book, I don't find any of the characters likeable.