India has a population of nearly 1.4 Billion people. When you are in a major urban area, it seems that each person is out in the streets with you. Nowhere is that more true than in Bombay/Mumbai. You have never before experienced true chaos until you spend time on the streets of Mumbai.

If you are a non-native you will feel a mixture of amazement, appallment, and abject fear. If you are fortunate, you will have the privilege of being accompanied by a guide who will help you navigate - both literally and figuratively. Reema Patel is such a guide. Patel’s stunning debut “Such Big Dreams” will bury itself deep in your mind and soul. Rahki’s journey from orphan, to abused foster child, to homeless street urchin/petty thief, to reform school, to being rescued to get a second (first?) chance. It will make you hope and cry.

Patel captures the essence of Bombay in a most powerful way, from the sprawling slums where survival is a day-to-day proposition to the palaces of the rich who live off the exploitation and virtual slavery of the lower castes. The lines are not meant to be crossed in any but the most controlled manner. When they do, danger is sure to follow. Tragedy can occasionally be averted with the right combination of wile and connections.

Needless to say, life is not fair. Bribery and corruption are rampant at all levels. Every living situation is precarious - literally capable of disappearing before your eyes from one day to the next. There are some who care about these inequities, and a very few who are willing to genuinely do something about them. Gauri Verma is one of those few. She’s not perfect, but she is perfectly drawn.

Thank you, Reema Patel, for adding to my wonderment of India - its people, culture, and potential. “Such Big Dreams” goes to the top of my recommended list for those looking for something more than the “Slumdog Millionaire”/Bollywood version of the world’s largest democracy and one of its most innovative and important.

Thank you to McClelland & Stewart Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

Reema Patel’s debut novel, “Such Big Dreams,” presents an eye-opening view of “the real India” through her strong character study, dialogue and depictions of everyday life. The story opens in 2011, with 23 year-old Rakhi, an office assistant for an NGO, Justice For All. Going back in time, we see her as an eight year-old orphaned runaway who hooks up with a gang living on the street led and protected by a nine year-old, Babloo.

The head of the NGO, a lawyer who champions human rights, gave Rakhi a job, cell phone, a second floor room in a hutment in one of many of Mumbai’s slums. She also got the landlord to protect this single woman from the other dwellers. The lawyer, Gauri Ma’am, is always reminding Rakhi of her place. Patel takes us into Rakhi’s mind so that we know her thoughts and how angry she feels.

A washed up actress, married to one of Mumbai’s richest developers, convinces Gauri Ma’am to take on her rich Canadian nephew, Alex, as a summer intern prior to his going to Harvard and also to make her the spokesperson for the organization which is in dire financial straits. Alex, who is very naive, befriends Rakhi, helps her with English and keeps pushing her to better herself by applying to college in exchange for Rakhi showing him the real India.

As the story develops we see the underbelly of India, the poverty, the graft, the caste system at play at its worst, the gangsters and the power of the rich. Rakhi faces many moral dilemmas in addition to truths that are very hard to bear. She finds her voice and is able to reach within to find her true self. We find ourselves with her on her journey. Kudos to Patel for taking us there.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the gifted ARC.

Such Big Dreams transports us immediately to the visceral, bustling streets of Mumbai in the not-distant year of 2011. Our protagonist, Rakhi, is decidedly maudlin, and slogging her way through her officewali chores is the only ambition in her carefully unremarkable life. Rakhi has a past - one filled with adventure, horror, and unforgettable bonds - that she tamps down in favor of her dull, safe present. With the arrival of a Canadian intern at the human rights charity where she works, Rakhi is steered towards the possibility of different kind of future. But when her past comes knocking, Rakhi must decide once and for all who she really is.

I was gifted a digital ARC of this book, and I found myself sneaking a few pages here and there for days while I read it. While not much action actually happens in this book, the character development is sublime. I feel as though I know Rakhi, as closely as a friend, and yet I was consistently surprised by each side of her that was unfurled throughout the story. I also enjoyed the ending, which (no spoilers) could very easily have taken the "lazy" direction that was set up. However, Rakhi's character deserved a more complex and honest ending, and I was pleased that she got it.

<i>Such Big Dreams</i> is Rakhi's story--from a young orphan living with abusive family, to living on the streets of Bombay, to working as an assistant in a law office. It is a story of poverty, hardship, and overcoming, fraught with tragedy and hope.

The story is told mostly in the present: Rakhi is an assistant at a law office. The business owner, Gauri, is a well-known social justice lawyer. For Rakhi, Gauri is part benefactor and part disciplinarian. Rakhi feels gratitude for and resentment toward Gauri--Gauri helped lift her from destitution by providing a job and place to live, but at the same time, she treats Rakhi as less-than and someone to control.

When a Canadian, Harvard-bound student, Alex, joins the law office for a summer internship, he and Rakhi kindle an unlikely friendship. While there is an obvious power imbalance, Alex fires in Rakhi a self-belief that she has never tapped into. Rakhi starts to dream of a future. The future itself is vague, but it is clear that Rakhi does not want to be bound to Gauri for the rest of her life.

There are shorter glimpses into Rakhi's years living on the streets. The reader knows that a tragedy has befallen Rakhi, splitting her from her best friend and protector, Babloo, but it isn't until much later in the story that those details are revealed. These peeks into Rakhi's history help to build a picture of how difficult her life has been. As the pages go on, Rakhi's strength and resilience build.

As the book went on, I got more and more into the story. It took a little bit to hook me, but once I was there, I was so curious how Rakhi's life would turn out. It is easy to root for her. Despite her challenges and missteps, Rakhi is a likable protagonist. And while each calamity seems worst than the last, Rakhi's story feels completely plausible. It reminds me of non-fiction stories I've read of women in third-world countries; when their foundation crumbles, they rebuild, and when it crumbles again they rebuild again. Recommended.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rakhi is a twenty three year old former street child now working as an office assistant in a not-for-profit law office. After being picked up during an altercation as an adolescent, she was sentenced to a convent that afforded her a high school education as well as other opportunities not usually extended to street children. While she lives in a Mumbai slum, she does not have to beg for her meals. Her boss portends to treat her like a daughter, yet the class distinction is obvious everywhere. A new male Canadian Intern is very interested in her past and in all things Indian. He befriends her and encourages her to show him the “”real India”. His hosts are his wealthy relatives who are very upper class. Sometimes Rakhi reminded me of Adunni, in The Girl With the Louding Voice. The difference is that Adunni aimed high and remained optimistic. With Rakhi, there was a sense of inevitability, and inability to raise above the class, especially as seen by others. I enjoyed this book very much, and would love to read more from this author. I do wish a glossary of the Indian terms could have been included.
#SuchBigDreams #NetGalley

“Such Big Dreams” is a debut novel by Reema Patel. In this book, the main character is a 23-year-old woman named Rakhi, who had lived on the streets for years when younger (we learn this in flashback stories) and now works as an entry office worker. Rakhi is learning English, something that is hoped to improve her lot in life. Rakhi’s past and present come to a head as the story progresses.

Let me start off by saying that my knowledge of Indian culture is very limited. Knowing about a place isn’t the same as having experienced it first-hand. I found myself consulting online sources a bit during the reading of this (and be careful looking up some of the Hindi words; I would’ve liked a dictionary in the back of the book). Additionally, while reading this book I kept wondering “Is this going to be like a Satyajit Ray movie with a not so happy ending?” This book has a satisfying ending.

I found myself engrossed in the present/past stories of Rakhi - and for some reason I kept thinking “this would make a good show.” The writing is vivid, giving enough of a description to place the reader in the different places without going into precise details. I found the scene where Alex, an intern at the place Rakhi works, describes the well rebuilding to be so true (I heard something similar from a former Peace Corps member once). I also liked the conflict between Alex and Rakhi - he wants to help her, but doesn’t really understand what she needs (in fact, the big final scene between Rakhi and her boss I felt was excellent and well presented regarding ongoing college costs that Alex seemed to be unaware or just didn't think about). I liked how Rakhi made life happen, opposed to let life happen around her. Rakhi isn’t perfect - and she acknowledges that - but I think in the end, she’ll survive. I also liked the Author’s Notes regarding how she came up with the story. I give this book a 4.5 rating and would read another book by Ms. Patel.

I was very interested to read this story to learn more about the culture in India. Following Rakhi’s journey was interesting and insightful, and at times just plain heartbreaking. Overall, this was a rich and deeply moving, character-driven story that held my attention throughout. Really well-written and beautiful.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

I liked Rakhi, the main character here. But, the writing felt stiff and stilted (perhaps the first person just hammered too loudly) and I lost interest without finishing this one.

This is a powerful and moving coming into oneself story about twenty-three year old Rakhi living in India. The writing is well done and I learned a lot about Indian culture. I loved the details about Rakhi’s progression with the English language. All her heartache and misfortune made my heart hurt for her, but the moment on the beach was absolutely perfect. I loved the ending, even though it isn’t what I expected, it was definitely the way Rakhi’a story should have wrapped up.

Such Big Dreams
by Reema Patel

Is a wonderful written story!
The story flowed so well, and it's so fresh!
I finished this book in a handful of hours. Its seriously a good read.
Written with such brilliance, this novel kept me engaged and engrossed from the first moment.
Author Reema focuses tightly on the character development.
Rakhi, I just loved her character. Strong, Go Getter attitude, smart!
This book has some really funny parts, and some really heart breaking and tough parts. Overall, probably one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.

Ballantine Books,
WoW! Thank you so much for this wonderful widget.

Fiction fans will devour this new smart novel. I however want to read more fiction first so that I can get a feel for the genre. I can then appreciate this new novel more that way. As the premise sounds good and promising.