A slow story deeply rooted in people and the passing of time. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I read a book of short stories by the author and was intrigued by her style of narration. When I saw a full novel come up on NetGalley, I had to try it out.
It is not often that I read a book based in India by an Indian-born author. When I do, I am extremely picky when it comes to things I feel discordant. This book had me thinking about the people and the plot line every day in the duration it took me to finish it and during the time I was not reading it.
This is a story of four women. The beginning scene is quite dramatic and sets up the finale, but it immediately jumps back in time to Delhi when our protagonists are still young children.
Our central character is Pari. She is the original inhabitant of the town and the school where everything is set to occur. She has a loving family (even if her brother loves to tease her mercilessly), but she is very conscious of her teeth and is teased brutally in school. Things are set to change when she makes a new friend who will pivot the rest of the narrative.
Samira is an interesting child. It's even better when the voice shifts to give us her side of events. This is the best mechanic which elevates an otherwise ordinary drama of friends. We see all the events through the eyes of one girl, and then suddenly, when time skips ahead a little, another picks up the plot, and we get to see a whole other side of what happened and how things are now. Samira, as the blurb suggests, is waiting for her mother to be closer to her. Samira befriends Pari, and then Roma comes into the picture. Now Roma's voice stands apart from the others mostly because of the clarity in her actions. She knows what she is doing at all times. Madhu is juggling a lot of balls, but her story is not one to be ignored. Although she is sure of the world around her and herself, she is an observer and does not meddle like Roma.
Things fracture at the tail end of their teenage years after almost a decade of following this unlikely band of four. It is then that we move far ahead in time to the present and find out where everyone is and how their lives have turned out.
The events that transpire felt true to the characters that the author introduced to us and built up over the years. It is essentially a very filmy story, but that does not make it any less potent. The dynamics between everybody and the internal struggles that we see make this an ideal plot to discuss and dissect.
My takeaway from this was that the author's writing appeals to me, and I should probably try more of her works. I would recommend this to people who like stories like these and also those who would like to see a more realistic Indian-based drama.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers. My review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

This book is definitely a slow burn, and I enjoyed it. I liked the shifting POVs between the characters. Thanks for letting me check it out!

The prologue for this novel is set up to suck you in from the beginning. The beginning is a slow burn and spends a copious amount of time on character introductions. You are then slammed into the story of four very different friends whose friendship is shattered. They are reunited 20 years later leaving you to ponder the long term effects of love and loss, female friendship and forgiveness.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for an eARC for my honest review.

Intersections is a slow burn about 4 girls whose lives are interwoven from childhood.

This novel was too drawn out, at times, I couldn't tell which POV it was.

The characters were ok, at times, it seemed to have no baring on the storyline.

All in all not my cup of tea!

The prologue for this novel sucked me right in and got me through the slower set-up introductory section of the novel to get to the meat of the story. Four very different school girls are friends until a shocking incident fractures their friendship and they go their separate ways. Twenty years later they meet up again in connection with a farewell for their school principal. The author really develops each character as a distinct person, both as teenagers and adults, and readers will find things to relate to with each character. Interesting and thought-provoking.

4.5 stars.

Summary: Pari Rajan is a Tamilian in Delhi from a typical family of four. Samira is a half-Indian whose parents don't get along. Roma is a Bengali who shifted to Delhi and never liked it. Madhu shifted from a village as her father got appointed as the driver of Samira's. The four of them study in the same school, doing what almost all of us have done at that age. However, as they enter their teens, shocking incidents rip them apart in a way that they could never reconcile.
What happens when Pari meets Madhu twenty years later? And more, she wants to talk to her? What happens when they are all invited to the farewell of their principal, Ms Margaret?

Storyline: The story has more twists and turns than a movie. Each of them had different and complicated lives, something they would never imagine as young girls. They end up hating each other. I can't say more about what exactly happened because it'll be a spoiler. It won't be anything you expect, though. The story explores complex human relationships, grief, trauma, love, crime and classism. In fact, ask me what does the story not have. OTT platforms should consider making this a TV series, maybe? I can only wonder how much thought goes into developing each character gradually, narrating their version of the story, without losing the reader's attention.


Review: The story started slowly, apparently for character development but as it progressed, it became yet another book I finished at the cost of my sleep and eyesight. There are surprises all through the story. The english is quite simple and the descriptions are clear (as you can see the page count) so the book is easy to understand and suitable for beginners. There was a point where I thought the story was ending and checked the page count. There were 50 more. That's how it is.

I deliberately didn't talk about which of these four girls I like or hate because, I want you to do that without any previous impression. I wouldn't put them into any labels. You may or may not agree with what any of them does based on how you read them. I would rather safely say Ms. Margaret, the principal, is a beautiful person and my favourite.

The only thing I didn't like was, Roma, being a fat character, is body-shamed throughout the book. I am not a fan of rje bad-fat-girl trope. Commenting on her fat even after she had biological kids isn't something I appreciate; hence the 4.5 stars.

I received a review copy on Netgalley and I am posting my review voluntarily.

well written with a gripping storyline told from 4 narratives and well developed characters - I mean seriously well developed. I couldn't put it down.

Enjoyable read. I liked the way this one was written and I feel like the author made sure the reader knew about the characters in detail and was able to connect to them and want to keep reading.

Intersections
A Novel
by Poornima, MancoIt
I very much enjoyed Intersection. . The friends come to India and I learned much by reading was written in 4 POV. and from Indis.