I love a modern retelling, so I was excited for this updated, gender-flipped retelling of Taxi Driver. The author was doing some brilliant things here, particularly around race and white allyship, but on the whole the novel felt too short, surface level, and, dare I say, gimmicky.

I can't say anything about this book that others haven't said already (and more articulately). You can feel Damani's exhaustion throughout.

I really liked how Priya Guns nailed the satire on class and activism in "Your Driver Is Waiting." The book digs into who gets to protest and who's stuck just trying to make it through each day. Damani, the main character, is super real, and Guns does an amazing job showing how tough capitalism can hit, plus all the family drama Damani deals with. Then there's Jolene, who's like this over-the-top but kinda true picture of those white women who are all about social justice hashtags and protests but bail when it gets real.

I'm giving it three stars because, honestly, I couldn't get super emotionally hooked on the characters. Damani's story is super relevant, especially with all the class and activism stuff, but the whole satirical vibe made it tough to really feel with the characters, not just for them. Some parts of the story and how the characters grow felt a bit off in pacing. But hey, this book tries something different, and I totally respect that.

I have mixed feelings about this book. While I enjoyed the parts where Damani's job gave insights into the people she drove around, and it had a nice slice-of-life feel, I didn't like how the story built up to a big event at the end that turned out to be anti-climactic. Despite the anticipation, Damani didn't choose to do something significant; it just happened, and she walked away. Unfortunately, there was no character growth, and the ending felt unsatisfying.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

Your Driver Is Waiting
by Priya Guns

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Damani Krishanthan, the antihero of Priya Guns's startling, dark social satire Your Driver Is Waiting, struggles to cope in a city fraught with protests over social injustices. Her must-have survival tools in her job as a rideshare driver include a switchblade, a tire iron and pepper spray. She leads a frustrating life: her beloved father is dead, and depression immobilizes her Amma. Her pay rarely covers the bills, making Damani one of the many working poor in a city full of social injustices. Friends and coworkers invite her to protest against the rideshare company's pitiful wages, but taking time off to protest would mean even less income. Forcing herself to endure long hours driving and being nice to the dangerous, misogynistic and uncaring passengers she encounters, all in the hopes of a five-star rating and desperately needed tips, drains her sanity and frays the walls of her thinly veiled temper. Life remains bleak until she falls for a wealthy and woke white socialite named Jolene, who sweeps Damani off her feet with sexual bliss and fantastical promises of extravagant vacations. The relationship comes to a screeching halt when Jolene gets an introduction to Damani's friends. Betrayal and violence erupt over unanswered texts and unreturned phone calls. Damani becomes a stalker as her one possibility of happiness is lost in a fiery crescendo of rage.

Guns catches fire in her first novel, a too-real-not-to-be-real satire that is bound to become a much discussed book of note. It's an insightfully relatable statement on the frustrations of making ends meet in a gig economy. --Paul Dinh-McCrillis, freelance reviewer

The prose in this novel is very straightforward and effective at painting a picture of where and who the protagonist interacts with. While I enjoyed the voice of a disgruntled yet optimistic queer woman engaging somewhat misguidedly in protest, I was not fully drawn into the character's voice or thinking.

This book unfolds as a dramatic comedy infused with satire, chronicling the career of a woman who takes on the role of a RideShare driver. Damani's tales, at times, elicit hearty laughter, yet they also delve into profound discussions on pressing social issues, notably immigration, race, and American culture. The narrative offers a strikingly unique reading experience, serving as an authentic reflection of societal attitudes toward marginalized groups striving to find their footing in America.

At the story's heart is Damani, a protagonist who stands out as one of the most fascinating and endearing characters encountered in recent memory. Her character is richly layered and multifaceted, an extraordinary feat considering the book's relatively concise length. The supporting cast also boasts well-crafted and enthralling characters.

This book exudes satire, laced with dry and incisive wit. The initial half of the narrative unfolds at a measured pace, allowing readers to become intimately acquainted with Damani and her world. However, the second half of the story erupts into a high-octane, one-sitting read, creating an explosive and unforgettable reading experience.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did not feel much of a connection to the main character or the writing style. I was expecting more of an impact.

Strange, compelling, fresh and forceful, Guns’ debut (is it?) is a strong start. A tough hero with a tender side and obligations is attracted to the lovely but wrong woman. The streets are full of rage. The hero matches her big heart with big guns (Guns?). Great dialogue and a twisty, uncompromising plot. I’m not sure there’s quite enough there in terms of structure, but I greatly liked what I found.

I really enjoyed Your Driver Is Waiting. I liked Damani and her POV. The story starts a little slow but because the chapters are short, it's easy to get past and the plot picks up quickly. I also listened to the audio and recommend (it's read by the author). I've not seen Taxi Driver, and maybe that would've added more to the read, but I felt like it was a thought-provoking ride regardless!

This book is kind of hard for me to review, because I feel mostly lukewarm about it. It was enjoyable but never "knocked my socks off" at any point in time. I always love following a sort of 'not in her right mind all the time' and 'down on her luck' main character, so Damani was exactly my kind of main character. However, the actual plot of the book fell a little flat for me.

This one unfortunately was a total miss for me. I think the way it was presented was misleading. It was supposed to be a dark comedy, yet the funny bits were very few and sparse and most of the time I could just feel the MC's dread and anxiety about her situation and that is not at all was I was expecting this book to deliver, so it was jus presented in a misleading way.

I had a lot of fun with this one. I kind of wish it went more off the rails, but I still blew through it, and loved my time in the mind of the main character.

I was not expecting a Taxi Driver-inspired book to be so clever? Maybe that's naive of me, but I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would.

This is just such a fun badass book. Including my insta post for the book here. https://www.instagram.com/p/CpNYr4Krh_6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Damani is a queer Tamil woman constantly on the clock driving for a ride-sharing company. Dealing with rude customers, running on little sleep or food, and trying to process the grief of losing her father, she barely makes enough to survive and support her ailing mother. Then Jolene requests a ride, and Damani can’t fight their instant chemistry. Sure, Jolene is wealthy and white, but she seems to be an ally. But as Damani pulls Jolene further into her world, their foundational differences in race and class are exposed, finally pulling Damani into a growing revolution of drivers unfolding around her.

This is a character driven novel that relies heavily on Damani’s internal dialogue. We see the world through Damani’s eyes, and that world is not pretty. The world Damani describes feels dystopian, where the people with privilege mindlessly request rides, believing fully in a fictionalized version of their city where the money they pay for their ride is going to the person driving and not primarily to the corporation that essentially regulates the driver’s every move, lest they make a mistake and be suspended from driving. Where working class people watch YouTube videos as a replacement for therapy they can’t afford. But this isn’t a dystopia—it’s the world we live in now.

The divide Guns portrays particularly well is that between white allies and the Black and Brown folks they alleged to support. The reader watches as Damani experiences near constant violence, from her employer, from riders, from every government system, compounded by the grief of losing her father who “wasn’t shot” but whose life had “damn well” been taken. Damani calculates: “If Appa had been paid five dollars more every hour, that would have been ten hours of work less each week, forty hours less a month.” Maybe if he worked less, he wouldn’t have died of a heart attack.

But white allies do not see that violence. They only see the violence that happens when those most marginalized finally fight back, and that violence is unacceptable to them. And this is how the status quo is truly perpetuated—when the people “on your side” but with more political power believe you have gone too far.

Guns has told a story in this novel that is necessary for our current world.

Thank you netgalley.com for providing a copy of this book.

Read this book if you like: LGBTQ representation, multicultural cast, Taxi Driver

Firstly, Damani is absolutely unhinged. I liked it, for the most part. I had no idea what she was going to say or do next. She is filled with feminine rage. It fits the dark, satirical feel of the book. It lost my attention often, though the writing is well done. I do recommend it.

This book was…different. While I wasn’t sure what to expect, the book started off strong and I was 100% rooting for Damani and her mother. While it didn’t feel like the type of book that would have a happy ending, I was hoping Damani would at least take steps to open a food truck and carry on her fathers memory. Instead, this storyline fell a bit flat for me. I don’t feel like it went anywhere other than off the deep end. Damani disintegrated into an abusive stalker towards the end which regardless of how horrible Jolene was, I refuse to condone. This book wasn’t it for me.

This story wasn't anything like I expected it to be, but I enjoyed it so much! It's sharp, quick, smart, and vivid. I found all the characters to be intriguingly developed at a fast pace and the social and political commentary was incredible. Sapphic desire was also so beautifully and cleverly depicted.

3.5 stars, maybe? It took me a minute to really digest what I'd read. The author was really dedicated to the idea of an anti-hero, someone you root for despite the fact that they're not really a great person. D was pretty easy to root for and her simmering anger and desperation were palpable.