Isha, Unscripted
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Unwilling to yield to familial expectations, an aspiring screenwriter attempts to pursue her dreams during an unforgettable night of chaos in this hilarious and heartfelt novel by Sajni Patel.
Isha Patel is the black sheep of the family. She doesn’t have a “prestigious” degree or a “real” career, and her parents never fail to remind her. But that’s okay because she commiserates with her cousin, best friend, and fellow outcast, Rohan.
When Isha has a breakthrough getting her script in front of producers, it doesn’t go according to plan. Instead of letting her dreams fall through the cracks, Rohan convinces her to snag a pitch session with an Austinite high-profile celeb: the one and only Matthew McConaughey, who also happened to be her professor at the University of Texas years ago—he has to remember her, right?
Chasing Matthew McConaughey isn’t easy. Isha needs a drink or two to muster up courage, and she gets a little help from the cutest bartender she’s ever encountered. But when the search for the esteemed actor turns into a night of hijinks and unexpected—albeit fun—chaos, everything falls apart. Isha’s dreams seem farther than ever, but she soon realizes who she really needs to face and that her future may just be alright, alright, alright.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Patel (First Love, Take Two) follows an aspiring 20-something screenwriter in her middling latest. Isha, unable to get her script picked up, pieces together freelance work and lives with her traditional Indian parents, who don't hide their worry and disappointment at Isha's failure to land a stable job and husband. After Isha's cousin Rohan suggests that her big break could come from Matthew McConaughey, Isha's former professor, Isha engages in various shenanigans—some more drunken than others—to get the movie star to read her script. Despite disapproval from her family and a tendency for self-deprecation, Isha's support from Rohan (whose loyalty earns him the moniker "Brohan") and a potential love interest she comically dubs "Thirst-Trap" keeps her afloat. The themes of rigid parental expectations versus self-fulfillment among Asian American families are well-trod, and Patel adds little to that discussion, though Isha's emotional confrontation with her parents will tug at some readers' heartstrings. For a story about scriptwriting, Patel's pacing is pretty slack, focusing too much on Isha and Rohan's antics and leaving most major plot points unresolved. There's not a whole lot here, though Patel's fans will enjoy it.
