Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood
by Varsha BajajSetting: India, United States
Published on March 1st 2014
Pages: 256
What thirteen-year-old Abby wants most is to meet her father. She just never imagined he would be a huge film star--in Bollywood! Now she's traveling to Mumbai to get to know her famous father. Abby is overwhelmed by the culture clash, the pressures of being the daughter of India's most famous celebrity, and the burden of keeping her identity a secret. But as she learns to navigate her new surroundings, she just might discover where she really belongs.
This book was so cute! I don’t read a lot of middle grade but I loved the sound of this one.
Abby’s mother found out she was pregnant after her college boyfriend moved back to India. She was able to contact his family but he never returned her calls. Now thirteen, Abby develops an allergy that starts her asking more questions than ever before about her father’s side of the family.
Her father changed his name and became a famous actor after he returned to India. Attempts to contact him for his medical history are finally successful. Now he wants to get to know her but it all needs to be carefully controlled because he is a huge star and he needs to control his image.
Abby’s a biracial child who has never had any contact with the Indian part of identity. There is tension between her parents because of her father being absent for all of her life. Her father is used to calling the shots in his life and her mother is not about to just go along with his ideas now that he’s back in the picture. Abby’s also finding out that her wealthy father’s life in India is not typical for the country.
The book does a good job of making each of the characters multidimensional. All of them have well developed concerns and personalities. I really hoped that there was a sequel to see what came next in their lives because there is so much to explore but there isn’t a second book. That made me sad. I didn’t want to leave these characters behind.
