Grown-Up Pose

Name: Grown-Up Pose
Brand: Penguin Random House
Availability: InStock
Author: Sonya Lalli
ISBN: 9780593166123

Author: Sonya Lalli

Narrator: Soneela Nankani

Unabridged: 10 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 03/24/2020

Categories: Fiction, Women, Family Life, Cultural Fiction

Synopsis

A delightfully modern look at what happens for a young woman when tradition, dating, and independence collide, from acclaimed author Sonya Lalli.

Adulting shouldn't be this hard. Especially in your thirties. Having been pressured by her tight-knit community to get married at a young age to her first serious boyfriend, Anu Desai is now on her own again and feels like she is starting from the beginning.

But Anu doesn't have time to start over. Telling her parents that she was separating from her husband was the hardest thing she's ever done—and she's still dealing with the fallout. She has her young daughter to support and when she invests all of her savings into running her own yoga studio, the feelings of irresponsibility send Anu reeling. She'll be forced to look inside herself to learn what she truly wants.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Nilufer on June 24, 2020

This is sweet, charming, emotional and also a motivational reading… Growing up is not only a physical thing. You need to open yourself to grow mentally by experiencing new things, learning new life lessons, touching people’s lives. But it’s mostly about discovering who you are, what you want to do w......more

Goodreads review by Reading_ on January 12, 2021

My problem with the book is that the main character is like a thirteen year old girl and it doesn't get better. Nah, I just cannot feel the goodness, the romance, the feels. It's just too chatty. Of course, I had to expect that for such a book but I just cannot stand the drama of thirty year old adu......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader on April 01, 2020

I enjoyed Sonya Lalli’s first book, The Matchmaker’s List, and could not wait to read Grown-Up Pose. Anu is in her thirties and is feeling the pressure to get married. She’s been married before, at a young age, due to the demands from her family and community. That marriage ended in divorce and Anu h......more

Goodreads review by aarya on May 03, 2020

I should've DNFed. I wanted to read this for the desi rep, and that was pretty much all I liked. The writing was cringeworthy and referenced pop culture at random times (for example: the MC once says, "It's easier to just let it be." Then she smirks and says "Like the Beatles!" The book is full of o......more

Goodreads review by Berit☀️✨ on April 16, 2020

Adulting is definitely overrated! Sonya Lalli has written a clever story full of heart and humor about the complexities of being an adult. Anu is in her 30s a wife, a mother, and a good daughter. But Anu isn’t sure this is what she wants, or that this is who she is. Was she so busy making everybody......more

Quotes

"A poignant coming-of-age story with the added twist that Lalli's spunky heroine, Anu Desai, is long married and a mother of one. Caught in a tug of war between what is traditional and what is modern, between mothers and mother-in-laws, Anu's discovery of self-worth as well as value in family, friends and work is a joy to read. From yoga studios to finding oneself in trips abroad to online dating, Lalli gives readers a wonderful novel about love and belonging and meaning of happiness and home."—Soniah Kamal, award-winning author of Unmarriageable: Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan

"Anu's struggle to find herself is wrought with obstacles and sometimes frustrating, but the resolution of her story is both satisfying and realistic. A moving look at one woman's journey between her family and her desire for independence."—Kirkus

Praise for The Matchmaker's List

"Sonya Lalli offers up a tale of familial pressures, cultural traditions, and self-discovery, that is equal turns heartbreaking and hilarious...Lalli tears down stereotypes with humor and warmth."—Entertainment Weekly

"Lalli’s sharp-eyed tale of cross-cultural dating, family heartbreak, the strictures of culture, and the exuberance of love is both universal and timeless."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Bright and vivid, and fresh and funny—I was utterly charmed by this insight into Raina's struggle to be the perfect Indian daughter.”—Veronica Henry, author of How to Find Love in a Bookshop

“A funny and moving exploration of modern love.”—Balli Kaur Jaswal, bestselling author of Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows (A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick)

“A warm and refreshing look at cultural identity, unexpected romance, and unbreakable family bonds.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A riotous odyssey into the pressures of cross-cultural modern dating that will chime with every 20-something singleton.”—ELLE (UK)

“Lalli's debut is a delightful, multicultural romantic comedy full of humorous banter and loads of life lessons about family, happiness, love, honesty, and acceptance.”—Booklist (starred review)

"Absolutely charming."—Woman's Day

"A knockout romantic comedy debut."—Washington Independent Review of Books

"The Matchmaker's List comes through in spades (and hearts)."—NPR