A Good Entertaining Book for the Teens!! Especially Indian Teens. Opal Mehta the 'Centre of Attention' in our story - belongs to an Indian Family settled in the U.S. The novel is about how Opal makes it to Harvard & that being just a nerd & topper is not gonna take you to your Destiny in Life!
The story begins with how Opal enters the Harvard Interview with Dean Anderson & is dumb-struck at his very 1st question-"What do you do for FUN?" Since Opal's birth all her parents wanted to do was to get her into Harvard. And Opal being a model-Student & an Implicitly Obedient Parent's Child is pretty well occupied in getting Straight-A's in all her subjects (A 'B' in Biology being her lowest grade all Life!!!) & also in engaging herself in Extra-Curricular activities which includes NO Games but 'Math & Science Quizzes, Lathe classes, & also School Pupil Leader'!!!
So with all these Merits being in her Resume ofcourse the Dean is Impressed at 1st, but when he sees her stammer to his very 1st Question he's a bit disappointed & Offers Mehta a 2nd chance (a period of 6 months) in which he insists that Opal Learns LIFE not just BOOKS!!
Being disappointed in not being able to make it to Harvard inspite of her Distinctions & Scholarship makes her think if she's seriously on the right track. Then she is backed up by her parents who brought her up this way (Being Focussed on getting her into Harvard that she never really did anything that she wanted to but all for her Parent's Innumerable Sacrifices) by their HOWGIH (How Opal Mehta Gets Into Harvard!!) plan, who now renovate their plan into HOWGAL (How Opal Mehta Gets A Life!!)
The parts where her parents make their child wear mini-skirts just to make her Famous & Prepare checklist even with whom she has to maintain Friendship & Who has to be her BF is all a little too much way out of Proper Parenting. Its like raising up a Robot than a child, until she finally gets to meet Sean, a guy not in her plan but just gets in the way of her life Random.
As per the plan Opal has to be Friends with the HBz ( her X-friend Priscilla & her gang) cause they are the Hot-babes of their School & she is supposed to Date Jeff - The School Pupil Leader (Representing Boys) & she is almost at the stage of succeeding in her plan, when she realizes that Jeff's a Jerk & that she's fallen in Love with Sean.
So at the Party she throws for her School-mates, her mobile gets interchanged with Priscilla's both being BLACKBERRY models & she is caught red-handed about how she has been using all her Companions for making her get into Harvard!
So, everybody just Refrain from being her Friend, & Sean is Hurt over the Fact that he has been used & Finally Opal is left all Alone to Face The Ugly Truth that she was so Obsessed in getting into Harvard that she had not respected people for who they were & just Had no Friends!
Now, the 6 months time is over & she is attending her 2nd Interview at Harvard & narrates how she tried to get Wild for the sake of Harvard & how she had realized that she never wanted to be with the HBz & that she really loved Sean & the only thing she wanted in Life was to make it to Harvard. Dean Anderson through his Years of Experienced Wisdom tells Opal "ALL THE BEST WHEREVER YOU GO TO COLLEGE" which makes Opal come to Reality & sit & make her own Decisions & her parents also Realize their fault & give Opal her freedom & a chance to Think of her Life on her Own.
This is when Opal is selected to receive her School's most Prestigious Scholarship which her old Friend & Lab Partner Natalia is more in need of! She just sacrifices it for her & Natalia who was earlier hurt by Opal's behaviour due to the HBz now forgives Opal & so Opal gets her Nerd friends back. Then She starts doing things that she wants to, & dresses & behaves the way which satisfies her & finally Realizes that NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN INDIVIDUALITY TO WHICH WE HAVE TO STICK TO!
And Finally, she solves the "FERMICULLI FORMULA", gets her Graduation & friends who love her & also her boy-friend who realizes her love & MAKES IT TO HARVARD realizing the value of relationships & that WORK & FAMILY ARE 2 SEPARATE ISSUES & LIFE REVOLVES BY THE BALANCE OF BOTH :)
The story begins with how Opal enters the Harvard Interview with Dean Anderson & is dumb-struck at his very 1st question-"What do you do for FUN?" Since Opal's birth all her parents wanted to do was to get her into Harvard. And Opal being a model-Student & an Implicitly Obedient Parent's Child is pretty well occupied in getting Straight-A's in all her subjects (A 'B' in Biology being her lowest grade all Life!!!) & also in engaging herself in Extra-Curricular activities which includes NO Games but 'Math & Science Quizzes, Lathe classes, & also School Pupil Leader'!!!
So with all these Merits being in her Resume ofcourse the Dean is Impressed at 1st, but when he sees her stammer to his very 1st Question he's a bit disappointed & Offers Mehta a 2nd chance (a period of 6 months) in which he insists that Opal Learns LIFE not just BOOKS!!
Being disappointed in not being able to make it to Harvard inspite of her Distinctions & Scholarship makes her think if she's seriously on the right track. Then she is backed up by her parents who brought her up this way (Being Focussed on getting her into Harvard that she never really did anything that she wanted to but all for her Parent's Innumerable Sacrifices) by their HOWGIH (How Opal Mehta Gets Into Harvard!!) plan, who now renovate their plan into HOWGAL (How Opal Mehta Gets A Life!!)
The parts where her parents make their child wear mini-skirts just to make her Famous & Prepare checklist even with whom she has to maintain Friendship & Who has to be her BF is all a little too much way out of Proper Parenting. Its like raising up a Robot than a child, until she finally gets to meet Sean, a guy not in her plan but just gets in the way of her life Random.
As per the plan Opal has to be Friends with the HBz ( her X-friend Priscilla & her gang) cause they are the Hot-babes of their School & she is supposed to Date Jeff - The School Pupil Leader (Representing Boys) & she is almost at the stage of succeeding in her plan, when she realizes that Jeff's a Jerk & that she's fallen in Love with Sean.
So at the Party she throws for her School-mates, her mobile gets interchanged with Priscilla's both being BLACKBERRY models & she is caught red-handed about how she has been using all her Companions for making her get into Harvard!
So, everybody just Refrain from being her Friend, & Sean is Hurt over the Fact that he has been used & Finally Opal is left all Alone to Face The Ugly Truth that she was so Obsessed in getting into Harvard that she had not respected people for who they were & just Had no Friends!
Now, the 6 months time is over & she is attending her 2nd Interview at Harvard & narrates how she tried to get Wild for the sake of Harvard & how she had realized that she never wanted to be with the HBz & that she really loved Sean & the only thing she wanted in Life was to make it to Harvard. Dean Anderson through his Years of Experienced Wisdom tells Opal "ALL THE BEST WHEREVER YOU GO TO COLLEGE" which makes Opal come to Reality & sit & make her own Decisions & her parents also Realize their fault & give Opal her freedom & a chance to Think of her Life on her Own.
This is when Opal is selected to receive her School's most Prestigious Scholarship which her old Friend & Lab Partner Natalia is more in need of! She just sacrifices it for her & Natalia who was earlier hurt by Opal's behaviour due to the HBz now forgives Opal & so Opal gets her Nerd friends back. Then She starts doing things that she wants to, & dresses & behaves the way which satisfies her & finally Realizes that NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN INDIVIDUALITY TO WHICH WE HAVE TO STICK TO!
And Finally, she solves the "FERMICULLI FORMULA", gets her Graduation & friends who love her & also her boy-friend who realizes her love & MAKES IT TO HARVARD realizing the value of relationships & that WORK & FAMILY ARE 2 SEPARATE ISSUES & LIFE REVOLVES BY THE BALANCE OF BOTH :)
Overall it was a Good Read!!!
