Gita Desai Is Not Here to Shut Up, Sonia Patel
Gita Desai Is Not Here to Shut Up, Sonia Patel
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Gita Desai Is Not Here to Shut Up

Author: Sonia Patel

Narrator: Rukhmani K. Desai

Unabridged: 11 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/10/2024

Synopsis

From Morris Award finalist Sonia Patel comes a sharply written YA about a girl grappling with a dark, painful secret from her past, perfect for fans of All My Rage and The Way I Used to Be.

It’s eighteen-year-old Gita Desai’s first year at Stanford, and the fact that she’s here and not already married off by her traditional Gujarati parents is a miracle. She’s determined to death-grip her good-girl, model student rep all the way to med school, which means no social life or standing out in any way. Should be easy: If there’s one thing she’s learned from her family, it’s how to chup-re—to “shut up,” fade into the background. But when childhood memories of her aunt’s desertion and her then-uncle’s best friend resurface, Gita ends up ditching the books night after night in favor of partying and hooking up with strangers. Still, nothing can stop the little voice growing louder and louder inside her that says something is wrong. . . . And the only way she can burst forward is to stop shutting up about the past.

“Funny, messy, gut-wrenching.”—Kirkus Reviews

About The Author

Sonia Patel writes out of her experience as a first-generation Indian American born in New York and raised in Hawaii, an experience lushly and brilliantly explored in her debut novel, Rani Patel in Full Effect. Rani received four starred reviews and was a Morris Award finalist and a YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults and Kirkus Reviews’ Best Teen Books selection. Her subsequent young adult novels, Jaya and Rasa: A Love Story and Bloody Seoul, both received the In the Margins Book Award. Her short story, “Nothing Feels No Pain,” appears in the YA anthology Ab(solutely) Normal. As a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist trained at Stanford University and the University of Hawaii, Patel has spent over twenty years providing individ­ual and family psychotherapy to children, adolescents, and their families. She lives in Honolulu with her husband, and they have two adult children in college.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Stephanie on August 16, 2024

This book was an emotional rollercoaster, one that I could not get off and still cannot shake from my mind. It's that raw, real, powerful, emotional and moving. Gita is starting her freshman year at Stanford with all intentions of focusing on her studies so she can heal others as a doctor. But when......more

Goodreads review by Ashby on October 17, 2024

What an emotional ride Gita Desai is Not Here to Shut Up by Sonia Patel takes you on! Although this novel might technically fall into the Young Adult category, it’s anything but a light read. The book dives deep into real and difficult subject matter, dealing with trauma, family dynamics, and the of......more

Goodreads review by Haley on September 03, 2024

I need to start off with, I know Gita has dealt with and is dealing with trauma that has happened to her and she’s dealing with it in her own way. However, what I just can’t wrap my head around is a girl who has worked her butt off to do what she wanted, not listen to her parents, pushed off an arra......more

Goodreads review by Gina on October 29, 2024

Omg, was this book intense. It's set in the 90s when Gita is starting college and by chapter 2 she's already delved into voyeurism!! Gita is fun and quirky but this book definitely doesn't have much of a fun tone - Gita is both kind of losing herself in sexual encounters that she's usually barely con......more

Goodreads review by Shannon on November 03, 2024

This was a heavy book about living up to expectations, cycles of trauma, sexual abuse/rape, family secrets and soooo much more. Definitely recommended for older YA readers, this is an important, heartfelt book about the struggles one Desi college ed goes through when she gets raped and then goes dow......more

Quotes

“Patel, whose own experiences inform this story, infuses Gita’s first-person narration with thoughtfulness and humor that make her growing confusion and self-loathing cut deeply. Thankfully, Gita’s friends are there to support her when she finally finds her voice. . . . A tough read that's worth the discomfort.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This searing 1992-set novel by Patel explores the ways that prolonged abuse can shape behavior. . . . While Gita’s journey toward finding her own voice is plagued by male characters who—both intentionally and unconsciously—cause her physical and mental harm, bright spots in the form of her kindhearted older brother and supportive gay peer help to carry the burden.” —Publishers Weekly

"Gita's naivete and repressed sexual desires lend themselves to an upbringing void of trust and open dialogue. Autobiographical in part to Patel's own story, many passages can be uncomfortable, but Gita reclaiming her voice is worth the journey." —Booklist

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