A Heart-warming YA Tale!

Review by Ronica Wahi

 


Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life…and a Man

By Reenita Malhotra Hora

Published: August 22, 2022, Zenith Publishing.

Pages: 220.

ISBN: 9781958503089

Cute, light-hearted, entertaining, and at times, funny, Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life…and a Man by Reenita Malhotra Hora is a young adult novel, whose protagonist – well – does exactly what the title and the subtitle suggest.

Ila, the protagonist, is a teenager who – like all teenagers – has certain issues with how her mom wants her to live; part of what her mom wants is that she give up her obsession with Ali Zafar and find a boyfriend for herself. Ila, helped by her best friend Deepali and one of Deepali’s three boyfriends – Dev, whom Ila herself is attracted to, sets out to find a man for her single mother instead.

The plot is fun, and the narrative flows really smooth. The best portion of the novel is when Ila, after creating fake dating profiles for her mother, interacts with prospective dates. There’s much humour there – the kind of profiles of men that she sees, the interactions she has, and the visits to actually see for herself some men she’s interacted with.

The loveliest aspect of Operation Mom is the way it shows relationships. The relationship between Ila and her mother Veena is like the one a lot of teenagers share with their parents – there is love, of course, but there is also some annoyance for how parents want to steer their lives, while the parents want to do their best to ensure their kids don’t make mistakes of the kind they themselves may have made. Veena has her own fascinating teenage stories – but fascinating not to her memory and so wants to protect Ila! Then, there are the beautiful friendships between Ila and Deepali, and between Veena and Maleeka. The budding attraction between Dev and Ila is endearing.

The female characters here are smart, strong, and relatable. Dev and Ila’s dad lend good support to the main cast of females. The setting is the charming city of Mumbai and Hora brings alive many of its spots, such as the Gateway of India, which is among the city’s liveliest and most intriguing spaces.

Hora touches upon many facets of Indian culture, life, and people, which ups the novel’s interest quotient. However, the novel would have been better off without the use of stereotypes, particularly in view of the extent to which they have been used; some stereotyping done in this may be somewhat offensive for certain readers.

Operation Mom is realistic and young adults will surely relate to it well. Older folks can enjoy it too, for it will hold nostalgic value for them. It is written in fine language and is structured well. Crisper editing could have helped avoid the few typos, and one error in this line:

“…Deepali had to prove her intellectual commitment to feminism by referring to the one female character in Hindu mythology who was married to five husbands as opposed to the more typical situation in which male characters have multiple wives.”

Draupadi isn’t “the one” – she is not the only polyandrous character in Hindu mythology. Also, to those unfamiliar with the Mahabharata, this statement might project that Draupadi having five husbands was an assertion of female power.

The ending of the novel will leave the reader smiling and satisfied with how Operation Mom itself and the sub-plots are wrapped up.

A pretty enjoyable, heart-warming read. Recommended, for sure!

 

Do grab a copy of Operation Mom from Amazon:

Hardcover, Import: https://amzn.to/3FwbR2z

Paperback, Import: https://amzn.to/3PuvcFW


Do watch Reenita Malhotra Hora talk about her professional journey, “Operation Mom” and her other works, tips for wealth management, and the need for women to overcome hesitation and start their own businesses in this interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEtdZGIqVwY

 

DISCLAIMER: Ronica Wahi is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. If you make a purchase through any of the Amazon links provided by Ronica here, she may receive a small commission, without any extra cost to you.

 

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