âJane Austen meets Bengali cinemaâ (Publishers Weekly) in this delightful and heartfelt rom-com about a Bangladeshi American teen whose meddling mother arranges a match to secure their familyâs financial securityâjust as sheâs falling in love with someone else.
Zahra Khan is basically Bangladeshi royalty, but being a princess doesnât pay the bills in Paterson, New Jersey. While Zahraâs plans for financial security this summer involve working long hours at Chai Ho and saving up for college writing courses, Amma is convinced that all Zahra needs is a âgood match,â Jane Austen style.
Enter Harun Emon, whoâs wealthy, devastatingly handsome, andâŚaloof. As soon as Zahra meets him, she knows itâs a bad match. Itâs nothing like the connection she has with Nayim Aktar, the new dishwasher at the tea shop, who just gets Zahra in a way no one has before. So, when Zahra finds out that Harun is just as uninterested in this match as she is, they decide to slowly sabotage their parentsâ plans. And for once in Zahraâs life, she can have her rossomalai and eat it too: âdatingâ Harun and keeping Amma happy while catching real feelings for Nayim.
But lifeâand boysâcan be more complicated than Zahra realizes. With her feelings all mixed up, Zahra discovers that sometimes being a good Bengali kid can be a royal pain.