**I received an ARC for this tour. These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**
The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena
Release Date: February 26, 2019
My Rating: 4.25 stars
Summary: Susan is the new girl—she’s sharp and driven, and strives to meet her parents’ expectations of excellence. Malcolm is the bad boy—he started raising hell at age fifteen, after his mom died of cancer, and has had a reputation ever since.
Susan’s parents are on the verge of divorce. Malcolm’s dad is a known adulterer.
Susan hasn’t told anyone, but she wants to be an artist. Malcolm doesn’t know what he wants—until he meets her.
Love is messy and families are messier, but in spite of their burdens, Susan and Malcolm fall for each other. The ways they drift apart and come back together are testaments to family, culture, and being true to who you are.
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I'm so happy to be a part of this blog tour for The Beauty of the Moment! Today, my stop includes my review and a playlist I made for the book. Don't forget to check out the rest of the tour, schedule below as well as a giveaway!
Nothing lasts forever. Not this snowflake. Not our homes, not our families. But it doesn't mean you can't live in the beauty of the moment.I'd read Tanaz Bhathena's debut, A Girl Like That, and I was so excited for her sophomore novel. It didn't disappoint! The Beauty of the Moment was a beautifully poignant book that speaks to all of us.
While reading this book, I could perfectly picture it as a movie or a tv show. Yes, it's a slice of life book, but honestly, the way Bhathena writes evokes such vivid scenes in my head. I couldn't stop thinking about how this book would translate to the screen. I mean, the lighting, the calmness! All in the likes of an indie film or a la the Norwegian tv show Skam.
Anyways, the first half of the book was good, but the last half, specifically the last third, is when I really fell in love with this book. At this point, the characters really reach the peak of their character arcs, something we've been waiting for throughout the entire book. They grow so much, and I just. Love the two main characters sososo much.
There is so much representation in this story! Susan is a Christian Malayali Indian, who moved to Saudi Arabia, and now Canada. Malcolm is a Zoroastrian Parsi Canadian (I'm not sure if that's the correct order of adjectives, please correct my mistakes!), and there are other Indian and Parsi characters.
The Beauty of the Moment actually takes after A Girl Like That; Susan, one of the two protagonists, went to the same school as Zarin. It's been a while since I've read the latter book, so I don't remember if she's mentioned in the narrative, but it was interesting to touch on those events in this book. I will say that The Beauty of the Moment is very different, purely in the fact that no one dies in this book, as the author says. Also, this book is definitely more of a heartfelt rom-com compared to AGLT's nuanced story about double standards and religions.
One thing that I really loved was that, although Susan's parents are strict, they aren't like obviously overbearing at all times. I really related to that, as a child of immigrants; when you grow up with Expectations, they just become ingrained in you, to the point where you don't know if you personally want to accomplish them or if they're just something you think you have to accomplish. I think that when YA books show this, they usually only show the parents only ever talking about school and whatnot, but in reality, the Expectations are piled on you so gradually that they don't have to bring them up constantly.
And what was so great to me was that the ending wasn't so cut and dry because that's just life sometimes. It was so perfectly bittersweet and realistic to the characters' growth. Although it wasn't necessarily the happy ending I wanted, it was definitely the one I needed for the story to hold its meaning.
The Beauty of the Moment was such a delightful, moving, heartwarming novel. The characters are so great and real, and the writing was so beautiful. Overall, this book was so realistic and so vivid; I could definitely envision it as a movie or tv show. Pick The Beauty of the Moment up this Tuesday; you won't regret it.
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Here's a playlist I made for the book! (note: these link to youtube, and I have not watched most of these videos so):
- "Almost Love" by Sabrina Carpenter
- "Say It" by Maggie Rogers
- "Buzzin" by Alina Baraz
- "Words" by Jasmine Thompson
- "Mistakes" by Tove Stryke
- "Heart to Break" by Kim Petras
- "I Don't Want to Dance" by COIN
- "Breakaway" by Lennon Stella
- "Stay" by The Aces
- "Drive" by GLADES
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About the Author: Tanaz Bhathena was born in India and raised in Saudi Arabia and Canada. Her critically acclaimed novel A Girl Like That was nominated for the 2019 OLA White Pine Award and named a Best Book of 2018 by The Globe and Mail, CBC, Quill & Quire, Seventeen, PopSugar, and The Times of India among others. Her second novel The Beauty of the Moment releases on Feb 26 2019. Her short stories have appeared in various journals including Blackbird, Witness and Room.A wanderer at heart, Tanaz can often be found travelling to different countries, learning bits and pieces of a foreign language, and taking way too many photographs. She loves slapstick comedies and any kind of music that makes her dance. She lives in the Toronto area with her family.
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Giveaway:
- prize: 1 finished copy of The Beauty of the Moment
- US only (sorry!)
- open from: February 19 to March 5
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Tour Schedule:
February 20th
The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club - Welcome Post
February 21st
Wishful Endings - Guest Post
We Live and Breathe Books - Review
Flipping Through the Pages - Review + Favourite Quotes
February 22nd
Vicky Who Reads - Review + Favourite Quotes
Firstbooklove - Review
Literary Meanderings - Promotional Post
February 23rd
Magical Reads - Review + Playlist
Here's to Happy Endings - Review
A Dream Within A Dream - Promotional Post
February 24th
Rattle the Stars - Guest Post
Library of a Book Witch - Review
The Layaway Dragon - Review + Favourite Quotes
February 25th
Moonlight Rendezvous - Review
Morgan Vega - Review + Playlist + Favourite Quotes
A Court of Coffee and Books - Review
February 26th
BookCrushin - Interview
Bookish_Kali - Instagram Review
Book Slaying - Review + Favourite Quotes
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