Rani Patel In Full Effect by Sonia Patel

Rani is a sixteen-year-old Gujarati Indian teen living on the Hawaiin island of Moloka'i with her mother and father. However, she catches her father having an affair with another woman, leading to him abandoning Rani and her mother. Coupled with her father's sexual abuse of her, his abandonment, and her mother's distant behavior, she is pushed to release all energy and anger into her passion for writing lyrics and performing hip-hop as MC Sutra. In time, Rani is invited to join an underground rap society called 4eva Flowin', with members Pono and Omar, with whom she can be herself. Despite the "unrealistic speedy" recovery from her father's abuse, the story "can stand as a model for victims." ("Rani Patel, daughter," 2016)

Critical Analysis

Rani Patel In Full Effect is a realistic fiction novel in first-person narrative. Themes include sexual abuse, drug addiction, and identity, while Rani's character traits include low self-confidence, talent, intelligence, and determination. The story contains various languages like Hawaiian, Hawaiian pidgin, Hawaiian slang, and Gujarati. Other cultural details include Hawaiian geography, Hawaiian food like liliko'i jelly, and physical characteristics like "coarse wavy Indian hair," and "dark brown skin." Likewise, there are references to Indian families and South Indian food with various other customs and references to Indian culture. Author Sonia Patel is a Gujarati Indian and a psychiatrist with expertise in patients of sexual abuse. Also, she was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Award for this story in 2017.

The story's strength is its unique perspective on sexual abuse despite the unrealistic quick emotional healing. Its weakness is that the story could have given Rani more of a realistic hiatus in achieving her goal of becoming a rapper. Readers may enjoy Anita and Me by Meera Syal, about a Punjabi South Asian girl named Meena, similar to Rani's life of living between cultures.

References

Patel, S. (2016). Rani Patel In Full Effect. Cinco Puntos Press.

"Rani Patel, daughter" (2016, October 11). Rani Patel In Full Effect. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved July 27, 2022, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sonia-patel/rani-patel-in-full-effect/