Title: Grown-Up Pose by Sonya Lalli
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
A delightfully modern look at what happens for a young woman when tradition, dating, and independence collide, from acclaimed author Sonya Lalli.
Adulting shouldn’t be this hard. Especially in your thirties. Having been pressured by her tight-knit community to get married at a young age to her first serious boyfriend, Anu Desai is now on her own again and feels like she is starting from the beginning.
But Anu doesn’t have time to start over. Telling her parents that she was separating from her husband was the hardest thing she’s ever done—and she’s still dealing with the fallout. She has her young daughter to support and when she invests all of her savings into running her own yoga studio, the feelings of irresponsibility send Anu reeling. She’ll be forced to look inside herself to learn what she truly wants.
Review:
Grown-Up Pose by Sonya Lalli is a marvelous journey of self-discovery.
Anu Desai always does what is expected of her. She honored her parents’ wishes for her career choice and their views of dating. She and her husband Neil dated for five years before marrying. Now the parents of five year old Kanika, Anu shocks everyone when she asks Neil to move out. Neil and Anu share joint custody of Kanika and Neil lives with his mom. She is now dating but is Anu ready to finalize their divorce?
Anu has still not achieved what she is looking for. Always obedient, she still wants her parents’ approval but their expectations do not match up with what she wants for herself. After an unexpected discovery, Anu makes an impulsive decision to fulfill her dream of owning a yoga studio. The only problem? She has no idea how to run a business. The lease is barely signed before Anu impetuously purchases a ticket to London. But she is disappointed to discover that traveling alone is not as fulfilling as she believed it would be. Anu’s search for herself is a bit frustrating since she is a somewhat aimless and reckless as tries to figure out what she visualizes her future and who will share it with her.
Grown-Up Pose is an entertaining and thoughtful novel with a realistic storyline and appealing characters. Anu’s fight for autonomy vs family expectations will resonate with readers who have experienced a similar situation. Occasional flashbacks provide valuable insight into what Anu is searching for and why she is having difficulty asserting her independence. Anu sometimes does not make the best decisions but she tries to move forward without regrets. An epiphany late in the story provides her with direction but her fears might prevent her from finding true happiness. Sonya Lalli brings this enjoyable novel to a gratifying conclusion.
