PLOT: 3.5/5 CHARACTERS: 3.5/5 WRITING STYLE: 3/5 CLIMAX: 3/5 ENTERTAINMENT: 3/5
“Most of my life ended up as stories on Insta and my friends think that they know me. But do they really? They know only what I choose to show them. They see me as this cool girl, who loves her guitar and songs; who sings for them and with them; who chats and laughs like a hurricane.”
– Sajita Nair, The Search
My musings
I don’t recall reading many books on unplanned pregnancies earlier, but this year has been quite different. In recent months alone, I have read two other stories that revolve around unplanned pregnancies.
While Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds is a beautiful and emotional historical fiction novel of love and loss set in the dust bowl era of 1930s America, Cheryl Strayed’s This Telling is a short story set in America that oscillates between the 1960s and the present day. Both books talk about unplanned pregnancies that happened before marriage and how they changed the course of young mothers’ life.
Sajita Nair’s The Search also has a similar premise. Read on to know what I think of the book and how was my experience of reading it.
First Impressions
The blurb, as well as the cover of the book, are quite generic. As such, they do not give away much about the story. While, the cover manages to indicate that it is the story of a young woman and her search for her identity, the hashtags listed below the blurb indicate that the story involves adoption and teenage pregnancy.
What to expect?
Expect a short read which is more of a novella than a novel. Expect an emotional story that revolves around parental love; one that speaks of the power of a mother’s love. Expect a book that talks about some agonizing yet important topics like teenage pregnancy and child adoption. Finally, expect a bittersweet story that is deeply emotional but comes with a message of hope and love.
Who can read?
The book makes use of a fairly rich language that is easy to understand and is also enthused with rich vocabulary. It is a language that won’t pose any issues for beginners, and hence this book can be read by all levels of readers.
The story as it goes
Laya is a cheerful teenager who loves hanging out with her friends and boyfriend. She is highly ambitious and wants to become a journalist one day.
Indeed, she sometimes wonders about her origins and wonders why her biological mother had left her to die. Sometimes these questions do haunt her to no end.
Who are her biological parents?
Why did they desert her?
Will she ever uncover their identity?
After all, many questions need answers. But then, she pushes these questions to the back of her mind and tries to love what life gave her.
Alas! her carefree days are cut short abruptly when she realizes the reason behind her recent bouts of nausea and sickness. She is pregnant. And now she’s also clueless about what to do.
How will she decide on the next course?
Will society and her parents respect her choice?
Will she ever find out about her biological parents?
Let’s talk about the characters
Laya is an interesting character who makes some difficult but morally correct choices. Some of her actions are indeed naïve, childish, and even selfish to an extent, but that only belies her age and lack of experience in the ways of the world. Her character transformation is massive, and we see her evolving so much in a short period of time.
Laya’s parents (Siddhartha and Divya) and friends (Ameya and Deeksha) remain a constant source of motivation and support. But mostly, it is her mother who acts as a guiding light in the storm.
Vaibhav is yet another interesting character. Undoubtedly, the most likable and admirable in the lot. His actions might appear confusing in the beginning. But slowly and steadily, as the reader gets to know him, it all starts to make sense.
How good is the plot?
The plot is decent. It’s pretty straightforward, but I can’t help but mention that there is a lot of scope for improvement. I wouldn’t call it particularly engaging or spell bounding.
The writing style
The author makes good use of emotions and family drama in the story. There is a good contrast between Laya’s life before and after the teenage pregnancy. The book is emotional but not overly so. The emotional part doesn’t overpower the rest of it, which is practical and comes with a powerful message.
What did I like?
I love the way the book speaks about some uncomfortable yet important topics. The message in the book is centered around societal change and aims to change the thought process of Indian society. It’s a small move in the right direction.
The agonies and the emotional trauma that adopted children go through despite getting unconditional love from their adopted parents is something that only a few of us can understand. The Search does a good job of highlighting their plight and making the reader aware of their insecurities.
What did I not like?
There are places where the writing comes off as confusing. The tone of the narration changes too often. Sometimes it is all bubbly and cheery, at other times, it is too somber. And by this, I don’t mean the events of the book but the tone. The writing appears confusing at times as the reader cannot decide what the author is trying to attempt. Is it written as a light-hearted fun read or is it contemporary fiction? Is it a mini lit-fic or is it young adult fiction?
What could have been better?
The romantic alliances of Laya could have been much better. I, for one, like it that the author doesn’t forcibly introduce romance as a theme. That being said, the relationship dynamics between Laya and her romantic acquaintances could have carried more vigor and practicality.
Is the climax good?
The climax is decent and provides a befitting and feel-good end to the story.
It all comes down to entertainment
When it comes to entertainment, I found the book to be a little lacking. As a reader, one should have a good motive and a desperate need to keep turning those pages. It doesn’t matter if it is because of the characters or if it is because of the plot of the book. There should be some reason to keep going, that’s all. In the case of The Search, I didn’t find those reasons to be strong enough.
In the end
In the end, The Search is an eye-opening read that sheds some important light on the neglected and taboo topics of unwanted teenage pregnancies and child adoption. It’s an emotional read that looks at a young woman’s search for her own identity even as she is battling with the unfair consequences of her choices.
The final verdict
Can be read.
Pick the book if
- You are looking for a short story or novella.
- You like books that broach uncomfortable but important societal topics.
- You are looking for a woman-centric read.
- You want to read a book about adoption and teenage pregnancies.
Skip the book if
- You are looking for a 5-star entertainer.
- You are looking for literary fiction.
Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy of The Search using the link below.
