Cross Connection by Preety Praveen Book Review

First, I would like to say that this book while reading kind of gave me 2 States from Chetan Bhagat vibes, both the stories are different, but these two have a personal touch,  which makes it more believable and a reader can enjoy that while reading.

Our main character is Simar. She wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, most probably MBBS.  Eventually, she gets admission in a college in Salem.  The journey from Punjab to Tamil Nadu, miles away from home and parents, she carried all the feelings with a heavy heart, but a new zeal too.  Upon arriving at college, she got bad news. There were no seats left for MBBS. The last one they had, they gave to Inder. She was given an option-  if she would like to join BDS instead, even though all her shattered in front of her eyes in only mere seconds, she agreed.

While her friends-  Inder got admission in MBBS, while Roop, Sandeep and Simar in BDS, and Harjeet and Nitin in MBA. She felt alone. Not for long though.

As Simar didn’t like the girls’ hostel suggested by Mr. Sharma, Kamal spoke to Roop’s father and found a small house for both. The boys also took a house nearby as they also didn’t like any of the hostels. Inder and Harjeet had come to send Kamal and Harpal off.  More than being sad, Roop was happy to see Inder at the station. She had no clue that both the boys were there not for her, but Simar. It was Simar whom they wanted to impress. However, Simar had no clue about it, or even the mind to think of anything else except pleading silently to her father to take her back with him. After settling everything according to their daughter’s taste, both the proud fathers left hugs and many tears.

Eventually, Simar shits to a  to a  new hostel and gets a  roommate, Ridhi. Slowly day by day everything settles and the author takes us on college life scenarios. From peer pressure to broken hearts, from ragging to college politics, Preety Praveen nailed the reality head-on and rather beautifully.

Over time, another lead character in the novel is Naveen is introduced. He is from the engineering department who is initially shown as stone-hearted– ready to take fights and obstreperous. Simar and Naveen come face-to-face many a time and the air is palpable with tension, much like a classic Bollywood movie. After crossing many hurdles, they slowly come to love each other, and after that, you can imagine what happens.

But suddenly Naveen left Simar and went abroad for a better job. Naveen came back after a year to marry Simar and this where the books gets twisty. Read the book and you are definitely in for a fun treat. Loved the whole narration of the book, the pace was really good. I love the cover, it’s so pretty.

Overall, 5 stars from me. I loved the book and looking forward to reading more stories from the author. Well done 🙂