Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know

Give Me Some Truth

The Scar Boys

Miles to Go

Nicki Minaj (People in the News)

Loveboat, Taipei

I'll Be the One

Analee, In Real Life

Almost seventeen, Rani Patel appears to be a kick-ass Indian girl breaking cultural norms as a hip-hop performer in full effect. But in truth, she's a nerdy flat-chested nobody who lives with her Gujarati immigrant parents on the remote Hawaiian island of Moloka'i, isolated from her high school peers by the unsettling norms of Indian culture where "husband is God." Her parents' traditionally arranged marriage is a sham. Her dad turns to her for all his needs—even the intimate ones. When Rani catches him two-timing with a woman barely older than herself, she feels like a widow and, like widows in India are often made to do, she shaves off her hair. Her sexy bald head and hard-driving rhyming skills attract the attention of Mark, the hot older customer who frequents her parents' store and is closer in age to her dad than to her. Mark makes the moves on her and Rani goes with it. He leads Rani into 4eva Flowin', an underground hip hop crew—and into other things she's never done. Rani ignores the red flags. Her naive choices look like they will undo her but ultimately give her the chance to discover her strengths and restore the things she thought she'd lost, including her mother.

Sonia Patel is a psychiatrist who works with children and adults. She was trained at Stanford University and the University of Hawaii. She lives and practices in Hawaii. Rani Patel In Full Effect is her first young adult novel.

Discover Your Child's Next Read

Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know

Samira Ahmed, 2020

Give Me Some Truth

Eric Gansworth, 2018

The Scar Boys

Len Vlahos, 2014

Miles to Go

Miley Cyrus, 2009

Nicki Minaj (People in the News)

Greenaven Press, 2012

Loveboat, Taipei

Abigail Hing Wen, 2020

I'll Be the One

Lyla Lee, 2020

Analee, In Real Life

Janelle Milanes, 2018