by Reena Shah
First published 2026
Deepa and Ruchi become fast friends at age twelve in their Catholic school in India. Their bond grows through adolescence, marked by closeness, envy, and unspoken longing. When Deepa marries a doctor in her twenties and relocates to Connecticut's suburbs, Ruchi finds her own engineer husband headed to the same state and follows. American life proves harder than either woman anticipated. Deepa withholds warmth from her affection-seeking daughter while Ruchi overwhelms her resistant son with attention. The friends watch their economic situations diverge as family pressures mount and their individual wants clash. Their relationship faces its greatest test when Ruchi uncovers a troubling truth about how Deepa's husband acquired his fortune. Both women must choose between preserving their decades-long friendship and protecting their families within their growing Indian American community. The decision forces them to examine the complex threads that connect them and the painful price of loving someone across a lifetime.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Connecticut, India
Period: Adolescence, Twenties
320 pages · Hardcover · Bloomsbury Publishing