Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way. 

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Serena Singh is tired of everyone telling her what she should want--and she is ready to prove to her mother, her sister, and the aunties in her community that a woman does not need domestic bliss to have a happy life.

Things are going according to plan for Serena. She’s smart, confident, and just got a kick-ass new job at a top advertising firm in Washington, D.C. Even before her younger sister gets married in a big, traditional wedding, Serena knows her own dreams don’t include marriage or children. But with her mother constantly encouraging her to be more like her sister, Serena can’t understand why her parents refuse to recognize that she and her sister want completely different experiences out of life.

A new friendship with her co-worker, Ainsley, comes as a breath of fresh air, challenging Serena’s long-held beliefs about the importance of self-reliance. She’s been so focused on career success that she’s let all of her hobbies and close friendships fall by the wayside. As Serena reconnects with her family and friends--including her ex-boyfriend--she learns letting people in can make her happier than standing all on her own. 

Review:

I've read several books recently where the main character comes from Indian immigrant parents.  Usually the focus of these books is on the pressure to get  married.  What I loved about Serena Singh Flips The Script, by Sonya Lallie, is that the focus of the book is on how the main character, Serena tries to form friendships with other adults.  Yes, there's romance in this book, but the main difficulty for Serena is in making friends, something that many adults struggle with after they are out of school.  This was a fun, refreshing look at the changing ways we connect with others as we enter the workforce.  I adored this book.

What I Liked:

Characters:

Serena is a thirty-something who is driven to succeed in advertising.  She has no interest in marriage or having children.  While her parents can't understand this, they give her space, not mentioning how worried they are for her future.  When her sister gets married, Serena frets that she is losing her best friend.  Her experience with her college friends is that once they get married and have children, they never make time for Serena.

At first, I found Serena to be very self-centered.  Whenever someone moved on with their life, Serena took it as a personal affront.  While she didn't go so far as to judge  her friends for getting married, she herself shifted away from them. But what I loved about Serena was that she realized that she was the one who had to make an effort to find friendships.  Her search for friends is both funny and touching.  I could easily identify with Serena as she navigates some of the new ways of finding friendships, from book clubs, to group activities.  She awkwardly misses cues and misreads people most of the time.  But, eventually, she does learn how to be a good friend.

Sandeep is Serena's mother.  Serena has a very strained relationship with Sandeep due to incidents that occured when Serena was a child.  It is very hard for Serena to understand and accept the choices Sandeep made in her marriage to Serena's father.  I really liked how this relationship was explored.  It can be difficult for adult children to see their parents as people.  Serena learns to respect Sandeep's choices.

Friendships:

I can really identify with Serena's struggle to make friends.  How can we, as adults, form the kind of deep friendships that we had with our school friends.  Most of those relationships are based on the shared experiences of growing up.  But can we form deep friendships with people we meet at work?  When friends change jobs, do the friendships putter out?  That's regularly happened to me. 

Serena decides that since work friendships are too dependent on proximity, a friendship based on mutual interests might be the way to go.  So she joins activities such as book clubs, and cooking classes to see if she can bond with anyone there.  But she repeatedly fails to connect with anyone.  What she finds is that any friendship, no matter how it starts, takes effort.  She needs to be willing to spend time getting to know someone, getting to know their family, their lives, before bonds can be created.  And older friendships can be re-established with effort.  This book made me want to re-connect with old friends and figure out ways to connect with new ones.  

Trigger Warning for domestic violence

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  February 16th, 2021

Author:  Sonya Lalli

Publisher:  Berkley Press

Genre: Adult Contemporary

Page Length:  352 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  A highly entertaining book about finding friendship as an adult.  This would make a great book club selection.