A book that makes you relive your school days

Mohit Kumar crafts a tale that takes us back to our high school days, the days where we were as free as the birds, and when our friends and teachers meant the world to us. In his book “If we ever meet”, the author portrays such an endearing, innocent account of love and friendship.

Mohit is a regular school kid, just stepping into high school. Withdrawn and introverted, he finds it difficult to speak his mind and voice his feelings. Buoyed by a great, fun-loving circle of friends, his initial school days go by immense fun and frolic. When participating in lovey-dovey discussions with his friends, he takes a special fancy to a new girl from another section called Ashli. As he goes beyond the friendly teases and musters enough courage to approach and talk to the girl, the seeds of a very innocent and beautiful relationship is sown. They start to spend much more time with one another, eating and gossiping, and have enough memorable moments with their friends. Companions and staunch supporters of one another, Mohit and Ashli become that love-struck duo, oblivious of the world. But will fate allow them to come closer? Or will other matters tear them apart?

As can be felt while reading the book, the author writes from his heart. His words and phrases are the direct reflections of his most personal feelings, and he lets them flow without any bar. Going to the extent of even naming the protagonist after himself, Mohit leaves no stone unturned in trying to keep his story very sensitive and lovable. His choice of situations, the plot advancements, the sequence of events—are all so down to earth and realistic, that the book feels almost like witnessing an old school, romantic Bollywood cinema.

The characterizations constitute the foundation of the narrative. The author constructs a very well-known friend circle around his two protagonists—Ashli and Mohit. They are fun-loving, enthusiastic, energetic and are always bubbling with tricks up their sleeves, to entertain themselves and the people around. Mohit’s friends are bound to make the readers revisit their own respective close-knit group of friends, the friends who stuck by through thick and thin; and the ones whom they miss even today. Be it Manish’s friskiness or Sayak’s supportiveness, the author inculcates very warm and encouraging personality traits within his characters, making way for a very jovial reading experience.

The relationship between Mohit and Ashli definitely was very heartwarming and innocent, but it needed a bit of depth. Not only this aspect, rather every aspect of the story required much more introspectiveness and precision. The storyline was eventful and attractive, but had the author looked into its nuances and the various other shades of it, it would have resulted in additional enrichment.  The overall plot needed a bit of streamlining, and there was no climatic situation in the story. The ending tries to make up for this lack of climax, but due to its hasty execution, it never really manages to do so. Mohit’s time with his friends was full of jokes and laughter, but after a while, it felt very repetitive and cyclical. The evolution of Mohit’s affection for Ashli definitely had a lot of scope of improvement, but a sheer aloofness was visible in the way the author portrays their budding romance. While Mohit’s characterization was threaded with sympathy and sensitivity, Ashli’s character sees a very linear and fragmented attention to detail. The excessive usage of colloquial sentences made the narration stumble, and there should have been translations available as a side note. A Hindi sentence pops up almost all the time in the rampant conversations, and it might be a little disappointing for someone who’s not accustomed to the language. In all, the book should have inculcated more perspectives, be more universal in its look and feel. The narration, the plot, the events—it all represents a particular section of the society from a particular part of India, but I saw no characteristic traces of beliefs or faiths being weaved into the storyline.

The author has visibly tried to construct his story as a commemoration of his school life, almost a tribute to the lakhs of students passing out of high school. His writing thereby speaks for itself to portray the essence of that school life, recollecting all the detours and remembrances associated with it. If you’re looking for a book that will make you relive your childhood days, this book is for you. If you want to read a simple old school love story without any complications, you must give this a shot!

 

➦ Grab the book here !

➦About the author: Mohit Kumar is an analyst by profession and a writer by passion. He was born and brought up in Patna, but later moved to Indore to pursue his bachelor's degree in Computer Science. Now at twenty-five, he works at an IT firm in Pune. This is his maiden attempt at writing a novel. He wishes to spread love and laughter with his writings going forward. Reach out to him at @mohit.writes. 

Disclaimer: This review is in lieu of a review copy. 

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