When you have someone who you've grown up with your entire life, would you automatically think that you would get married after becoming adults? Sometimes it works that way and sometimes it doesn't, right? There are movies and television shows about childhood friends or best friends falling for each other, but does it actually happen like that or is it all a fantasy? For Indo, he has specific standards that he has been raised to uphold. Seeing how men and women are treated after their mistakes and the instilled beliefs that do not coincide with the modern way of other cultures, sheds light for readers on the difficulties and vast room for growth of a culture.

Indo and Mahi were childhood friends and this is how the story begins. Growing up, both Punjabi, their parents always assumed they would both marry each other. When Mahi went away to college at Stanford, Indo felt a sense of isolation like he’d never known. College wasn’t his forte, but living alone without Mahi wasn’t quite right either. Running his family’s restaurant seemed to be the only way that he could still contribute, without feeling like a complete failure. Always the rebel, but after seeing what happened to his cousin, Raveena, not only does his way of thinking about his culture differ from the traditional sense, but he finds compassion and empathy. After meeting Jasleen, a beautiful Punjami woman, who later comes to him and asks for his help with her pregnancy, he decides to go on a limb and save her from the torment of being an unmarried Punjabi woman even though the child is not his. He becomes her support from a past abusive relationship and much more. One life can make a difference. One single act of kindness can change the way many think. In this story, Indo has the chance to change a family forever. Will he be strong enough to stand against the challenges he will face along the way?

Jagait writes beautifully and this story is one of originality and creativity. Each character is well-developed and fits into the story exceptionally. The pace is steady and there are little to no spelling or grammatical errors present. Understanding a culture is difficult, especially when you’ve never lived in it. Reading these types of stories always finds those heartstrings and eventually gives the reader something they can emotionally relate to, even if they don’t fully comprehend the magnitude of the cultural differences. In this story, it is uplifting to be able to read through the growing value these characters find in themselves and others. Their desire to be more than what their culture dictates is empowering and provides an impenetrable strength as well as a sense of individualization. Readers who enjoy cultural fiction will enjoy this story.  

An electronic copy of this book was provided to Turning Another Page by Reedsy Discovery and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a five-star rating to A Rhyme & a Reason by Ik Jagait.