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The Backbenchers #1
The Extra Class
BRAND NEW, Exactly same ISBN as listed, Please double check ISBN carefully before ordering.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
January 14, 2013
First review would be --its just run of the mills novels that are getting published nowadays, where the authors are trying to imitate Chetan Bhagat's formula of keeping it simple,sweet, straight forward, fit few liners here and there and you have got enough stuff to put in a brand new novel!!.
It might be hard to convince these greenhorns that Chetan's novels were hit because his invented the formula and used it to the best (Five Point Someone and One Night at the call centre) and now public reads his stuff because he has become a brand (The three mistakes of my life, Two States, Revolution 2020).
However I must give some credit to the authors -they tried to maintain the tone right till the end, logic never eluded the narration and most important of it was never too dramatic. This is a sort of novel you would pick to read when you are in toilet, travelling, don't want to use your brain after tiring day at work or just want to kill time or grab a time-pass read between two good novels. I guess that is what the authors had in mind as they never make you think even for a single minute.
Not sure it may remind you of your school days but attempts to make point out how silly teenagers can be.
It might be hard to convince these greenhorns that Chetan's novels were hit because his invented the formula and used it to the best (Five Point Someone and One Night at the call centre) and now public reads his stuff because he has become a brand (The three mistakes of my life, Two States, Revolution 2020).
However I must give some credit to the authors -they tried to maintain the tone right till the end, logic never eluded the narration and most important of it was never too dramatic. This is a sort of novel you would pick to read when you are in toilet, travelling, don't want to use your brain after tiring day at work or just want to kill time or grab a time-pass read between two good novels. I guess that is what the authors had in mind as they never make you think even for a single minute.
Not sure it may remind you of your school days but attempts to make point out how silly teenagers can be.
January 2, 2015
OMG! Firstly I finished it in just 2 hours...which was totally unexpected. It was my first book in this genre I guess. As for the book...it was a good pastime. Big City schools, lives of its students, rich brats, student politics, friendship....it was all about that!
December 6, 2012
I just picked it by chance while exploring for options online! And it turned out to be a great fun read :)
The fact that this is something that happens in every school in every part of this country makes this one relatable at various different levels. The book is a fast paced story telling of school classroom infatuations, the love-hate relationship between various students, the rumors that go about in every school, the illogical hook ups and break ups, the inter school rivalry and the school politics pertaining to extra-curricular activities.
This book defitely makes you long to reduce your age to 14-15 ...and study along with these characters over there !
The fact that this is something that happens in every school in every part of this country makes this one relatable at various different levels. The book is a fast paced story telling of school classroom infatuations, the love-hate relationship between various students, the rumors that go about in every school, the illogical hook ups and break ups, the inter school rivalry and the school politics pertaining to extra-curricular activities.
This book defitely makes you long to reduce your age to 14-15 ...and study along with these characters over there !
June 30, 2012
Too filmy as I had expected. Nothing unusual about the story.
But isn't a bad read in case you have nothing else to read that moment ;-)
But isn't a bad read in case you have nothing else to read that moment ;-)
August 25, 2013
1)It is an easy read has 17 chapters. one can finish it in 3 hours.
2)It is somewhat similar to Chetan bhaghat because the language was easy and understandable.
3)Scenes and dialogues are very gripping.
4)It's very realistic, connecting facebook status inside was particularly good.
5)Natasha was very lovable from the start.
End connects to it's sequel.
6)It's for pure entertainment, don't look for any moral and all.
7)No protagonist in the story.
8)Some pages have only dialogues, don't know who is telling whom.
9)It's too much for school (Guys with cars, Girls with short skirts, make out, breakup...)
2)It is somewhat similar to Chetan bhaghat because the language was easy and understandable.
3)Scenes and dialogues are very gripping.
4)It's very realistic, connecting facebook status inside was particularly good.
5)Natasha was very lovable from the start.
End connects to it's sequel.
6)It's for pure entertainment, don't look for any moral and all.
7)No protagonist in the story.
8)Some pages have only dialogues, don't know who is telling whom.
9)It's too much for school (Guys with cars, Girls with short skirts, make out, breakup...)
July 23, 2016
i did not enjoyed the book so much.the story was also incomplete,so this was little disappointing.
i could not understand what was the book all about.
i could not understand what was the book all about.
December 17, 2014
awesome book
dipicts teenage life.. fun to read ..... u cant get boored while reading this book
dipicts teenage life.. fun to read ..... u cant get boored while reading this book
June 27, 2015
Interesting.
January 19, 2018
Had I read reviews of this book before purchasing it, I don’t think I would have picked this off of an e-commerce website whilst shopping for a bunch of books written by Indian authors. A lot of its reviews compare this book’s language style to that of Chetan Bhagat’s (and not in a good way, if you were wondering). Though I have never read a book by Chetan Bhagat before, I could tell what they meant by that. The language is pretty straight forward and easy to follow. And I am aware that there is an audience out there looking for exactly that. But since I am not one of them, I’ll judge this book based on what I expect from a school fiction.
These are the two main problems I faced with the language used in the book:
1) Not articulate
Right off the bat I want to say that according this author, anybody being nice/romantic/compassionate in general is sweet. Somebody is trying to compensate for their rude girlfriend? Sweet. Somebody lending an ear? Sweet. Somebody being a friend when you did not expect them to be such a good company? Sweet. Someone is a good person? Sweet. Oh and last but not the least, everything and everyone romantic is sweet/are being sweet. Mr. Oberoi really used the adjective ‘sweet’ to ad nauseam.
2) Lack of creativity with the adverbs
While we’re talking about the language and its articulacy, some of the adverbs used by the author to describe people’s smiles were really cringe worthy. “…and they both smiled naughtily at each other.” and “Ananya smiled stupidly.” are two obvious examples. With the first example, it doesn’t really give readers a sense of the playful flirting going on between two people as much as it’s being told to us. Reading that was like watching someone with a poker face flirt. With the second example, I could only guess what the character’s smile was supposed to look like. Was he trying to say that she gave away too much with her smile? Was she awkward with her expressions? Does she not know how to smile like someone from an elite background? One can only speculate.
Now moving on to the plot, I got Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” vibe early on in the story. As much as I love Taylor Swift, I am pretty tired of the whole “innocent, unpopular girl likes the popular guy who is dating the popular girl who also happens to be a meanie” plot line. Popular girl is better at attracting guys, she wears short skirts but the innocent girl is the one who actually fulfills popular guy’s emotional needs but she is such a victim because she is a mono dimensional character who is all pure and good. This book has such black and white characters when it comes to being good and bad. Mean, vicious people with no scope of ever being anything else and compassionate people who are all victims till they finally triumph by teaching the purely evil person their lesson.
Oh and being like all the other girls is a bad thing in the story. Apparently all that the girls in a Delhi school are is someone trying to cut down the length of their clothes. Then comes along a girl from a small town who apparently has a personality but someone was worried that she too will become just like “all the other girls” if she wears shorter clothes. And the only challenge that thought process received was that the small town girl will never be as vain as the popular, mean girl.
Then we of course don’t see any of the “good” characters having to struggle for what they’re passionate about. All the good characters are already the best they can be and hence are more deserving than their “bad” counterparts of being considered for any contests. Do we see any personality development as the characters try to get better at their hobbies? No. They’re already there. You missed out.
Author’s concept of feminism is very twisted here. The supposedly innocent girl character talks about how back in her small town they too would cut down on the size of their clothing but it was a form of rebellion against the conservative culture and not for the male gaze. Hence it was more meaningful and less shallow. And the only form of challenge this idea gets is that she is getting attention from the guys now and is hence questioned her reason for continuing to do so. The girl coyly deals with the question by saying it’s just an added benefit instead of seeing any flaw in her logic and becoming a better person because of it. Because, wait for it, she is already good enough.
Now, I am going to give credit where credit is due. I did enjoy how they later unveiled Rishab to be more than a shallow, rich brat. Is there any progress there though? No, he just always was that way, we just assumed he would be vain. What a way to ditch character development. And I did enjoy the suspense ending. That was a truly good part of the book. It doesn’t compensate for all the negatives but it at least makes me feel that reading it all the way till the end was somehow worth it.
I would recommend this book for a quick read if you can bear a lot of incompetency in the language being used and are okay with little to no character development. It’s as if the author decided to cut down on character development even when there were oozing chances of doing so. It’s good mindless entertainment. Similar to all of Chetan Bhagat’s works.
These are the two main problems I faced with the language used in the book:
1) Not articulate
Right off the bat I want to say that according this author, anybody being nice/romantic/compassionate in general is sweet. Somebody is trying to compensate for their rude girlfriend? Sweet. Somebody lending an ear? Sweet. Somebody being a friend when you did not expect them to be such a good company? Sweet. Someone is a good person? Sweet. Oh and last but not the least, everything and everyone romantic is sweet/are being sweet. Mr. Oberoi really used the adjective ‘sweet’ to ad nauseam.
2) Lack of creativity with the adverbs
While we’re talking about the language and its articulacy, some of the adverbs used by the author to describe people’s smiles were really cringe worthy. “…and they both smiled naughtily at each other.” and “Ananya smiled stupidly.” are two obvious examples. With the first example, it doesn’t really give readers a sense of the playful flirting going on between two people as much as it’s being told to us. Reading that was like watching someone with a poker face flirt. With the second example, I could only guess what the character’s smile was supposed to look like. Was he trying to say that she gave away too much with her smile? Was she awkward with her expressions? Does she not know how to smile like someone from an elite background? One can only speculate.
Now moving on to the plot, I got Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” vibe early on in the story. As much as I love Taylor Swift, I am pretty tired of the whole “innocent, unpopular girl likes the popular guy who is dating the popular girl who also happens to be a meanie” plot line. Popular girl is better at attracting guys, she wears short skirts but the innocent girl is the one who actually fulfills popular guy’s emotional needs but she is such a victim because she is a mono dimensional character who is all pure and good. This book has such black and white characters when it comes to being good and bad. Mean, vicious people with no scope of ever being anything else and compassionate people who are all victims till they finally triumph by teaching the purely evil person their lesson.
Oh and being like all the other girls is a bad thing in the story. Apparently all that the girls in a Delhi school are is someone trying to cut down the length of their clothes. Then comes along a girl from a small town who apparently has a personality but someone was worried that she too will become just like “all the other girls” if she wears shorter clothes. And the only challenge that thought process received was that the small town girl will never be as vain as the popular, mean girl.
Then we of course don’t see any of the “good” characters having to struggle for what they’re passionate about. All the good characters are already the best they can be and hence are more deserving than their “bad” counterparts of being considered for any contests. Do we see any personality development as the characters try to get better at their hobbies? No. They’re already there. You missed out.
Author’s concept of feminism is very twisted here. The supposedly innocent girl character talks about how back in her small town they too would cut down on the size of their clothing but it was a form of rebellion against the conservative culture and not for the male gaze. Hence it was more meaningful and less shallow. And the only form of challenge this idea gets is that she is getting attention from the guys now and is hence questioned her reason for continuing to do so. The girl coyly deals with the question by saying it’s just an added benefit instead of seeing any flaw in her logic and becoming a better person because of it. Because, wait for it, she is already good enough.
Now, I am going to give credit where credit is due. I did enjoy how they later unveiled Rishab to be more than a shallow, rich brat. Is there any progress there though? No, he just always was that way, we just assumed he would be vain. What a way to ditch character development. And I did enjoy the suspense ending. That was a truly good part of the book. It doesn’t compensate for all the negatives but it at least makes me feel that reading it all the way till the end was somehow worth it.
I would recommend this book for a quick read if you can bear a lot of incompetency in the language being used and are okay with little to no character development. It’s as if the author decided to cut down on character development even when there were oozing chances of doing so. It’s good mindless entertainment. Similar to all of Chetan Bhagat’s works.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2013
This book was residing on my to-read shelf for a very long time. I managed to read the second part of the book first and decided never to read the first book again, yes, it was that bad!! After a long time I saw this book on amazon.com, and thanks to the new kindle, I immediately wanted to read a book on it. I bought this one. Huge mistake!! Here is what I think of the book.
Cover-page: the cover-page of the book is sweet and nice. It may relate to the teenage kids even though I found it very kiddish. It could definitely be better. Needs some serious work.
Characters: interestingly there are no lead characters in the book. The book is about a couple of school going kids and there messed up lives. There is Ananya. She is a shy and introvert girl who comes from a small town to Delhi. She joins this elite school which is a great cultural shock for her. She tries very hard to fit in but not lose her integrity.
There is Yuvraj who is madly in love with Natasha, the head girl of the school. And there is Naman, Yuvraj’s boyfriend.
The characters are easy to relate to but do not leave a lasting impact on the readers. The emotionless writing does no justice to the characters either.
Concept: I kind of liked the concept even though it is outdated. The school romance, fights and everything you can relate with. Interesting to start with.
Story line: storyline is nothing great. New girl in the school. Doesn’t know how to behave in the hip school. She meets a guy and starts liking him. But the guy is stuck with a bitch of a girlfriend. Etc etc. boring!!
Language: language is very simple. You would not need to pick up a dictionary to look for meaning. A simple read. The book in itself is very short. Can be easily finished in three hours.
Good points: good concept. Easy to read.
Not-so-good points: pathetic story. Emotionless writing. A material less read. No substance in the book at all.
Overall: I made a mistake reading the second book. I made a mistake reading the first book again!! A complete time waste. Teenagers may enjoy it but I would definitely encourage them to read books with more substance in it. Would give it a 2 on 5.
Cover-page: the cover-page of the book is sweet and nice. It may relate to the teenage kids even though I found it very kiddish. It could definitely be better. Needs some serious work.
Characters: interestingly there are no lead characters in the book. The book is about a couple of school going kids and there messed up lives. There is Ananya. She is a shy and introvert girl who comes from a small town to Delhi. She joins this elite school which is a great cultural shock for her. She tries very hard to fit in but not lose her integrity.
There is Yuvraj who is madly in love with Natasha, the head girl of the school. And there is Naman, Yuvraj’s boyfriend.
The characters are easy to relate to but do not leave a lasting impact on the readers. The emotionless writing does no justice to the characters either.
Concept: I kind of liked the concept even though it is outdated. The school romance, fights and everything you can relate with. Interesting to start with.
Story line: storyline is nothing great. New girl in the school. Doesn’t know how to behave in the hip school. She meets a guy and starts liking him. But the guy is stuck with a bitch of a girlfriend. Etc etc. boring!!
Language: language is very simple. You would not need to pick up a dictionary to look for meaning. A simple read. The book in itself is very short. Can be easily finished in three hours.
Good points: good concept. Easy to read.
Not-so-good points: pathetic story. Emotionless writing. A material less read. No substance in the book at all.
Overall: I made a mistake reading the second book. I made a mistake reading the first book again!! A complete time waste. Teenagers may enjoy it but I would definitely encourage them to read books with more substance in it. Would give it a 2 on 5.
January 13, 2013
The Backbenchers by Sidharth Oberoi, nyc read, cute school-tym romance story-Sm editing required tho ;p
March 11, 2014
Area yaar wat are u trying to write
This is just an average book. I bought it with much expectation.
But the trilogy seems like Mega Serial and its too boring
This is just an average book. I bought it with much expectation.
But the trilogy seems like Mega Serial and its too boring
July 5, 2016
Poorly written
Lots of grammatical errors, very poorly proofread. The storyline is fine but the editing should have been tighter. Bad book to read.
Lots of grammatical errors, very poorly proofread. The storyline is fine but the editing should have been tighter. Bad book to read.
December 20, 2018
Ananya is the new girl in school.
Back home in Raipur, she was loved, revered and popular.
But the new city has different plans for her. Desperate to get noticed, Ananya takes some big steps.
Over the weekend, Ananya is a changed person. Her skirt's shorter, her shirt's tighter and her hair falls stylishly over her shoulders. This is not what she wanted, but it wasn't about what she wanted anymore.
Soon she realizes that changing just the outer appearance is not enough. The culture shock is too much for her to take. Will she survive the transition, without losing her integrity?
Read to find out more ...
Back home in Raipur, she was loved, revered and popular.
But the new city has different plans for her. Desperate to get noticed, Ananya takes some big steps.
Over the weekend, Ananya is a changed person. Her skirt's shorter, her shirt's tighter and her hair falls stylishly over her shoulders. This is not what she wanted, but it wasn't about what she wanted anymore.
Soon she realizes that changing just the outer appearance is not enough. The culture shock is too much for her to take. Will she survive the transition, without losing her integrity?
Read to find out more ...
September 8, 2012
By Sidharth Oberoi. The Backbenchers #1. Grade: B+
The Backbenchers is written under a pen name, Sidharth Oberoi, by several writers from the Grapevine India community.
The first book of the series (The Extra Class) has been written by Durjoy Datta and Sachin Garg who have written eight bestsellers books between them. It has been a pleasure to see Durjoy and Sachin climb up the ladder. I think if there is one author the Indian teens love as much as Chetan Bhagat, its Durjoy.
Add to this, their dimpled charm and boyish good looks have ensured that Durjoy and Sachin are crowned the “Studs of Srishti”.
No kidding. I have this from a reliable inside source.
So, when they quit their respective successful careers to start a publishing house, Grapevine India, I was immediately arrested. Check out the back blurb:
Ananya is the new girl in school.
Back home in Raipur, she was loved, revered and popular.
But the new city has different plans for her. Desperate to get noticed, Ananya takes some big steps.
Over the weekend, Ananya is a changed person. Her skirt’s shorter, her shirt’s tighter and her hair falls stylishly over her shoulders. This is not what she wanted, but it wasn’t about what she wanted anymore.
Soon she realizes that changing just the outer appearance is not enough. The culture shock is too much for her to take. Will she survive the transition, without losing her integrity?
The Extra Class is set against the backdrop of a co-ed school in Delhi. The story begins with Ananya, a small town girl from Raipur. It is her first day at the prissy new school “Presidency Convent”. The school is tailor-made for the Rich People. There are beautiful teachers, the chicks are Daddy’s princesses and the boys are brats. There is Natasha, the school head girl and epitome of the “B” word with an attention seeking attitude. Then there is Yuvraj , the perfect example of “TDDH” (Tall, Dark, Dimpled and Handsome). He is intelligent, smart and Natasha’s love/lust interest.
Presidency Convent is the type of school where rules are hardly followed and girls with skirts below their knees are despised. Bit of a cultural shock to our small town girl, you understand. Predictably, Ananya feels like an outcast in the new school and finds herself on the last bench in her new class. With her skirt a few inches below her knee and her hair tied in a pony, she soon earns the tag “small town bitch”. The events that follow basically revolve around the school politics regarding extra curricular activities and how looks matter the most in today’s world.
It is the story of every soap opera on MTV and Channel V. Ananya develops a quiet friendship with Yuvraj but when Natasha labels her ugly, Ananya decided to get a makeover. Soon her shirt is tighter, skirt an inch shorter and her hair fashionably chopped. Yuvraj addressed her as “pretty and cute”, and the new Ananya becomes the new “kickass” girl.
The rest of the story deals with how Ananya survives the cultural shocks of her new school. Misunderstandings, multi standards, infatuation, hypocrisy, late night conversations, girl-talk, salty facebook status updates and juvenile deliquescence is all that the book deals with in the later half.
The masala part of the story is not too much unlike Durjoy’s Deb”Avantika series, but I still highly appreciated it. The best thing about the book is that the story is very relatable and the incidents clearly will remind you of your school life. Presidency Convent portrays what happens in the modern era schools in most parts of the country. School politics, inter school rivalry, bitching, the last bench fun, stolen eye contacts, the feeling of first love, friendship, dejection, misunderstandings and first kisses. The story is perfectly blended with no unneeded whining and is quietly straight to the point.
The excitement of going to another school, especially for somebody who’s hailing from an all girls school is fantastically explained. The way life takes a U turn after 10th grade is wonderfully portrayed. The language is quiet simple and the choice of adjectives is pretty good.
It was also interesting to see how two grown up guys got into the mind of a teenage girl and pulled it off satisfactorily. Good job on that front.
I have a couple of problems with it though. One, I didn’t like the print of the pages, which is quiet irregular and non aligned. There are some errors and typos. Grapevine is new though, so that is understandable. I hope the editing is well taken care of from the next time.
Two, as I have mentioned earlier, the plot is quite predictable. I was expecting some interesting twists in the story because it comes from two very talented authors.
All in all, the mistakes are quiet avoidable and if you’re looking for some light entertainment, this is the book to read. It will manage to bring a smile over your face and make you relive your school days. A little heavy on the nostalgia and worth spending a few hours with. Go for it!
—Review by Ayushee—
Originally reviewed at www.vaultofbooks.com
The Backbenchers is written under a pen name, Sidharth Oberoi, by several writers from the Grapevine India community.
The first book of the series (The Extra Class) has been written by Durjoy Datta and Sachin Garg who have written eight bestsellers books between them. It has been a pleasure to see Durjoy and Sachin climb up the ladder. I think if there is one author the Indian teens love as much as Chetan Bhagat, its Durjoy.
Add to this, their dimpled charm and boyish good looks have ensured that Durjoy and Sachin are crowned the “Studs of Srishti”.
No kidding. I have this from a reliable inside source.
So, when they quit their respective successful careers to start a publishing house, Grapevine India, I was immediately arrested. Check out the back blurb:
Ananya is the new girl in school.
Back home in Raipur, she was loved, revered and popular.
But the new city has different plans for her. Desperate to get noticed, Ananya takes some big steps.
Over the weekend, Ananya is a changed person. Her skirt’s shorter, her shirt’s tighter and her hair falls stylishly over her shoulders. This is not what she wanted, but it wasn’t about what she wanted anymore.
Soon she realizes that changing just the outer appearance is not enough. The culture shock is too much for her to take. Will she survive the transition, without losing her integrity?
The Extra Class is set against the backdrop of a co-ed school in Delhi. The story begins with Ananya, a small town girl from Raipur. It is her first day at the prissy new school “Presidency Convent”. The school is tailor-made for the Rich People. There are beautiful teachers, the chicks are Daddy’s princesses and the boys are brats. There is Natasha, the school head girl and epitome of the “B” word with an attention seeking attitude. Then there is Yuvraj , the perfect example of “TDDH” (Tall, Dark, Dimpled and Handsome). He is intelligent, smart and Natasha’s love/lust interest.
Presidency Convent is the type of school where rules are hardly followed and girls with skirts below their knees are despised. Bit of a cultural shock to our small town girl, you understand. Predictably, Ananya feels like an outcast in the new school and finds herself on the last bench in her new class. With her skirt a few inches below her knee and her hair tied in a pony, she soon earns the tag “small town bitch”. The events that follow basically revolve around the school politics regarding extra curricular activities and how looks matter the most in today’s world.
It is the story of every soap opera on MTV and Channel V. Ananya develops a quiet friendship with Yuvraj but when Natasha labels her ugly, Ananya decided to get a makeover. Soon her shirt is tighter, skirt an inch shorter and her hair fashionably chopped. Yuvraj addressed her as “pretty and cute”, and the new Ananya becomes the new “kickass” girl.
The rest of the story deals with how Ananya survives the cultural shocks of her new school. Misunderstandings, multi standards, infatuation, hypocrisy, late night conversations, girl-talk, salty facebook status updates and juvenile deliquescence is all that the book deals with in the later half.
The masala part of the story is not too much unlike Durjoy’s Deb”Avantika series, but I still highly appreciated it. The best thing about the book is that the story is very relatable and the incidents clearly will remind you of your school life. Presidency Convent portrays what happens in the modern era schools in most parts of the country. School politics, inter school rivalry, bitching, the last bench fun, stolen eye contacts, the feeling of first love, friendship, dejection, misunderstandings and first kisses. The story is perfectly blended with no unneeded whining and is quietly straight to the point.
The excitement of going to another school, especially for somebody who’s hailing from an all girls school is fantastically explained. The way life takes a U turn after 10th grade is wonderfully portrayed. The language is quiet simple and the choice of adjectives is pretty good.
It was also interesting to see how two grown up guys got into the mind of a teenage girl and pulled it off satisfactorily. Good job on that front.
I have a couple of problems with it though. One, I didn’t like the print of the pages, which is quiet irregular and non aligned. There are some errors and typos. Grapevine is new though, so that is understandable. I hope the editing is well taken care of from the next time.
Two, as I have mentioned earlier, the plot is quite predictable. I was expecting some interesting twists in the story because it comes from two very talented authors.
All in all, the mistakes are quiet avoidable and if you’re looking for some light entertainment, this is the book to read. It will manage to bring a smile over your face and make you relive your school days. A little heavy on the nostalgia and worth spending a few hours with. Go for it!
—Review by Ayushee—
Originally reviewed at www.vaultofbooks.com
March 21, 2013
Blog,
Remember how i used to tell you all time that i had the most bad schooling ever. I never found out the answer to why my school and schooling was such bad till yesterday. Now that i read "The Backbenchers" book by Siddharth Something(Who cares. The author himself hid his/their name and wrote it under a pen name. Why care about a new pen name when we have our oldest and dearest pen with name "Reynolds" which comes in black, blue and red ink colors, unlike this author who only comes in one color. Pale and Predictable). So, coming back to the school thingy blog, this Siddharth Something author clearly explains, keeping his "social resposnisiblity" of eductaing people in its highest premisies, that schooling would be fun for guys only if the girls around them wear mini skirts(Read very mini skirts) and would be fun for girls if, guys around them would carry heavy cash in there pockets and could give girls their "awwww" moment. True story blog, i would kill my best friend from school ramesh(ramu kaka) to get into such a school and re live my childhood with hot chicks around.
Blog, coming back to reality, The BackBenchers story is very simple, Ananya, Girl from a small town Ranchi, who has never been in a co-ed school ever, moves to delhi as per her fathers transfer(Clearly part of this idea is a direct "inspiration" from Maine pyar Kiya), there she finds it hard to co-adjust in the new world with mini skirts and lavish cars, tries to enter into a debate club(Tere Naam Ishtyle), meets the club president Yuvraj, who is already henpecked even before getting married, by the college head girl Natasha(She is the pooo kinda character from kabhi khushi kabhi gham..Ewwww) and natasha as usually finds ananya annoying(rhymes) and does not allow her in the club. The rest of the story is how ananya gets a make over in a over night (Edhi romba over amma..If make overs were this easy. Fair and lovely would be sold for 1000 Rs each and would be imported even some dark skinned countries from india) and how she gets into Yuvraj and Natashas life and how Natasha is taught a lesson at climax.
No..No.. I know the story is kinda filmy and i am bad at explaining some times. But this time i meant and tried to explain it well. Please dont Yawn blog. It hurts. If you are feeling this way, imagine me reading this book at 1:00 AM night. I was all pumped up to complete a book yesterday night. Since it started of well i thought i would surely complete in one sitting. But with the not so knacky and connecting narration and my random visits to loo beacuase of the Brown Rice, made it hard for me to complete in one shitting (Did ya get the inherent pun..Sitting and Shitting..Lol). I did complete it this morning and it really felt as an achievement. If this was actually written by Durjoy datta with a pen name Siddharth Something, i seriously would ask him to get over Female Make Over's, that too in a jiffy, as if a genie is always sitting in their closet waiting for them to come over crying and say, "Kyun Bhagwan, kyun thumne mujhe ithna badhsoorath banaya" and the genie would be like, "Lo beti, eh Vicco Turmeric lo aur us ladke ko apni khoobsurathi se tadpao".
Apart from the run of the mill story, i am confused as to why it was actually titled, The Extra Class. There Wasnt one class which the leads attended completely, leaving aside the hot ms. something class (Who cares about the teachers name when she is hot and you are in the first bench. Dream Alert blog.. "Remembering about my maths teacher, MS.Something, and singing "Uff Teri adha, khilavunga tumhe yeh vada"). Over all These Backbenchers, Siddharth Something, Ananya , Yuvraj, Natasha and Rishabh are a good companinion for you if
a) You are upset over your friend who has posted some old nostalgic school pictures over facebook, which has his hot school girls in mini skirts. Apart from the usual thing which we do when see some cute or hot girl picture posted on Facebook (Wink) or Like the picture and feel pathetic about schooling we can read this book ad dream about in that school.
b) Your stomach is upset because of the lentil curry and brown rice you had yesterday night and have to visit the every now and then. Carry the book each time you go for getting halka. Its like a laxative, would help in freeing your e-motions( See See..lol)
c) The best one. You have a strong desire to encourage desi authors talent and would read whatever desi author's published books are avaiable on Kindle store for "1-2$".. Dream alert blog.."Singing Bharath humko jaan se pyaara hai song and feeling patriotic already when the Independence day is long way from now"
Over all i would rate The Backbenchers: The Extra Class a 3/5.
Remember how i used to tell you all time that i had the most bad schooling ever. I never found out the answer to why my school and schooling was such bad till yesterday. Now that i read "The Backbenchers" book by Siddharth Something(Who cares. The author himself hid his/their name and wrote it under a pen name. Why care about a new pen name when we have our oldest and dearest pen with name "Reynolds" which comes in black, blue and red ink colors, unlike this author who only comes in one color. Pale and Predictable). So, coming back to the school thingy blog, this Siddharth Something author clearly explains, keeping his "social resposnisiblity" of eductaing people in its highest premisies, that schooling would be fun for guys only if the girls around them wear mini skirts(Read very mini skirts) and would be fun for girls if, guys around them would carry heavy cash in there pockets and could give girls their "awwww" moment. True story blog, i would kill my best friend from school ramesh(ramu kaka) to get into such a school and re live my childhood with hot chicks around.
Blog, coming back to reality, The BackBenchers story is very simple, Ananya, Girl from a small town Ranchi, who has never been in a co-ed school ever, moves to delhi as per her fathers transfer(Clearly part of this idea is a direct "inspiration" from Maine pyar Kiya), there she finds it hard to co-adjust in the new world with mini skirts and lavish cars, tries to enter into a debate club(Tere Naam Ishtyle), meets the club president Yuvraj, who is already henpecked even before getting married, by the college head girl Natasha(She is the pooo kinda character from kabhi khushi kabhi gham..Ewwww) and natasha as usually finds ananya annoying(rhymes) and does not allow her in the club. The rest of the story is how ananya gets a make over in a over night (Edhi romba over amma..If make overs were this easy. Fair and lovely would be sold for 1000 Rs each and would be imported even some dark skinned countries from india) and how she gets into Yuvraj and Natashas life and how Natasha is taught a lesson at climax.
No..No.. I know the story is kinda filmy and i am bad at explaining some times. But this time i meant and tried to explain it well. Please dont Yawn blog. It hurts. If you are feeling this way, imagine me reading this book at 1:00 AM night. I was all pumped up to complete a book yesterday night. Since it started of well i thought i would surely complete in one sitting. But with the not so knacky and connecting narration and my random visits to loo beacuase of the Brown Rice, made it hard for me to complete in one shitting (Did ya get the inherent pun..Sitting and Shitting..Lol). I did complete it this morning and it really felt as an achievement. If this was actually written by Durjoy datta with a pen name Siddharth Something, i seriously would ask him to get over Female Make Over's, that too in a jiffy, as if a genie is always sitting in their closet waiting for them to come over crying and say, "Kyun Bhagwan, kyun thumne mujhe ithna badhsoorath banaya" and the genie would be like, "Lo beti, eh Vicco Turmeric lo aur us ladke ko apni khoobsurathi se tadpao".
Apart from the run of the mill story, i am confused as to why it was actually titled, The Extra Class. There Wasnt one class which the leads attended completely, leaving aside the hot ms. something class (Who cares about the teachers name when she is hot and you are in the first bench. Dream Alert blog.. "Remembering about my maths teacher, MS.Something, and singing "Uff Teri adha, khilavunga tumhe yeh vada"). Over all These Backbenchers, Siddharth Something, Ananya , Yuvraj, Natasha and Rishabh are a good companinion for you if
a) You are upset over your friend who has posted some old nostalgic school pictures over facebook, which has his hot school girls in mini skirts. Apart from the usual thing which we do when see some cute or hot girl picture posted on Facebook (Wink) or Like the picture and feel pathetic about schooling we can read this book ad dream about in that school.
b) Your stomach is upset because of the lentil curry and brown rice you had yesterday night and have to visit the every now and then. Carry the book each time you go for getting halka. Its like a laxative, would help in freeing your e-motions( See See..lol)
c) The best one. You have a strong desire to encourage desi authors talent and would read whatever desi author's published books are avaiable on Kindle store for "1-2$".. Dream alert blog.."Singing Bharath humko jaan se pyaara hai song and feeling patriotic already when the Independence day is long way from now"
Over all i would rate The Backbenchers: The Extra Class a 3/5.
February 7, 2017
I read it in two days and at first my reaction was "This was so good!!!!" But as I sit here writing this and think about i, it doesn't seem such a sensation to me. It's full of cliches - small town girl, rich brats, high profile school, competition at its best, rivalry, fashion queens, stud boys. But they were all not really cliched by the author and that is a great thing. Sometimes information was passed on by incorporating them in dialogues, by telling not showing, and I think it would have been better if the characters had there own style of expressing their feelings. Sometimes the author mentioned the face expressions or body language of the characters and that really boosted the experience for me.
The characters were adorable as in Yuvraj and Rishabh! The girls were like what girls really are But they were a treat to read - a character-driven book. And the dialogues were sometimes so great that I saved some of them to read them again.
All in all, this book was a short read that will be a fun read when you don't really want to apply much of your mind and when you want to drool over such gentlemen of boys!
December 20, 2014
All of us would remember our first day of “new school”, it’s like entering into a new family uninvited. Well that’s what I felt when I joined my new school. I was teachers’ favorite in my old school, everyone was my friend there but nobody knew me in the new school. I was just nobody, everyone knew each other and I was an outsider in this family of students and teachers. I was a total misfit.
That’s what Ananya felt when she came from Bhopal to Delhi’s hotshot school where it was the teachers who were afraid of students, the length of the girls’ skirts would get over even before it started, the students would carry mobile phones with them every day and would be too busy texting rather than taking notes in the class.
I grew up reading Enid Blyton’s books and for me reading this book was like going down the memory lane. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and cherished each and every moment of the book. I think all the school kids and even others should read this book as they would definitely find something which they could relate to.
For complete review: https://bibilophile.wordpress.com/201...
That’s what Ananya felt when she came from Bhopal to Delhi’s hotshot school where it was the teachers who were afraid of students, the length of the girls’ skirts would get over even before it started, the students would carry mobile phones with them every day and would be too busy texting rather than taking notes in the class.
I grew up reading Enid Blyton’s books and for me reading this book was like going down the memory lane. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and cherished each and every moment of the book. I think all the school kids and even others should read this book as they would definitely find something which they could relate to.
For complete review: https://bibilophile.wordpress.com/201...
April 18, 2020
So these books had it all the light feel. The good read, the protagonist and and story to go. First of the three part series based in a college. And it was a great read.
People who don't read generally ask me my reasons for reading. Simply put I just love reading and so to that end I have made it my motto to just Keep on Reading. I love to read everything except for Self Help books but even those once in a while. I read almost all the genre but YA, Fantasy, Biographies are the most. My favorite series is, of course, Harry Potter but then there are many more books that I just adore. I have bookcases filled with books which are waiting to be read so can't stay and spend more time in this review, so remember I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.
People who don't read generally ask me my reasons for reading. Simply put I just love reading and so to that end I have made it my motto to just Keep on Reading. I love to read everything except for Self Help books but even those once in a while. I read almost all the genre but YA, Fantasy, Biographies are the most. My favorite series is, of course, Harry Potter but then there are many more books that I just adore. I have bookcases filled with books which are waiting to be read so can't stay and spend more time in this review, so remember I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.
February 2, 2012
haaa....!!!!! the title of the book gives u a different feel and it actually gav dat difference.....
"The BackBenchers" is a slight different story..... something other dan typical love stories.... love is the subject but all other things are managed well...
story of a girl coming from a town to big city... the changes she brings in herself to get dissolved in every one.... the difficulties she face.... the situations dat come in a student life... every thing well defined......
Lacking was the way to present it..!!!! If it was done good it wud be a "PERFECT"..... so a '3' for the different story...can be read once... intrestingly....
"The BackBenchers" is a slight different story..... something other dan typical love stories.... love is the subject but all other things are managed well...
story of a girl coming from a town to big city... the changes she brings in herself to get dissolved in every one.... the difficulties she face.... the situations dat come in a student life... every thing well defined......
Lacking was the way to present it..!!!! If it was done good it wud be a "PERFECT"..... so a '3' for the different story...can be read once... intrestingly....
April 28, 2015
I heard of this book through my friends who were swooning over how good it was. So, I decided to give it a try and.... I didn't like it.
The story is in discontinuity and there's NO EXPLANATION WHATSOEVER as to why things are happening the way they are. I admit I like a little space for imagination and I appreciate the authors letting the readers fill the few gaps here and there but that doesn't go for the plot!
Ananya, so shy, is suddenly blending in like its HER JOB. why? no freaking idea.
The story is weak and there is extra hype concerning nothing. The plot is hardly good enough for a novel and even the little leverage the storyline had has been dealt with poorly.
All in all, a bad pick for anyone who chose to read it.
The story is in discontinuity and there's NO EXPLANATION WHATSOEVER as to why things are happening the way they are. I admit I like a little space for imagination and I appreciate the authors letting the readers fill the few gaps here and there but that doesn't go for the plot!
Ananya, so shy, is suddenly blending in like its HER JOB. why? no freaking idea.
The story is weak and there is extra hype concerning nothing. The plot is hardly good enough for a novel and even the little leverage the storyline had has been dealt with poorly.
All in all, a bad pick for anyone who chose to read it.
November 6, 2012
a fresh story with few of the old ideas, shown frequently in serials on channel v or mtv - its just another book that revolves around teenage period and desires.written and presented in d simplest way, the book fuses the emotions of friendship, teenage love and desires.the lust and flaunt of the teenage are the villains that keeps the reader going through with the book.Overall, any college youth would like the story as it resembles a lot with their life.
March 19, 2014
This book is something every teen gal like me would enjoyyyy!! I just happened to go to a book store and randomly pick it up..... wow that was the BEST think that ever happened!!!!
I liked the characters especially Natasha's though she is the villian......Ananya though seemed a bit tooooooo desperate to me ..... she was flat....
AND RISHAAAAAABBBBBBBBBB!!!!! omg!!!!!!!!
More than i will ever like Yuvraj I will LOVE Rishab..... till the end of the world for u baby!!!! :*
I liked the characters especially Natasha's though she is the villian......Ananya though seemed a bit tooooooo desperate to me ..... she was flat....
AND RISHAAAAAABBBBBBBBBB!!!!! omg!!!!!!!!
More than i will ever like Yuvraj I will LOVE Rishab..... till the end of the world for u baby!!!! :*
February 25, 2012
The story is a real treat for anyone who misses their school days. It deals with story of a small-town girl names Ananya who joined in a posh school in Delhi for her senior year in high school. It runs from a third-point view and the plot is pretty good. The surprise in the end is really pleasing and it has the interest to pull one back to it.
June 1, 2012
This is a slightly different book when it comes to the writings of Indian authors. This book has characters with which one can easily relate. It is not just about the protagonist but about the odds and evens of school life. Nothing great about the book, everything turns out the way one expects it to be yet a delightful one time read.
Read
January 25, 2013Lovable! I think all the teenagers should read it! 'The Missed Call!' should be an addition to it, guys read both of these books... THEY ARE SIMPLY MARVELOUS!! Thanks for reading my review! And please don't forget to read both of these books... you must buy these for your relatives, friends or anyone near to your heart! I rate it as: 'TEENS ONLY'!!
July 1, 2013
Very easy to read novel..oe thing good that it kept me hooked...i finished it in 4 hours...it is on the same line with other "Grapevine" authors ...Some rich brats...some hot girls...they fell in love and all....Its a kind of teen novel..it will be a ood time pass if you travel between surat-Mumbai route..:P
Read
June 10, 2015it's a story about a girl ananya who has just shifted to delhi from raipur and is not able to fit in the her new school.her participation in debate club became more difficult because of a selfish girl natashashe is now changing ...but as she is changing she has a fear that she is might loosing her integrity.....she has found friends...naman,radhika,and yuvraj the most special of them all
January 17, 2016
This book is written by Surjoy Dutta and Sachin Garg under pen name Sidharth Oberoi. It is just a fun filled story about school life that has Romance, Comedy and more. Few things were not believable, but it was quite interesting and fast-paced. It's a quick read. 3.75/5.
January 10, 2016
The book is a complete soap opera material . It has similar stories to the One that comes on MTV and Channel V for teenagers. It is primarily a book on teenage love and the plot revolves around the debate club of the school.
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