Enter Title Here

by Rahul Kanakia

I’m your protagonist—Reshma Kapoor—and if you have the free time to read this book, then you’re probably nothing like me.

Reshma is a college counselor’s dream. She’s the top-ranked senior at her ultra-competitive Silicon Valley high school, with a spotless academic record and a long roster of extracurriculars. But there are plenty of perfect students in the country, and if Reshma wants to get into Stanford, and into med school after that, she needs the hook to beat them all.

What's a habitual over-achiever to do? Land herself a literary agent, of course. Which is exactly what Reshma does after agent Linda Montrose spots an article she wrote for Huffington Post. Linda wants to represent Reshma, and, with her new agent's help scoring a book deal, Reshma knows she’ll finally have the key to Stanford.

But she’s convinced no one would want to read a novel about a study machine like her. To make herself a more relatable protagonist, she must start doing all the regular American girl stuff she normally ignores. For starters, she has to make a friend, then get a boyfriend. And she's already planned the perfect ending: after struggling for three hundred pages with her own perfectionism, Reshma will learn that meaningful relationships can be more important than success—a character arc librarians and critics alike will enjoy.

Of course, even with a mastermind like Reshma in charge, things can’t always go as planned. And when the valedictorian spot begins to slip from her grasp, she’ll have to decide just how far she’ll go for that satisfying ending. (Note: It’s pretty far.)

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult Contemporary, High School, Books About Books

343 pages, Hardcover

First published August 2, 2016

About the author

Rahul Kanakia’s second novel, WE ARE TOTALLY NORMAL, is out in March 2020 from HarperTeen. Her first book, ENTER TITLE HERE (Disney '16) was a Junior Library Guild selection and was reviewed by the New York Times. Her stories have appeared in Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, F&SF, and others. She lives in San Francisco with her wife and daughter.

Reviews

[Margot Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, a book for those of us who spent our high school years focused solely, obsessively on getting into the right college and missed out on all that fun and bonding you're supposed to do during the "best years of your life."

If that sounds boring, it's not. It's one of the funniest, most wickedly smart, and most moving books I've read in a while, and Reshma Kapoor is my new heroine.

Remember Tracy Flick, the scheming overachiever Reese Witherspoon played in Election? Imagine she was the heroine and narrator of her own story, and part of her master-plan for success involved writing a novel about her own transformation into a nicer, sweeter person, and she had zero intention of actually becoming a nicer, sweeter person. You're starting to get a sense of this book.

I won't give away any more of the plot, just say that Enter Title Here has a lot to say not just about high school achievement culture, but also about adult competitiveness and the drive to make our mark and stand out. Similarly, it pulls no punches on the topic of everyday racism and stereotyping, and offered a perspective I needed to hear.

Finally, this is a book that does not insult its heroine by suggesting that all her problems could be solved by slowing down and smelling the flowers (maybe while listening to a nice indie-folk band). For a person as focused and driven as Reshma, it's never that simple. The story honors the value of her energy, even as it acknowledges that, yeah, that drive to win at all costs can get more than a little antisocial and scary.

I received this book as part of an ARC tour, and, sadly, I can't give a copy to my high school self. But I think it would have made her feel a lot less alone.

[alexandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was..... unexpected.

i don't know how to coherently describe my thoughts on ENTER TITLE HERE. because although yes, i did think it was a well thought out novel, and yes, the idea is good, and yes, it captured my attention and made me want to keep reading, i didn't find it enjoyable.

the main reason for this is the protagonist, if you want to call her that. reshma is unlike any other protagonist i've read from; she's an antihero and chances are, you're not going to like her. (i certainly didn't.) but even though her morals were very wrong and that she has nearly every unlikable attribute EVER, i think it was worse because i couldn't relate to her. there are some antagonist that make me WANT the bad guys to win, but reshma? no... she's absolutely awful and i couldn't stand her. i know some characters are "annoying" but this was way beyond that. i could go on a five hour rant about how RESHMA HAS NO SOUL but i'll just leave it at that.

the entirety of this novel revolves around reshma's "change" as a character, but i honestly found it flat and unrealistic. because i suppose this is a bit of a memoir, she actually speaks of it like "i was going to do ____, but then i realize it's something the old reshma would've done." like, um, ooooookay i honestly wouldn't have noticed a change if not for her pointing it out. it's not that she was the same person at the beginning and the end, but it was very anticlimactic and subtle. i still think she has the problems she had at the beginning of the story and didn't fully address them.

after finishing the novel, i still don't understand the purpose of it. the story doesn't exactly resolve and it felt more like a waste of time than anything else. at the end, i began to ask myself, "why did i read that?" because i just DIDN'T GET IT. all in all, this book is a disappointment. it's definitely interesting and different, but i couldn't relate to the story or its characters.

[Brooks Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not too many books promise you an unlikable character on the first page. And I'd say even fewer books put the fact that you'll be following a full-blown antihero right on the cover. It's rare. It's risky. And in order to pull it off effectively, I'm pretty sure the author needs to be either some world-building savant or a literary mad scientist.

Lucky for Rahul Kanakia, he's a bit of both.

Reshma Kapoor, the self-proclaimed best-of-the-best in her class, has one goal: to get into Stanford. But having the highest GPA and a laundry list of extra curriculars isn't enough. She needs something that will get her noticed in the stack of applicants. Her solution is simple (according to her). She's going to write a killer YA novel.

Now this is all revealed early in chapter one. And from then on, Reshma becomes a workaholic bulldozer, flattening anything and anyone who gets in her way of Stanford stardom. Her vision becomes so tunneled that she doesn't bat an eyelash when it comes to deciding how she'll manage her valedictorian victory. She quickly proves that she'll do whatever it takes to keep her status as the top student.

Seriously. Whatever it takes.

I kept waiting for the moment when I slammed the book closed and tossed it across the room. But I never did. In fact, I began developing a very strong respect for Reshma. And that's because Rahul gives her endless amounts of motivation for her actions. Reshma has every reason in the world to act the way she does and her drive to become the best is something we can all relate to in one way or another. I'm convinced that Reshma--while perfectly existing as the main character in her world--could easily exist as the antagonist in a companion novel. In fact, there are several characters Reshma interacts with who could fit the mold of "protagonist." But I love that they don't. Because even though she possesses so many qualities of the typical mean girl, Reshma's never the villain. She's the determined, resourceful, intelligent, and occasionally self-deprecating hero that we end up cheering for at times and cringing over at others.

And that's why Enter Title Here gets a hefty five stars. Because it's more than just a fantastic story. It's also a lesson on craft, motivation, and character building. It's a 352-page manual of how important and satisfying it can be to take a trope and tear it, twist it, wad it up so much that you find a way to present something old in a brand new way.

[Sarah Ahiers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me tell you the reasons why I LOVED this book:

1) Protagonist Resh is Indian. Yay main character diversity!
2) Resh is not "likeable". I really hate that, especially in YA, female main characters are supposed to be likeable. Resh really isn't. She's mean, manipulative, vindictive and does whatever it takes to get what she wants. And yet I still rooted for her the whole time. Which just goes to show the whole "likeable" female protagonist idea is just bunk
3) The novel is meta on, like, 3 levels.

Resh is her school's valedictorian, an honor she's come by both because she works harder than everyone else and knows how to game the system, but also because she's not afraid to sue the school when things aren't going her way. When a literary agent approaches Resh and asks her to write a YA novel, Resh immediately agrees, since it will help her get in to Stanford. She decides her novel will be the story of her life, and so she sets out, determined to have the type of experience all YA novels must have (a boyfriend. A best friend. Kissing. Sex.) The novel Resh is writing is the novel ENTER TITLE HERE which plays into the meta concepts.

Resh's therapist is also a writer and spends time discussing her character arc and story arc, poking fun at the novel structure as a whole.

And when a side character's defining physical characteristic is revealed to be made up by Resh because he asked her to, I literally gasped and then laughed out loud.

The many layers are clever and smart and add a whole 'nother level of fun to a fantastic book.

And even if the book didn't have its wonderful meta layers, it would still be outstanding. I could not stop reading it. I stayed up too late, trying to finish. I took longer lunches just to keep turning the pages. It honestly kind of destroyed my life for a few days.

I recommend this book for people who like YA contemporary without much romance (there's some, but again, meta and Resh is trying to follow a script she's arranged for herself) or people who are looking for female protagonists who aren't necessarily "likeable". And, actually, I just highly recommend.

(I read an arc of this book in return for an honest review)

[Anna Breslaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky to get an ARC of this book and I tore through it like a monster. It's unique, intelligently written, and I laughed out loud multiple times. I've also never read a YA novel that dealt so accurately and vividly with study drug abuse without being lecture-y. Most importantly, I adored Reshma, even though (orrrr maybe even because?) she was such a nightmare most of the time. There should be more female antiheroes in YA, and she is a fantastic one.

Anyway, yeah, I loved this book.

[Elle (ellexamines on TT & Substack) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enter Title Here tries so hard to be funny and informative and ultimately fails at both.

~part of the “I hated this book but felt bad so I didn't rant about it” series~

THE GOOD

The concept for this book is great. There's an idea here for a parody of YA novels, and for an exploration of teen stress. And the book started out well! The first 25% of the novel has a ton of potential, and Reshma is a fun antihero with a ton of room for growth. I was completely pumped to see an awesome character arc for her.

THE BAD

This reads like the author shoved two half-written books together. The plot is a complete mess from 25% on. It's like the author totally forgot what the book had been about. The I'm-writing-a-typical-ya-novel-to-get-into-college plotline, which is the reason I picked up the book, falls apart quickly.

Reshma's character arc is another weak spot. Honestly, I don't understand why no one looked at Reshma's character arc and said “wait, this doesn't make any sense.” During the first 25%, she has so much potential for a strong arc. But instead of improving, she becomes an even worse person, to the point where she's barely tolerable. And then ten pages from the end, the book suddenly takes us through an entire book's worth of character arc.

The ending is genuinely terrible, with Reshma acting like she learned something from the entire ordeal when she clearly has not. Up to that point, she literally never shows any signs of growth. In fact, she becomes more of an asshole. And that's fine. Antiheros are enjoyable. Just don't act like Reshma's learned something somehow when she hasn't.

This book is also just not that funny . The main character goes so far in her campaign for valedictorian that the book veers into the territory of having too much secondhand embarrassment to be funny. Secondhand embarrassment is not pleasant or funny, it made me cringe. But it's presented for humor.

The book's message is supposed to be something about how kids care too much about grades... I think. But it ends up being “nonwhite people only win valedictorian because they sue.” I don't think the author actually believes this, but the book really heavily implies this. Yes, this book is a parody, but Reshma's willingness to screw over the poor white kids is not presented as a joke. Even though the author probably had the best intentions, it's kinda not fun to read.

Ultimately, this parody novel took itself too seriously and ended up falling off the tracks. Also, I could write a better novel outline in a day than supposed valedictorian Reshma did in two weeks. Not recommended.

[Erin Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow...just, wow.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I cracked open ENTER TITLE HERE, but what transpired over the pages ended up being SO much more!

Reshma, the protagonist, quickly became one of those characters I wanted to hate -- from the start, she was selfish, vindictive, and didn't care how many people she stepped on while she made her way to the top...all of them were pretty much only in her way, anyhow.

But I found it impossible to hate her. In fact, I flew through the pages, realizing I was cheering for her every step of the way!

So much story to love here, as Reshma's character arc emulates that of the main character she's writing about in her own novel. In particular, are Rahul's fantastic one-liners on exactly what it takes to write YA -- which had me laughing and nodding my head like an idiot, all at the same time!

In the end, this book shares the importance of self-discovery and how your actions can affect others in ways you may not realize...and ultimately, what you choose to do about that. ENTER TITLE HERE is a must read for everyone, and should be added to your TBR immediately -- I promise, you will not be disappointed!

Note: I received an ARC of ENTER TITLE HERE in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

So after complaining (below) about this book's incomprehensible synopsis, I did read it and have mixed feelings (about the book, not the synopsis. The synopsis makes no sense and doesn't really reflect the book.)

On the positive side, I liked the writing. I felt that the author -- a guy -- did an impressive job at nailing the voice of a teen girl. And even though the main character is hard to characterize (an every girl? an anti-hero? a victim of circumstance?) I was drawn in by her. Though I'm usually not a fan of epistolary elements, I think they worked here.

The book's main character is Rehsma, a first generation Indian girl who attends high school at an uber-competitive Silicon Valley high school. Her goal in life (and thus, I guess, her story goal) is to get into Stanford. The problem is that she's just an average smart girl and in this day and age, to get into Stanford, you need to be superlative. Like Olympic swimmer superlative. Did you know that if Stanford were a country, they would be the 5th highest Rio Olympics medal-winning country? Amazing.

In any case, Reshma isn't that amazing and she knows it. So she plagiarizes and pops Adderall and her parents file lawsuits against her school. She is weirdly fixated on one thing: her GPA. She and some of her classmates are in a cutthroat competition to be valedictorian.This is strange to me for a lot of reasons I won't go into, but I think in a way it reveals something interesting about contemporary American culture: that we are obsessed with engaging in contests that have dubious value and really don't enrich our lives in any meaningful way. Like winning The Bachelor. Or having a lot of social media followers. Etc. In any case, Stanford rejects 95% of applicants, which includes plenty of valedictorians.* And a book about a GPA war may be interesting to some people, but I wasn't that enthralled.

Another goal of Reshma's is to publish a book, which she thinks will set her apart from the other 43,000 Stanford applicants. (Oddly, I've read at least one YA book by a current Stanford student, so maybe she's right). The problem is that this subplot sort of flounders. Reshma decides she needs to be more "interesting" to write the book, and makes a goals list about dating and stuff, but that gets left by the wayside. Who has time to write a book when they are busy filing GPA lawsuits and fighting with their AP Lit teacher over a grade?

As you might have guessed, there was a lot about this book that didn't work for me at all. I think the reason the synopsis is so confusing is that the storyline is ALL over the place. (I see this a lot in books pitched to me for review - if they synopsis isn't concise and easy to understand, that usually means the book lacks focus). I don't always mind books that meander a little, but to me this was a book in search of a narrative thread (and a point.) Does the book have no plotline because it's supposed to be Reshma's book? I wasn't entirely sure. I mean, if it's her book, it's more like a memoir than fiction. And if it's her book, that might just be too meta for me.

Enter Title Here also raises (several times) the question of whether or not Asian/South Asian college applicants are held to higher standards in the college process than other students. That's an interesting issue to me, but the book undermines the argument by the fact that Reshma gets a WAY better college outcome than her SAT scores, extracurriculars, and rampant cheating deserve.**

The end of the book gets very meta (I guess this book IS supposed to be Reshma's book??) in a way that made the ending weird and anticlimactic and confusing to me.

tl;tr Book has largely unsympathetic heroine but good narrative voice. Book has good writing but (to me) disastrously unstructured/unfocused plotline. I would try future books by this author, but this one didn't do it for me.

*I couldn't find Stanford stats but Brown rejects 80% of valedictorians who apply.

**In fact, only 2-3% of accepted students at Stanford have SATs at Reshma's level.

Reaction to synopsis before reading:
I don't understand this synopsis at all. It suggests that a) the main character wants to get into college so b) she lands a literary agent and then c) thinks no one will want to read a book written by a "boring study machine" so she needs to get a boyfriend?

[Laurie Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book in a way that I haven’t loved many books, because the truth is, this book isn’t like many other books. Sometimes you hear people describe a great story as “something unlike anything I’ve ever read.” Well, in this case, ENTER TITLE HERE really is entirely unlike anything I’ve ever read.

And I loved it.

The main character, Reshma Kapoor, is a lot of things. She’s queen of the study machines at her ultra-competitive Silicon Valley high school, poised to be valedictorian, and has her sights set on Stanford. But it’s not enough to be smart and hardworking. To get in, she needs something big to set her apart. So when a literary agent reads an article Reshma wrote and reaches out to her, Reshma has her “hook”— how many high school seniors have an agent and a soon-to-be book deal? The only problem is, Reshma hasn’t considered writing a novel. Yet.

But really, it’s not a problem at all—not when she tells the agent she’s actually working on a YA novel, and then decides to start writing one based on her life. It can’t be that hard, right? But in an attempt to be a more relatable protagonist, she has to make an effort to do all the things she doesn’t have time for. Making friends, dating boys, going to parties. But every plot has twists, and Reshma’s story-within-a-story is about to get pretty knotted up.

If that concept alone wouldn’t have sold me (which it did), Reshma herself certainly would. It took about three sentences for me to be totally in awe of her. Anyone who can identify herself as an antagonist and be unapologetic about it is a character I’ll go anywhere with. Trust me when I say that Reshma is not a YA narrator you’ve seen before. She’s ruthless, cruel, manipulative, and relentless. She’s brilliant and driven and says what’s on her mind with no filter. She’s a girl who flips stereotypes over and stomps on them until they’re dead, then coolly walks away. She’s a bit Tracy Flick from Election, a bit Regina George from Mean Girls, and a bit of a young Claire Underwood from House of Cards.

Safe to say, I’m a lot obsessed with her.

Writing a novel from the perspective of an antihero is not an easy thing to pull off. Making readers care, page after page, about the often diabolical machinations within an extreme one-track mind is incredibly difficult. I have the utmost respect for any author who attempts to tackle this, much less execute it brilliantly. Rahul Kanakia is that author, and his talent is immeasurable.

Of course, Reshma would try to measure it anyway.

Fresh, bold, smart, and wickedly funny, ENTER TITLE HERE is a debut you don’t want to miss starring a narrator you will miss as soon as you turn the last page.

[Melissa Gorzelanczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is unique for a couple of reasons.

First, Reshma--whose name I adore and love to say aloud--is an anti-heroine; a protagonist I felt I was reading about from a distance, which seemed like the safest way to handle her. Reshma was someone I wished would do well, yet she often left me cringing. At the same time, I couldn't stop wanting to know if she ever learned to do what was right. Akin to Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl, I couldn't help but like her. This is no small feat for an author, which Kanakia handles with ease and talent.

Also different is the direct correspondence from Reshma's agent, which helped me connect with Reshma because in reading the letters, I could feel the pressure building for her. Also, at times, the frantic disappointment. I thought the letters were a genius addition to this tale.

Reshma's parents felt real and layered. They tried to teach their daughter what was right, yet like many parents, were somewhat disconnected from the reality of their teen's actions. Her father always tried to protect her, which I respected.

Overall, this tale of a girl desperate to win really captured me. Kanakia blends a unique plot with multi-dimensional characters and a terrifically spare writing style to create a novel that shouldn't be missed.

***

My favorite lines (worth telling every teenager in the world): "You're telling a story about a girl who's forced to deal with the fact that she's not really special. And it's a good story. But it's not your story. You're still in the process of becoming an amazing person. And someday you're going to make and do and think some pretty revolutionary stuff."

[Jonah Lisa Dyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is insanely good. The writing is absolutely stellar and the main character is deep and real and interesting and, while not a typical YA protagonist or a particularly likable person, I LOVE HER. She's the best anti-hero I've ever read in YA. I will recommend this book to everyone I know and I will read anything Rahul Kanakia writes forever and ever, Amen. I also have that strange electrified feeling that comes from being in early on something you think everyone will be talking about in a few months. I should also add that I am not usually a gusher, I just really liked this book that much.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic, ambitious and very funny. I really feel that I need to reread it because there are so many gems in here - the book begs you to read it twice. I love the inventive format and Reshma Kapoor is the absolute perfect antihero.

It's been a few weeks since I finished this book and I'm still thinking about it. I think that's the sign of a fantastic read. I hope you'll pick this one up when it's out in 2016.

[The Candid Cover (Olivia & Lori) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 52%

This book just got really strange, really fast. When the word, "murder," became repeated across an entire page, I decided that I had read enough. The main character is very hard to relate to. She is a threatening, rude and spoiled individual. I need a protagonist that is more relatable than this to enjoy a book.

[Emily Mead · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reshma was the most self-absorbed, arrogant, ruthless narrator I have ever had the misfortune to read about. No way can I get behind a narrator like that, even if she is an anti-hero. No sympathy for people who bully and cheat their way through life with lawyers, money and scheming.

[CW ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy shit, this book is so funny and incredibly insightful. It definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I delighted in watching Reshma's trainwreck and, eventually, how she concludes her story.

- Follows Reshma, an Indian-American teen who will literally do anything to win and get what she wants. She is mean, vindictive, and absolutely self-righteous. She decides to write a novel to get into Stanford, but while writing her novel, shenanigans of all kinds ensue. And it is WILD.
- This is honestly one of the wildest books I've read. And I loved it. Just when you think things cannot get worse - or, if Reshma can't get any worse, IT GETS WORSE. This story goes to extreme heights and I loved the daring of this book. I'm certain that this book will surprise you. What I'm uncertain about is whether the surprise will be a good or bad thing.
- This book explores the pressure that high school students face - what lengths they will go to get into their dream colleges, the arbitrary standards in place, and even how presentation is so incredibly important.
- In extension, this story also explores what 'being real' means - this central theme moves the book forward, and I was stunned by how insightful and astute the book was.
- The craft and thought that went into this is amazing. Things are delivered with such finesse that I was in awe at times. The characters are fantastic - caricatures and yet either have emotional depth or so deeply resonant with what is wrong with the education system in the US.
- If you love unlikeable characters (and I mean, truly unlikeable characters, not just characters with a drop of morally grey blood) and if you love watching disasters unfold, then this is probably the perfect book for you.

Trigger/content warning: drug addiction

[Jenn Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

It didn't take long into Kanakia's brilliant debut for Reshma Kapoor to ascend to my list of all-time favorite narrators. There's a lot of adjectives you can throw at Reshma that would stick. Competitive. Ruthless. Intense. Overachieving. The oh-so-dreaded "unlikeable." But what I kept coming back to as I read this book, what kept sucking me in, was how deeply complex she was. Sure, her exterior was sharp as a knife. This wasn't some girl you'd want to come babysit your kids. There's nothing gentle or obviously endearing about her. (Mind you, this is a girl who would do anything -- I mean ANYTHING -- to get into the college of her choice, Stanford.) And yet, in her first-person narrative, which is also her attempt a novel that got her a literary agent (which will set her apart from other Stanford applicants, easily, she thinks) she comes so close, every now and then, to baring her real thoughts, her complicated convictions, and the surprising allegiance that runs beneath her choices.

I feel like the best YA novels raise questions that they don't completely answer. And that's what Reshma did for me. I think every high school overachiever (um, that was *me*, someone in my class definitely called me a "robot" once) will see if not their entire self in Reshma, then a glimmer of it.

Tracey Flick from "Election" meets Regina King from "Mean Girls", Reshma and this novel are nothing if not completely riveting. A spectacular debut.

[Sonya Mukherjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book grabbed me from the first page. Reshma is a hilarious, diabolical antihero who refuses to surrender to the reader's expectations of her, even as she's devising a novelized version of her life, in which she plans to give critics and librarians the character arc that she thinks they'll like. Her story is surprising and funny, and despite everything, it's almost impossible not to root for her and care about her. Along the way, ENTER TITLE HERE subtly weaves in some important ideas about achievement culture and what really drives it, perfectionism, and certain types of racism that are still prevalent among people who have no idea that they're racists at all. The book is entertaining from start to finish, and yes (sorry, Reshma), it's ultimately moving, too. (Lucky for me, I got to borrow an advanced copy of this book for a chance to review it.)

[Ki-Wing · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book's sharp-eyed hero will stun you. Reshma Kapoor knows there’s a game to getting into a top college and she is prepared to crush the game and win. Some may call her flawed, but Reshma has no patience for such people: too dim to see discomforting truths or too weak to take advantage of them.

Oh, Reshma gets her comeuppance, but then too she refuses to surrender. And when others press upon her their meaning for her story? She refuses those, too.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. ENTER TITLE HERE is as intelligent, cutting, and uncompromising as its star.

Kanakia also achieves an excellent depiction of liberal racism.

(I read this book as part of an ARC tour and now I await my pre-order; in fact, count on me pre-ordering everything Kanakia writes)

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very special and very different book. I have a lot of feelings about this one.

"To start with, I'm your protagonist-Reshma Kapoor-and if you have the free time to read this book then you're nothing like me."

I have seen many low reviews for this book and I understand why. Reshma Kapoor is not a likable character. She is aggressive, selfish, and honestly a cheater. However, you come to understand why she is this way and you cannot help but sympathize with her. Her one goal has always been to get into Stanford. And she is determined to get into that school at all costs. She cheats, she lies, she sues, and of course she writes a book. The book that the reader has right in front of them.

"I haven't read many novels, because reading is a waste of time, but I think they usually contain more than a girl sitting alone in her basement. God, I have no clue what this novel is about..."

I loved this story because it was written in a way that was so realistic. If I didn't know that an adult male wrote this book I would be convinced that Reshma Kapoor was a real person and that this was her real story. It was so convincing and so realistic that I was completely engaged in the novel the entire time. It's been awhile since a book has pulled me in like this one has. In a small way I could relate to Reshma and the pressure that she put on herself to be the the best and to get the best grades. My high school was very competitive as well (not to the degree that Reshma's was) and I often found myself constantly worrying about grades. But the way that Reshma cared about grades was a completely different level. As a reader you want to ask her why she cares so much. But then you realize that we are living in this system. We put this pressure on teenagers to be the best and get the best grades and it's getting to be insane. The product of this pressure is an Adderall addicted youth that are unable to handle failure.

I also greatly enjoyed reading Reshma's commentary on race. She has experienced racism and she does not hold back in talking about it. Reshma believed that the school wanted to take away her valedictorian position because she was Indian. The school claimed they took it away because it wasn't fair that Reshma took the "easier classes" and therefore got better grades than the students in the "harder classes." At times it did feel like the school was racist and they were being extremely unfair. There was a lot commentary on racism throughout the novel and again it made the story extremely real. This is America. If you say that this stuff never happens you're blind.

"White people like to think we're all emotionless study machines. They tell themselves that their kids might not do as well in school, but at least they know how to enjoy life."

I loved George. Although he wasn't in the book all that much, I still feel that his presence in Reshma's life was extremely important. He understands her the most out of anyone but he refuses to accept the parts of her that are really horrible. This isn't a typical story where the boy swoops in and changes the girl. George helps Reshma see herself and her flaws but she is ultimately the one who changes herself.

"You're telling a story about a girl who's forced to deal with the fact that she's not really special. And it's a good story. But it's not your story. You're still in the process of becoming an amazing person. And someday you're going to make and do and think some pretty revolutionary stuff."

I could go on and on about this book. It was perfect and I could not put it down. I would recommend it to everyone. It may be hard to read at first because it is SO different from contemporary YA novels and because the protagonist is a classic anti-hero, but you should definitely give it a try.

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions)]

Pages read: 22

Based on the summary, Enter Title Here should have been right up my alley. The problem is that Enter Title Here tries to be both the story of an ambiguous Indian girl writing a novel in a month to obtain a literary agent AND the novel she's writing. Kanakia doesn't do this the way Westerfeld did, by alternating between the heroine and her novel, but by having her novel be a record of her every action in creating the novel.

The result is incredibly artificial. Reshna's smart and hard-working, based on her valedictorian status at a competitive school and her determination to get into Stanford. That the story contained on Enter Title Here is meant to be her effort at writing a novel is an insult to both her intelligence and her diligence. Smart as she is, even if she's not a big reader, classes would have taught get that the main character of her novel should not have her exact name and goals. If she didn't know much about novels, she would research. But she doesn't. The result is terrible, as a quickly dashed out first novel by a young author most likely would be, but it's not terrible in a remotely believable way.

Reshna's not a very likable character, something the text tells you even. But that didn't even have a chance to bother or intrigue me one way or another because her characterization doesn't fit with the frame story.

I really don't think I'm going to be able to get past the frame and how much it doesn't work. I was cringing already on page one where a literary agent emails Reshna and offers to look at her novel if she ever writes one, all on the strength of Reshna having written an article for Huffington Post.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.

First, I can say that I wasn't sure what to expect when I cracked open Rahul Kanakia's ENTER TITLE HERE. But wow, was I hooked from the first page. Reshma is one of my most favorite main character's ever because she's so real. Notice I said real. She's not necessarily likable. No, she's quirky. She jumps the gun. She's funny. She's ridiculously smart, and at the same time naive, which I LOVED. She's manipulative. And she's a B-word sometimes, which I also loved.

But man, it works well.

Kanakia's plotting drives the reader through a witty, hilarious tale that took a turn for the poignant many times. He, and crazy Resh, had me laughing till I cried. This is definitely a five star read for me.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a great contemporary read. But especially fans of John Green and Jenny Han will devour this book.

[Robin Reul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kanakia's witty, smart debut is sure to be a hit with teens and the crossover market as well. His spot on writing and unapologetic main character make for an un-put-downable story that will make you laugh out loud. A don't miss.

[Heidi Heilig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet Reshma Kapoor: ruthless, beautiful, totally badass.



I adored this book, most especially for our main character, Reshma. I love "unlikeable" characters, especially female ones, and Reshma did not disappoint. She is incredibly driven and won't let anything stand in her way--all while being laugh out loud funny. Again and again, she meets and overcomes obstacles at all costs. I was cheering for her the whole time (with a horrified look on my face), especially as the book wrapped up surprisingly yet perfectly satisfying. A must-read for any driven teen (or adult).

[bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

i hate to say it but this needed one more round of edits so bad, it makes u weep. protagonist and voice of all time, an author who palpably gets it [the agony of being a teen] and takes it seriously and sees past it all at the same time and this carries throughout the book-- and then the second half really falls apart bcs, also palpably, she realizes the heart of the book is the relationship with the parents but never quite has time to dive back into it, opening it up, pushing it, seeing what shifts and when and why, after so many whizzed-past conversations, so the evolution doesn't quite feel real, the letting go of the self-aggrandizing self-loathing doesn't quite feel real, especially after the heartstopping agonizing thrill of the first half. nevertheless, RESHMA!!!, a heroine for the ages

[Nasty Lady MJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

To see full review click here.

Enter Title Here, is one of those books where you want to deck the main character face then give her a swirly and wet Willy before finally screaming like an insane person and being hauled off to that special place people go to after they read one too many YA books.


Luckily, I didn’t go to the special place since I DNF’d the book— if reading the entire Halo trilogy has taught me surrendering if often kinder than forcing yourself to have to be rehabilitated through the power of pudding cups (yes, pudding cups are the only thing that can help ill used tropes and the power of love).

To be honest, Enter Title Here was a very strange read for the 72 pages I read. I might’ve been able to stomach it if my tolerance level for bad YA weren’t so low right now. And honestly, I don’t know if the book was bad so much. I mean, I think for all intents and purposes if Kanakia wanted an unlikable protagonist he had one. I could not stand the MC for the life of me, but at the same time I wouldn’t exactly say that Rashema was an antihero. There was nothing likable about this book.

The book is literally like Election had a baby with that Opal Mehta book and the back-story surrounding the rise and fall of its plagiarist author. Rather, than rehash the entire controversy (which seems to reappear every three or four years despite having happened a decade ago) I’m just going to lik you to my review of the book and discussion of the controversy and plagiarism in general. But for those who aren’t inclined to read it here’s the general gist: rich Harvard attending girl got a book deal in which she created a Mary Sue version of herself sort of doing a Legally Blonde in reverse and took numerous passages from popular chick flick and YA authors of the day and got called out for it on the Today Show and other media sources.

Honestly, publishing a YA book that’s a rift on a YA plagiarist is sort of creepy in a weird way, but creepy in that it could potentially be interesting but it wasn’t since everything about this book felt like it was cartoonish. And honestly, if I was Kaavya Viswanathan (the plagiarist) I’d be a little freaked out by this book, but since said plagiarist is a litigator now I guess she really doesn’t have time to concern herself with such things.

But this book is a slap in the face to that scandal if there ever was one, and it does come out as creepy since the Kaavya character is cartoonish, mean, and like I said you want to stuff the character’s head down the toilet.

I don’t think the rifting on Viswanathan was what really made me DNF the book, though it did make me mighty uncomfortable there was also the fact that it seemed to think YA books as a whole were stupid. At least that’s the MC’s approach to them thinking that all a good YA book takes is a popular girl with pretty clothes that has a boyfriend. Again, I think the author was sort of mocking the Viswanathan scandal and books, BUT at the same time it felt like the YA genre as a whole was being mocked.

So, I don’t…I really don’t know about this one.

In the end, I didn’t finish it mainly because I just felt so damn uncomfortable. While I am not a fan of Viswanathan I do thinking the rifting might’ve been a little too much, maybe that’s why I got squeamish. Or maybe I just got squeamish because the MC of the book constantly mocks the genre and readers. It just didn’t work for me.

I have a feeling that some people will like this book, but it’s going to be a polarizing book either you’re really going to like it or hate it like yours truly. Scratch that, I didn’t totally hate Enter Title Here it just made me feel ridiculously uncomfortable.

[Kayla K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across Enter Title Here on Netgalley a while ago and was immediately intrigued. I absolutely love reading about high schoolers, so I pressed the request button, but I was unfortunately declined.

Nevertheless, I knew I would read it anyway one day. So, when I found it sitting on one of the shelves at my public library, I snatched it right away, knowing I was in for a good read. And it was- for the most part, at least.

Basically, this book revolves around high schooler Reshma, who is a very high achiever. She has always gotten top marks and knows she is bound to get into Stanford, but needs more than just academic achievements to put on her application. So, when she is approached by a literary agent, Reshma decides to take the plunge and write a novel starring herself. But her goal is to make herself an interesting protagonist, something she can't do if she's studying all the time. Will she be able to successfully write her novel as well as get into the university of her dreams?

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about Reshma. On one hand, I could relate to her struggles of being a student quite well, but on the other, she was a bit too whiny for my liking. She is probably the biggest perfectionist that I have ever read about in a YA book, and though I was happy to read about a fellow over-achiever, I found it getting a little annoying as she complained so much. Also, I really liked how she was able to take a stand for what she believed in even if it was risky, and I absolutely loved the perseverance she showed in the book while writing her novel and trying to become valedictorian. I can definitely see how people could both like or dislike her, to tell you the truth.

The plot was smooth and easy to follow, and I never found myself getting bored flipping the pages. It was the ending that dissatisfied me, though. I feel like it ended rather abruptly, and I still had quite a few questions that weren't answered. Rahul Kanakia, would you mind writing an epilogue to this book, please? I'm hungry for more!

Overall, if you are looking for a *unique* book about high school troubles, I would definitely recommend Enter Title Here. I loved the writing style and the plot had a good flow, but I just don't know if I loved Reshma. Anyway, this story was a gem that I know I'll remember!

[Dana Elmendorf]

When I hear the word "anti-hero" I turn the other way. I want a main character I can envision being friends with and root for them all the way to the end. This book is NOT the typical book I read, and I could not put it down! With the competitiveness of colleges today, teenagers have to prove over and over again they are super-humans who are superior above all other teens who are doing the same thing. Reshma was no different, and she was ruthless in her pursuit of valedictorian. This author did an outstanding job creating an anti-hero while keeping the plot moving forward. Just when you thought the level of what one will do to be number one was met, Kanakia raised the bar again. Countless times I yelled at the book and wanted to throw it across the room BUT I KEPT TURNING THE PAGE! It was like the car wreck you're not supposed to slow down and look at but you can't take your eyes off it.

The writing was top notch. While showing this competitive world, the story also did an excellent job with showing diversity, tackling the tough issue of drug use, plagiarism and cheating. All very real issues for teens, and the author handled them in a very realistic way.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure I've ever read a book quite like this! At times laugh-out-loud, at times heartfelt, and cleverly written. I actually kind of...loved Reshma? She's pretty horrible but also intensely likable, and I wanted to clutch her to my chest as often as I wanted to smack her. She reminded me a bit of me in high school, if my parents were rich and I had no friends. I recognized the AP course calculations and cutthroat jostling for class rankings a bit too well, haha.

This also contains several scathingly well-done critiques of white privilege and racial microaggressions. I thought Ms. Ratcliffe was pretty f***ing terrible. The handling of teen drug abuse is pretty spot-on as well. For all the heavy moments, there are also several balancing deep belly laugh moments. I don't remember the last time I cackled at so many parts in one book.

Reshma makes for a refreshing contemporary anti-heroine and the format/framing of this novel (within a novel?) is also so so fascinating. What an insane read!

[Diversireads · Rating 5 out of 5]

warning: drug use, suicide ideations, overdosing

When was the last time you read a novel with a truly detestable heroine? When was the last time you had to spend three hundred fifty pages with a horrid person? When was the last time you enjoyed it?

Reshma Kapoor is the valedictorian at her selective, Silicon Valley high school. She's written columns for the Huffington Post, and she has an agent interested in a novel she hasn't written yet. She's a shoo-in for Stanford, but it isn't enough. She's only one of 30,000 valedictorians competing for less than 6,000 spots at Stanford, so she can't be simply good. She could never have settled for simply good. What Reshma needs, what is almost a compulsion for her, is to have confirmation that she is better than everyone else. And she will go to almost any length to be the best.



And I do mean any lengths; the description of the novel kind of undersold this bit. Reshma's ruthlessness and her single-minded competitiveness are intensely reminiscent of my own high school, which has made the news more than once for its academic rigour and its overworked students.

Writing about Asian Americans and college applications is always fraught territory. It feels like every once in a few months, some new article will pop up, if not outlining the horrors of "mass produced" Asian high school grads (note: this is racist), then outlining the poor impressionable youths who are destroyed by their parents' single minded obsession on feeding them to Ivies (note: this is racist). If (often white) writers are not hand-wringing about Asians gaming the system (note: this is racist), then white college officials are changing the standards to suit their increasingly nebulous and hard-to-define qualifications for entry (note: do I need to say it?). And if not that, then people like Amy Chua are codifying the narrative by publishing pieces about the relative virtues of "Asian parenting" and "tiger mothers," as if all Asians parent the same way, or have the same expectations of their children. Or they are solidifying the model minority myth, displacing oppression upon Black and Latinx bodies. It's a tough landscape out there, okay?

A Stanford and Johns Hopkins grad, Rahul Kanakia seems like one of the winners of the game, but that doesn't mean he doesn't write about it with a critical eye. Enter Title Here is one of those rare pieces of writing that does not sacrifice nuance to make some larger point about how academic success is not the only success. The college admittance process is a racist one, there is no doubt about that, and though Kanakia spends most of his time writing about this from a particular, upper middle class immigrant South Asian perspective (as opposed to, for example, a working class refugee one, or even a Black or Latinx one), the way he talks about this is widely applicable.

Learning how to navigate this is a minefield. It certainly was for myself and my friends when we were applying for colleges. I remember endless conversations about SAT scores needing to be at least 150 points higher than our peers', remember strategising about which APs to take to have the best possible GPA, and, at least for my set of Asian friends, packaging and marketing ourselves as Alternative Asians––not your typical math-and-science nerds, but Artistes, English and History and Fine Art troves of hard work and diligence, only see how different we are from every other Asian who applies to your school. See how we're not the same. See how you should take me and not her, because I am better at playing your game, better at interviewing, better at laughing at your jokes and making you laugh at mine.

In such a context, it was so easy for me to see how Reshma got to be the person she became before, during, and after the course of this novel. I did a quick scan of Goodreads and a lot of the negative reviews were complaining about how conniving Reshma is, how narcissistic and self-serving, how selfish and unkind, and none of these are untruths, but they aren't accurate until you understand that this, too, becomes a form of survival, if a self-destructive one, and how it destructs.

In the course of this novel, Resh goes down a rabbit-hole made up of equal parts self-loathing and narcissism, of delusion and clearsightedness. Her teachers are racist, her school system biased against her, but she herself doesn't make healthy decisions in light of this. She uses people, her self-worth is tied up in external validation and the desire to feel better than everyone around her, and it becomes a kind of ruthlessness that alienates everyone around her. She's not an easy person to like, even toward the end of the novel, yet she's extraordinarily easy to empathise with, even when she's doing fucked up shit. But somehow, you're still rooting for her?

Magic, really. This book is magic. It was so well done.

I think I came into this book expecting one of those Standard Narratives where Ah The Antiheroine Comes Out the Other End of the Book Having Learned a Valuable Lesson in How to Treat Others but really, guys, if you put junk into your mouth it's rarely a lump of gold that comes out the other end.

Reshma is, in some fundamental way, still the same person she was at the beginning of the book. She's not nice or compliant the way we expect our YA protagonists to be. But she has more perspective, her priorities are different, and she's working on it, which is the most you can ask of anybody at any given point.

I did have concerns with some of the ways mental health in this novel was treated, particularly since it's so underreported in Asian communities. Reshma's mother is someone who does actually send her daughter to therapy, but the therapy sessions seem neither to be useful nor on-topic, while Reshma's mental health benefited a sum total of zero from them, and her self-worth issues spiralled out of control to the point where she was having suicidal ideations, which were never something that was addressed at length? Yet Reshma claims in the end that her therapist "cured" her (her words).

I was unconvinced that her mental health issues stemmed from her academics, to be honest. I was more convinced that her academic issues stemmed in large part from her self-perception and mental health. Certainly academic pressure exacerbated it, but I don't really buy that in the absence of academic pressure, Reshma's own self-hatred, her sense of self-worth would fix themselves. The ending itself felt quite rushed though, so perhaps it was felt that this was one of those things that could get lost in the shuffle, but I feel like it played a big enough role in the unfolding of the narrative that it troubled me.

To that end, the conclusion of the novel felt like a major break from the intensity of the rest of the novel. This is largely a reflection of Reshma's changed status, yet I felt there was a way to bridge the gap without it seeming quite so abrupt as a result. Yet this novel has so many things going for it, and it was such a strong, compelling read that I feel like five stars is honestly not enough.

In some ways, this is a messy book. Not because there was no sense of narrative organisation, but because it's often difficult to navigate this book, to parse its rights and wrongs. Reshma is an extremely difficult protagonist to like––her relationship with her parents, her peers, her boyfriend, and even the people she wants to call her friends is so fraught––but it's hard also not to sympathise with her loneliness, her stress, and her desire to special, to be the best.

I really recommend this novel. If at times it takes you to places you're not necessarily comfortable going, it makes the journey worthwhile. It takes a while to get warmed up to Reshma and her blunt prose, but once you're invested, it's hard to look away. Definitely pick this one up at the library or the bookstore or from your favourite etailer.

[Lex’s Library · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has been on my TBR since 2017. Unfortunately, Enter Title Here was frustrating to read from the beginning to the end.

[REVIEW]

*Trigger warnings for abuse of prescription drugs (study pills), negligent therapy, racism, and suicide ideation*

DISCLAIMER: When writing a negative review, it’s never my intention to sound like I don’t think ANYONE should read a book I rated one or two stars. If I told you not to, I might be taking away your chance from discovering your newest favorite book. Therefore, please don’t let my review TOTALLY discourage you from reading Enter Title Here. This is collection of my thoughts and opinions on the book. This is me saying, “I didn’t like Enter Title Here and here’s why.” I’m not saying, “I didn’t like Enter Title Here, and here’s why you shouldn’t like it/read it.”

(I am aware some people need to see others’ thoughts and opinions to help them to decide whether or not to buy/read a book. If this review does help you, and that’s what you needed, that’s fine! However, don’t just take my word. Look at what others are saying, and decide from there.)

I remember when I first got Enter Title Here, I was intrigued by the whole “writing a book” plot. As a bookworm and aspiring writer, it’s always fun to read fictional books ABOUT books and writing (i.e. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell). For whatever reason, though, I pushed off reading this for three years. I don’t know what finally got me to read it, but I wonder if I would’ve liked it more had I read it earlier.

The whole time, I kept going back and forth between a two and three star rating. At one point, I did consider just DNF-ing this and rating it a one star. But I pushed through, because I hate DNF-ing.

WHAT I LIKED:

There was one things that kept this from getting a one star. And that was how ruthless Reshma and the students at her high school got about school and colleges. Surprisingly, Reshma’s personality wasn’t what bothered me about the book. She did get on my nerves, but I couldn’t exactly blame her for how she thought. I’m not from Silicon Valley, but one of my mom’s best friends used to work at a school in that area. She knows ALL ABOUT tiger parents, and how cutthroat students can get. Additionally, I remember working with some rigorous AP/CAPSTONE peers at my own high school. While they weren’t from Silicon Valley, some were just as passive aggressive, competitive, and ruthless as Reshma and her peers. Some (repeat: SOME) of them also liked to brag about their accomplishments and look down on others who didn’t take any, or a lot, of AP classes. Therefore, the characters, their interactions, and their motivations felt REAL. I had to admire Kanakia for doing that. Reshma’s ambitions and personality obviously derives from growing up in a competitive climate. It’s how she was nurtured (not specifically by her parents, but her peers and school). OF COURSE she wasn’t going to back down.

That was it, though. The rest had me either skeptical, frustrated, or disappointed.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:

•Many of the subplots felt underdeveloped. And honestly, I felt like there were too many subplots. Everything kept jumping around, and I was struggling to remember and keep up. It felt like things in a subplot would develop and build, but we didn’t really get to see that development and buildup. It was like that was skipped. Maybe that’s just me, though.

•I could never believe Alex and Reshma were friends. It kept going back and forth between “Are they friends or not?” They were both AWFUL to each other. I didn’t understand why Alex and Reshma ever called each other friends.

•The relationship of George and Reshma was weird. Like Alex and Reshma, I couldn’t understand why they were drawn to each other. And personally, I saw NO chemistry between them. I mean, there were moments Reshma got vulnerable, and George complimented her. But those scenes just didn’t feel as developed as they could’ve been.

*SPOILER HERE*

******************************

The whole writing a book thing for college was definitely unique. However, an editor reaching out to Reshma seemed far-fetched. I haven’t published a book or met an editor, but I’m pretty sure the situation tends to involve the AUTHOR seeking the editor/agent—not the other way around.

******************************

*END OF SPOILER*

•There were TINY MOMENTS where I had hope for Reshma redeeming herself. I saw her recognizing the “lie” she and others had been telling her. Where she confronted her past and the secrets she’d been suppressing for years. And yet...I just didn’t feel like her character arc was as strong as it could’ve been. She did change (I guess?). But I couldn’t exactly tell what events in the book made her change.

•Can I just say I HATED the therapy scenes? It wasn’t that the therapist was verbally or physically abusive. He was definitely negligent, though, which would get him FIRED if he’d been reported. Not once did he and Reshma explore her internal thoughts and troubles. Instead, he was all focused on the book. Before anyone says “but it’s FICTION, Alexis”—I know it’s fiction. But a therapist like Reshma’s shouldn’t have a license.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I really wish I could’ve liked this more. However, while I didn’t enjoy this book much, I will not let my opinions of it discourage me from reading any more of Kanakia’s future books.