Blemishing the Odds

by Harish Penumarthi

Say hello to Raghav, an immature, insensitive person who is apathetic about everyone else except himself. His life revolves around his parents and his friends. He is among the bad books of all his Teachers.

Until one day, when Trisha, a new entrant; mesmerizes him at the very first glance. He finds a friend, savior, nurturer and an inamorata in her. Just when he thinks that everything has been set out in a picture perfect manner, life throws a series of ghastly surprises at him. Will he change for good or stick to his immature stand of “My Life, my rules” and screw it all up?

This tale journeys across all the ups and downs a student could possibly encounter. The transformations that a student may endure, the courage and guts one needs to have in order to dodge all predicaments and eventually sketch the perfect end to all his agonies.

Genres: Fiction

174 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 2016

Reviews

[Praveen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got an opportunity to read this book from a young debutant novelist. Book is written in a simple and lucid manner. I appreciate the entire structure of book. It starts with a prologue where a father is narrating the best phase of his life. Then…. begins the story of an adolescent boy with all the absurdities, immaturities and those newborn fantasies of that age. And then story really matures towards the end that was the best part for me in the book. I also liked the way this story ended.

This is story of Raghav who is never liked by his teachers until he meets Trisha, whose beauty and manners fascinate him and he gets transformed.
This story is filled with all those relics and souvenirs of teen age and school days. I was able to connect with many instances…Forging father’s signature on exam scripts, stealing chalks, reading comic books hidden under your textbooks to avoid scolding, recess time funny conversations and chidings from those archetypal grumpy teachers in school when you have not finished your homework, were all those things that made me nostalgic.

I was only wondering if I had any similar feeling towards any girl of my class, like that of Raghav, when I was in the 7th grade !!

Raghav writes a letter to his teenage inamorata and it gives the sense of innocence and new-sprung romantic sagacity of that age.

“Trisha,
You girl, are one awesome chick I have ever met throughout my life. I still remember the first day you joined our school. I was blown off when I saw you. I had never seen a girl as charming as you. You were looking so cute that I could have bitten your cheeks off. Everything about you is beautiful.
The way you dress up, every costume you wear seems like it has been designed especially for you. You are better than the best .You look cutest when you cry. Every time I see you I want to talk to you. I have so many things to say…....

Now that you are not here, I feel incomplete. Every time I pass by your class, I try to steal a glance. Sometimes I see you and sometimes I don’t. I make sure I see you every day, be it in the morning assembly or anytime during the entire day. I have never felt this way and since this is the first time I think its love. My mom says that love does not happen at this age. If this is not it, then what is love?...... ”


So a good light read for those who want to recollect their school days and teenage memories !

[Supratim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to thank the author for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about Raghav, an Indian schoolboy who hates studying, loves his sports and games, reads comics when his parents think he is studying – of course he is in the bad books of his teachers but he does not care. Now enters Trish – a girl who joins his school and due to Raghav’s heroics a friendship develops between the two. Raghav actually turns over a new leaf. Yes, you have guessed it – friendship slowly develops into something more and we have teenage romance, sermonizing parents, opinionated teachers, a sudden crisis in Raghav’s life – which triggers the “coming of age” factor in his life.

I did enjoy the parts about life in a typical school. I liked two things about the book – first, the manner in which the author depicted the Indian obsession with a school student’s marks, as if his/her parents’ respect depends upon it. I totally understand the genuine concerns of the parents – good marks enable admission to a good college which in turn would lead to a good job, but at times people go overboard. Second, the depiction of the mother – who is always afraid that spoilt girls are always on the lookout to trap their “little, innocent” boys.

The writing needs some improvement and editing. Parts of the story were quite melodramatic as well. I found the end to be predictable. I wish it were better. Since this is the author’s debut novel, you might cut him some slack.

This is not my usual genre - romance is not my cup of tea. Nevertheless, it was fun to read about school life and the silly things people do when they are in school.

This is not a serious book and if you are looking for a serious analysis of society, the human mind and such, then this book is not for you. However, if you are looking for an easy-to-read light-hearted teenage romance with a “feel good factor” -- then you might want to give this book a try.

[Anish Kohli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Free copy from the Author in exchange of an Honest review.

Sometimes honesty hurts, Mr. Harish Penumarthi . If you didn’t know that yet, you are about to witness it. This copy of the book you sent me will seem an utter waste and a mistake to you after reading this. For that, I will apologize to begin with. Know that I have no intentions to hurt someone who is looking to make a mark.

Let’s start by saying that NO, I have no fucking clue as to what goes into publishing a book. I have no idea how much time, effort, money and whatnot goes into it. All I know, is that the story has to make SENSE. There needs to be a POINT. What the author wants to say through the story, should reach the readers. And I am reader. This makes NO SENSE to me.

This book, is published by Half Baked Beans and the name of the publishing house is the definition of this book. This book, this story, is not even a half-baked story that would have graduated into a story someday. This is the jumble of ideas, thoughts and experiences the author may have had and penned down.

The one who comes second is only the first amongst the long line of losers.

Tall Talk!! If you believe in this phrase Mr. Harish, then suffice it to say that you are not even in the line. Sorry, but I’m being honest here.

This book, I think, atleast in part, is inspired from some life events and so I will refrain from taking a pass at the sequence of things.

But there was nothing in this book that I could call a story. A young boy, a young girl and their stupidity. That’s it. Nothing else. Like NOTHING.
You named the book as Blemishing the Odds. But tell me, what odds did your 2 protagonists face? What hardships did they go through? Nothing. Getting in trouble with school authorities for kissing publically is not facing the odds. Failing in exams because you couldn't be bothered with studies is not facing the odds. Taking flak from teachers and relatives for flunking is NOT FACING ODDS.

The book revolved around love, did it not Mr. Harish? So tell me, if someone is so in love, is hurt bcz their love has shifted to another city, then the guy gets a chance to move to the same city, tell me, what will the guy do? What WOULD he do?
They will look for the girl they loved, right? And it wouldn’t be too hard considering they have a Mobile phone. But what does your character do?
He says “Fuck it. Imma find a new girl in a PG where boys and girls share the rooms. Because I need to forget her.” Are you kidding me?

I wanted to recuperate from these tedious moments and spice up my life a bit more. The major concern was to get over Trisha.

He does this when they weren’t even broken up!! Just were separated by some distance!! And despite this, he finds the girl and finds his happy ending?

This is your idea of LOVE? This?
You disgusted me with this ending. Anyone who thinks this is love, they disgust me. Unfriend/Block me NOW if this is what you think. This isn’t love. You don’t purge yourself of someone’s memories by trying to find another chick. YOU DON’T!!! Period.

No. Your book has nothing to offer. Stupid kissing sequences, cussing to sound cool and all guyish? No Mr. author, NO!!
This is not what makes a story.

Your protagonist, Raghav, is a Hooligan. A Ruffian. A rude asshole that has no manners. A street thug that parents advice their children against and rightly so. The kind of a guy that made school troublesome and difficult for everyone.
Your female lead, Trisha, is Dumb, comes off across as a selfish, jealous and horny bimbo who has no idea what the fuck she wants.

If you inspired these characters from real life, I must say they were not really decent beings.

Kissing is not love. Wanting to make out is not love. Flirting and making snide remarks about sex is NOT LOVE. Love, Mr. Harish, begins with respect. That is the stepping stone. Not kisses and hugs with no reason.

Facing small shit like moving away from your ‘Love’ and giving into Drugs and Alcohol to cope at grade 10 is NOT BLEMISHING THE ODDS. That is WEAK. That shows your characters had no character. No strength and they were shallow and plain dumb.

The story is wanting for details. You jump from half formed idea to idea. There are not enough fillers to make the transition smooth.
I am sorry to tell you this dear author, and I mean no disrespect when I say this, some stories are not meant to be published. They are not meant to see the light of day because they are not stories. Not really.
I will wish you luck with all your future endeavors and hope that you will grow as an author and find new horizons.

PS: There are glaring and ginormous editing mistakes in this book that I have not taken into account in this review. But you as an author might want to.

[Archit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nostalgic!

Do you ever get the smile when you remember about your school life?

Do you ever miss those moments when playing was more interesting that studies, when you used to nickname your friends with the weirdest of the names, when everything was about fun and enjoyment nothing much to think about what and how things will turn up in future?

When future didn't even exist?

When you were yourself and didn't need anyone's approval?

If any of the answer is a yes, then Blemishing The Odds is for you.



Blemishing The Odds is a compelling narration of a carefree, inattentive and reckless boy Raghav who is neither good at studies nor at anything else. Teachers shoo him off. Parents keep scolding him to study harder so he can pass his exams.

According to the teachers, his fundamental nature i.e. to stay careless, can't be altered.

But that certainly changed when Trisha came into his class.

Completely opposite to Raghav's behavior, Trisha is the angel of everyone's eyes. She's beautiful, smart, intelligent and what not!

It's not easy to resist oneself to fall in love with her. Raghav too falls for her but until he realizes this, his life turns out to have had some other plans for him.

Tragedies over tragedies and various difficult situations come across Raghav. His attitude towards the catastrophe can tackle most of the problems but will he be able to do that? To alter his basic nature?

Will he Blemish the Odds?

The memories and moments were remembrance of once childhood school days. Any reader would love to go back to those days again.

The reminiscence attached with those days have been beautifully fabricated in Blemishing The Odds. The writing style is simple and doesn't disappoint at any point.

Verdict : A true and light companion for a bus/train ride.

[Rohit Enghakat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a story. The book starts with a prologue where a father narrates his school days to his kids. This is more like a memoir rather than a story. Everyone can relate to this book. However, there are a lot of shortcomings which I noticed while reading the book. Firstly, this could have been edited. It looked as if the book was published without a thorough editing job. Secondly, a story has to be engaging enough to keep the reader hooked and make them want to know what happens next. Here, the book fails miserably. Cuss words, first kiss, coming of age experiences, experiments with cigarettes and alcohol are all fine as it is given at that age. But where is the story ?

Coming to the story, Raghav meets Trisha in the 8th grade. He is a lazy and incompetent guy while Trisha is the exact opposite. Opposites attract. Spending 3 years together, circumstances change. Duffer boy becomes smart and hardworking. Passes school with flying colours. Both separate and they meet again. Lots of tomfoolery between them in those 3 years. That sums up the story.

There is a reference to surfing the internet by Raghav somewhere in the book. If you think a bit, Raghav is actually narrating his story to his kids who are 18 and 14 years of age. So he must be at least 45 given that he has two kids. It would have been at least 30 years back when he was in school, which may be circa 1987, if not earlier. India did not have the internet at that point of time..at least it was not accessible to kids. Another irritating thing which I came across was the word"awesome". It was used at least about 50 times in the entire 170 page book. Moreover, which Indian dad will narrate his love life and first crush in school to his kids just because they are pestering him ?

Bad editing or no editing spoils the book. The author has tried to delve deep into his four main characters, Raghav, Trisha, Dad and Mom but that's about it.

The climax is awful and unbelievable. One fine day, Raghav is suddenly sent to Mumbai to study and the day he lands he meets his lady love. That ends the story (sorry, there never was a story !). The one good thing I liked was how the author drew up the Indian parents' mentality of constantly pushing their child to study which is prevalent throughout.

Now comes the epilogue. Raghav's kids ask him to complete the story. He tells them that he will some other time. Is there a sequel to the book ?

The author being a debutante, I wish him success for future.

PS: - I thank the author who gave me the book for an honest review.

[Apratim Mukherjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the author for sending a copy of this book for free.Its a well written book considering it was written by a debutant.There are a few problems like some spelling mistakes,some boring narrative and a factual inaccuracy (No one who has watched Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in early teens will be a biological father to a teenage girl).Apart from these,the book is just oustanding.I loved the climax and gave an extra star for that.Its a good read for anyone who is a fan of modern Indian fiction.

[Mridu aka Storypals · Rating 1 out of 5]

Review to come

[Vishnu Chevli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though some books won't give you extraordinary story, it will you attached till end because of the emotional quotient of the content. 'Blemishing the odds' by Harish Penumarthi is one such book which makes you feel nostalgic about your childhood.



Harish has very well provided blurb with what to expect from story point of view. Book will take you through journey of mischievous boy to serious teen. Author has finished story with sweet ending. And things partly solved for Raghav at the end. Author has intently kept end at point from where he can start another part of Raghav's life.

Story may not seem new to reader but it will make tickle while reading mischievous did of kids in school. No matter how much we earn today or how high we reach, those careless days will never come back. We always wanted to age up fast and become adult, but once we became adult we realised what we wanted was a mirage.

Detailed Review Link - http://chevusread.blogspot.in/2017/02...

[Surabhi Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raghav is a confused boy, who never planned his life and never cared to do so. He has a small world with his best friend Joe, his partner in crime. Whatever life throws at his door he took it and move on. He hates to study and books are the enemy he wants to destroy. But, he somehow managed to climb the grades by god grace. He is the bad boy of the school. But he is not alone in his mischief. His buddy Joe accompanied him and the duo is a pain in the head for everyone. Until one day when a new admission Trisha joined their class. Raghav’s life has changed forever.

The tale of Raghav rejuvenates some of the memories of school. The book is a Young Adult story of Raghav and Trisha. It is a well-written and nostalgic book bringing back the good old days. Relish your teenage moments with Raghav and Trisha.

https://thereviewauthor.com/

[Sankalpita (bookGeeks India) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blemishing the Odds is a sweet coming of age story of two young hearts Raghav and Trisha. Raghav is a notorious kid in his teens who is known for everything but his academics whereas Trisha is a teacher's pet because of her disciplined nature and her inclinations towards her academics. Raghav and Trisha have what can only be called as pure unhindered love for each other but it is not long before complications arise and drive them apart.
The books makes you remember your own school days and in a good way.

Read the full review here - http://www.bookgeeks.in/entries/gener...

[kartik narayanan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Harish invited me to review this book. I picked up the book for free on Kindle Unlimited.

I encourage Indian writing, notably in genres unfamiliar in Indian writing. It takes courage and perseverance to write a book. I am cognizant of that fact and hats off to anyone who writes a book. Kudos to Harish for writing a ‘coming of age’ book.

With that said, I cannot rate this book high. I could not finish the book despite repeated attempts. This does not happen often. I dropped it midway. There were three elements that bothered me - the excessive profanity (which did not add to the story), repetitive phrases and the Bollywood story line. Better editing can clear up the first two points. While I cannot guess at how the story evolved and ended, there was not enough of a hook to keep me interested in reading to the end.

I liked the attempt at creating a classroom with multiple characters. I recognize a few from my childhood. But, the protagonist was unreal He was a caricature from a movie. A bad boy who is bad and becomes worse because everyone expects the worst out of him.

In short, read this book to support Harish and Indian writers. But walk in with your expectations at a low level.

[Vishal Kale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of two people – Raghav & Trisha. That said, it is told from the perspective of Raghav, who is the opposite of Trisha in everything and everyway. Trisha is studious, while Raghav is, shall we say, 1/Studious, the reciprocal of studious. Frankly, Raghav is a boy with no redeeming qualities that I can relate to, as an individual. He is irritating, interested only in playing {not sports, just paying}, with no interests and a total lack of direction in life. Fine, he is too young for such esoteric things like “direction”, but the total waywardness that he displays is sad. Enter Trisha.


No, don’t get your hopes up. He doesn’t improve due to Trisha. His school performance does improve – but that is not studying – he is still not interested in the least in anything remotely resembling books. If anything, things only get worse. Would you allow your daughter or your student to be anywhere near a wayward clown as Raghav? I don’t think so. Well, neither did the rest of the characters in the school. Thankfully, the author doesn’t dwell too much on this angle, concentrating on the school aspects. Life goes on for our pair, despite small hiccups.


What happens to turn this wayward misguided child into something else? Two things, or rather three. Trisha, Basketball… and a brutal shock...

For the entire review, click here : https://reflectionsvvk.blogspot.in/20...

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the contemporary day. Simple yet gripping fiction. Reader will definitely get into the school days/ past.

[Enakshi J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

How we wish to narrate the indelible moments of our life to our children! How we wish our parents and grandparents narrate their life instances to us! Isn’t this the reason why ‘How I met your mother’ became a hit amongst the youngsters? ‘Blemishing the Odds’ is based on the same concept in which the father narrates his story to his children. The book is a delightful read as it is not only relatable but substantial.
Read more here: http://www.induswomanwriting.com/book...

[Rakesh M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is an ode to the best days of our lives. It captures the innocence, mischief, lameness, and simpleness of our childhood and school days. The story is set in a small town school, you get to relive and cherish the best moments through the characters here.

Coming to the story itself, it tries to acheive the odds as the title suggests. This is apt because we see that each one of us has to go through a myriad, in order to acheive ones dreams. As is the case with the protagonist Raghav, the way he realises and changes is very inspiring. The main characters are very well developed and described, I wished that the other characters could be more fuller. I liked the role of Grandpa and the importance of the role. They say that the strength of a character is his actions during the toughest of the times. The balance of school life and the personal life during a very hard time show that Raghav has finally matured. After finishing the book, I wished there was more of the school life and the bittersweet memories that comes with it, overall a good read and it is quite a page turner.

I thank the author, Harish for sending me advance readers copy and wish you a successful career in writing.

[Jerry Jose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cute little book is essentially a High School version of How I Met Your Mother, or it might be just me. Nevertheless, it effortlessly managed to put multiple smiles on my face, replacing the Indian Railway coach I was in with a nostalgia train.

Surprisingly this boy meets girl story was devoid of unnecessary complications and drama, which could be taken as a plus or minus depending on the reader, huge plus for this one anyway. Even with rushed endings, and too good to be true story , the book managed to keep me on the read with it's relatable ends.

I would like to thank the author for the review copy and all the smiles.

[Surbhi Sareen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you go back to your childhood when your grandma used to narrate stories so that you could sleep, well yes, you got it right, Blemishing the Odds, is one such tale. The story is narrated from a personal experience of father who tells about his love story. The story is about Raghav and Trisha.

The characterization is good and I really liked the behaviour and beauty of Raghav and Trisha. Raghav is a spoiled brat like other films while Trisha is a new student whose entry changes the life of Raghav.

Read the full review : https://captivatingmode.wordpress.com...

[Gautam Dutta · Rating 2 out of 5]

The coming-of-age is not a genre but a leitmotif. The Harry Potter saga, works of Rabindranath Tagore, Charles Dickens, Ruskin Bond, Chetan Bhagat, and movies of Ranbir Kapoor- all of them can be classified as coming of age. The theme transcends genres. Coming-of-age fiction can be sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, horror, romance, and just about any genre under the sun. And neither is there any restriction on the age of the central characters. The protagonist can be 5, 15, 25, or even 45. It is charming to see the hero take on responsibilities, develop a different perspective on life, and transform himself or herself from a gawky character to a confident personality. Though in some rare cases, this does not come out true, and the protagonist only ends up self-destructing himself or does not change at all (Reference: Rockstar, The Catcher in the Rye). In all such cases, the presentation of the story is extremely important, as the story itself may not be very novel.
The blurb indicates a coming-of-age story with a potential to go beyond the run-of-the-mill. Unfortunately, the promise ends there itself. The starting of the story read like a Karan Johar flick, with characters half the age! Then the writing became so dull that it proved to be a pain to continue reading. The sentence construction and paragraphing were simply bizarre. At times, the same point was repeated more than once, boring the readers. And at other instances, random and unlinked stuff was presented in succession, leaving one wonder what the author was thinking
(Sample: 'How are your studies going on?' My Mum asked. 'Better. But I do not want all of the to stay in our house'. I replied.(sic))!
The bio of the author states that he is 'itching' to write many more novels. I strongly advice him to enrol himself in a creative writing course.

[Dev Deep · Rating 2 out of 5]

School time. where a lot of things happen which always remains with us as memory. the book is of that kind.
Starting from the title and cover, title is bit confusing and gives no idea about the story and the cover was in need of makeover, it looks like a cover of any government school books. The blurb needed to little more elaborative. Overall, the front of this books lacks the features to attract anyone.
The book is a nostalgic story which a father is telling to his kids as our elders used to tell us. Kind of mainstream topic where a spoiled brat meets a girl and start changing himself, and then some drama.
The small font and the typos is little turnoff for the book. story line seems little slow and narration needed more work and efforts.
Overall, it's a one time read but not that fascinating.
For more reviews visit http://readersthing.blogspot.in/

[Book Reviews & Promotion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received the book from the author in exchange for honest review.
The story revolves around the protagonist Raghav, crazy sort of guy, used to enjoy life, have fun, carefree , nothing to bother about others.
Childhood doesn't get better than this.
The story takes off from the happy school days. One girl came in his life , Trisha was his classmate and Raghav used to love her.
During his school days, he used to be naughty, sometimes drink, smoke, bunk classes.
His parents keeps scolding him.
But Something happened that changed him. Raghav has to deal with the odds.
Will he become responsible?

The writing was simple.
Nice, lovable characters, simple story .
Teenagers,youngsters would like reading it...
I WILL RATE THIS BOOK 4 OUT OF 5 STARS.

[Vaidehi Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book there's a dad who is narrating his tale to his kids. Much like what bedtime stories we used to be fed when we were kids. But this is a life story unlike those fantasy tales. Blemishing the odds is a book that defines how twisted can be the pth and how steady a man could be. In simple words, its a story of transformation. This book qualifies into young-adult romance fiction as we could all live a good life without love but its worthless without that one woman who could pick it up and mould it into a masterpiece. Lets ponder on some characteristics of the book!

Narration:
Harish has been very creative with his characters. You could actually feel the transfofmation of Raghav. On the other hand, Trisha is a character who personifies a typical-indian-girlfriend! The characterization was alive in ink. A great deed as a debut author. Narration is thick, you cannot put it down. I personally felt that story had a lengthy pace, though it was thoroughly enjoyed!

Stuff to be noted: 
• I think blurb and book cover could have been a bit more descriptive. 
• As I said above that the  characterization is amazing but narration is thick. If story would have been more fluid it would be a cherry on cake.
• Language and vocab is reader friendly and the text is all indian-by-heart!

Ratings:
4/5 (A read that you must have!)

[Sayan Basak · Rating 4 out of 5]

BOOK REVIEW OF- Blemishing the Odds


BY Harish Penumarthi

• Reading level: 10.00+ years
• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: HALF BAKED BEANS; First Edition (2016)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9384315508
• ISBN-13: 978-9384315504



A BRIEF OVERVIEW-
Say hello to Raghav, an immature, insensitive person who is apathetic about everyone else except himself. His life revolves around his parents and his friends. He is among the bad books of all his Teachers. Until one day, when Trisha, a new entrant; mesmerizes him at the very first glance. He finds a friend, savior, nurturer and an inamorata in her. Just when he thinks that everything has been set out in a picture perfect manner, life throws a series of ghastly surprises at him. Will he change for good or stick to his immature stand of "My Life, my rules" and screw it all up? This tale journeys across all the ups and downs a student could possibly encounter. The transformations that a student may endure, the courage and guts one needs to have in order to dodge all predicaments and eventually sketch the perfect end to all his agonies.
REVIEW OF THE BOOK-
The title gives us a blunt hint that throughout the book we will feel the joy of “SPOILING” the odds. Indeed, in life, we face numerous pre planned circumstances. But we should blemish those to move on. Harish Penumarthi has beautifully crafted the plot in a very lucid style, so that even kids, reading the novel, can find themselves enjoying and at the same time motivating too.
“Life keeps throwing me stones.
And I keep finding the diamonds...”
The novel deals with ups and downs along with the struggle we face very frequently, especially in our school life. For instance, many of us do not take notes in the class. But when the teacher says, “there’s a new girl in the school, who needs the notes, we put up our hands first”. Here too, we have Raghav and Trisha in the same circumstance I mentioned. But the entire story changes if the girl suddenly falls for the person who popped up his hands first.
„So, who is going to help her with the notes and syllabus? ‟ She asked.
I instantly raised my hand volunteering for it. The whole class, including my teacher, started laughing. I looked around, quizzed, not knowing what they were laughing at.
„Manage keeping yourself updated with the notes and syllabus first, and then you can think about others.‟ our teacher admonished.
The class kept laughing. I looked at everyone in disgrace. The new girl had her eyes fixed on me. It seemed as if she was lost in thoughts.
This book is as fun as it is motivating. Though it is filled with humour throughout the book, somewhere between the lines we find it to be inspiring. On many occasions I felt very much related to Raghav, especially in the mischief deeds at school.
We have both family and the friends’ perspective in the novel. In our school life we all used to get beatings and shootings’ from our parents and a tinge of love from our grandparents. From Love, family, emotions till lessons; this book will drive us back to our old golden school life.

POSITIVE ASPECTS-
1. THE NOSTALGIC PLOT.
2. THE INSPIRATION BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE STORY.
3. THE “BLEMISHING THE ODDS” FACTOR.
4. THE LUCID LANGUAGE.

NEGATIVE ASPECTS-
1. I think the author could have made the school life more nostalgic with more memories. Throughout the book, I felt that the plot needed a bit more liveliness to it.

THE FAVOURITE REFERENCE-
„Well, those were the good old days of my life. I wish I had a time machine. I would
Teleport myself to that age. Everything was magical and challenging. Every second was full of life. Those old days are long gone.‟ I sighed.
THE FAVOURITE QUOTE-
I looked straight. My eyes started piling up with tears. I tried to stop the flow but the dams to both my eyes had broken. Malfunctioning makes you look sheepish at times. My lips started frowning. Within no time, tears started rolling down my cheeks and I buried my face in Trisha’s lap and started crying.
„Please don’t go.‟ I begged.

I loved the emotions attached to it
RATINGS-
Overall I would like to rate the book 41 on a scale of 50.
4 stars out of 5
1. Originality of the plot and sub plots- 7/10
2. Net emotions in the story- 8/10
3. Usage of words and phrases-9/10
4. The title, cover and the illustration-9/10
5. The net impact on the readers- 8/10
Overall, I enjoyed the NOSTALGIC SCHOOL JOURNEY throughout the book.
“The Greek word for "return" is nostos. Algos means "suffering." So nostalgia is the suffering caused by an unappeased yearning to return.”
But then, you have to
BLEMISH THE ODDS
KUDOS TO Harish Penumarthi


Reviewed by-
Sayan Basak
Kolkata

[Gowtham Sidharth · Rating 2 out of 5]

check out my other reviews at http://readersrejoice.blogspot.in/

BLEMISHING THE ODDS:
The story starts with prologue, kids urging their father to tell a story about his childhood, and thus we enter into the world of ragav. A typical story about back bencher who sucks at studies and hated by everyone meets a girl, falls in love, a family tragedy that motivates him, seeks redemption by studying harder, scoring top rank, getting a scholarship, pursuing higher studies, marring love of his life.

That's pretty much the whole story, the blurb and prologue give away the entire thing. There's nothing much left to keep the page turning, character and dialogues are artificial, lacks a level of emotional geninuity. Other than few nostalgic moments the story seems so surreal, one cliche after another, a subplot that dosen't move the story. As coming of age young adult genre, author has a vast area to explore about puberty, sex, sexual knowledge and lot more. but author failed to do so instead he decided to go with a single line .

"girls matured, not mentaly but physically"


The language treatment is so amateurish, most places feel like word by word translations of an Indian writing. Most debut Indian authors make two common mistakes,

One, Language treatment, English language structure differ much from Indian languages. word by word translation of colloquial idioms and phrases are annoying and won't work. In most case, the emotions and jokes lost their meaning and value during this translation,


Two, Showing off their vocabulary skills, some authors think using complex words make them good writers which is plain awful. Writing is not just about words, one should have proper knowledge of history and usage of the word, who uses the words "fortnight" and "blucking" in the same line.


Above mistakes can be easily solved with proper editing. This book had the worst editorial team. tons and tons of typos, grammar and punctuation errors. even with the blurb in the behind, how come no one checks that in editorial and publishing dept. I hope the author changes these issues in his future works.

Overall, worth a shot, I appreciate the author's effort on trying a new genre. All the best for his future works.

[Jasleen Kaur · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book only helped me reaching one book closer to my goodreads target. It didn’t help me in any other manner. But it can be a good read for those who have just started reading. The author was good with words but the creative aspect was less.

You can read the complete review here:
https://thesubtlebraiding.blogspot.in...

[Aakanksha Mishra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blemishing the odds

The one thing I loved the most about this story was that it took my back to my schooldays. It was really difficult for me to control my tears after reading some incidents as they made realize how much I miss my school. Plus point to the book.

Now coming to the story, the plot is centered around the protagonist, Raghav. He is a teenager and a highly spoilt brat. He was a kind of backbencher who never studies and are always in trouble because of their poor grades. But his life changes when a new girl enters his class, Trisha, a beautiful, intelligent chik who becomes the diva of the school instantly. Destiny plays its roles and both of them become friends but later they realize they have already fallen in love. But this lovey - dovey phase don't last long and a disaster happens in his life which turns his life upside down but that disaster also changes his attitude towards life.

Many of you will relate yourself to the story as most of the incidents may have happened in your life in your high school and you will shed some tears while reading those incidents.

The language of the book is easy but has some typos. Some words were misprinted. But the narration is good and commendable. I don't find the cover of the book very appealing but the story is really good so it is okay to read a book with attractive text rather than a book with beautiful cover and poor story.

[Ravi Gurunani · Rating 4 out of 5]

REVIEW- Blemishing The Odds is Young-Adult Fiction novel and as the title suggests, it's a story about a guy who faces the pre planned obstacles life throws towards him and how he blemishes them all to be successful.

I received free copy from the publisher in exchange of an honest and unbiased review.

Book Title and Cover- Book Title is appropriate and discloses what is inside the book. Cover is eye pleasing and suitable with the YA- Teenage Love theme.
Blurb is straight and further discloses about the book. It could be improved in the next edition of the book.
Overall, First Impression of the book, attracts the readers.

Language and Narration- Language of the book is lucid. Narrative style of author is amazing and binds the readers with the book. Dialogs are short, crisp and appropriate, as the story covers the teenagers.

Characterization- Raghav is the main protagonist of the book and is a spoilt brat who later changes himself to become a responsible guy.
Trisha is Raghav's love interest. She's a typical girlfriend and an amazing lover.

I loved the character development of Raghav. Harish artistically develops his characters as the story continues. The transformation of Raghav from a spoilt brat to a responsible guy was amazing.

All other sub characters are handed properly with the plot. The family scenes were relatable.

Storyline and Plot- Blemishing The Odds is one of the beautiful YA fiction novels, which not only serves an entertaining tale but also inspires us to face and win against our odds.

Story is filled with humor and readers will relate with the character Raghav. It was fun to read about the mischievous deeds Raghav did with his friends and his pure romance with Trisha.

RATING-
Book Title and Cover- 3.5/5
Language and Narration- 4/5
Characterization- 3.5/5
Storyline and Plot- 3/5

[Siddhartha Golu · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Blemishing the Odds is the story of Raghav, a boy in his teenage years working his way through the tumultuous life of a typical teenager. Every one of us has gone through these things at some point in our lives - the ups and downs of high school years, those silly dramas with your friends, the first crush which you presume to be "love" in your naivety, the endless teasings and much more.

This book is intended to be a light read, and so you have to treat it like that. Please don't expect to gain any "literary merit," and ignore the few grammatical mistakes spread here and there. Also, I was occasionally put off by the writing style of conveying certain emotional situations in a matter-of-fact way, but considering it's the debut work by the author; you can overlook these shortcomings and just enjoy the story. It's a commendable effort by the young author, and I wish him all the success in the world!

[Devansh M. Desai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book name: Blemishing the Odds
Author: Harish Penumarthi
Published by: Half Baked Beans Publishing
Pages: 165
Genre: Fiction, Young-Adult Romance

--
Review-

Blemishing the Odds by Harish Penumarthi is a young-adult romance fiction novel that centers on the themes of overcoming the obstacles of life and living it to its fullest.
I'm gonna keep it short because ...to be really honest, I skipped a hell lot of boring portions; yeah, it's only 165 pages but certain portions of it seem half baked (no pun intended, simple irony).

The Positives-
1. Unlike other common YA genre novels, this one doesn't have much blatant sexual content. Thank you, dear author for writing pure romance.
2. Makes the reader nostalgic; transports them to their days in the higher secondary.
3. Portrays teenage infatuations and attractions with brilliance.
4. Long story, short and crisp narration. That is one aspect I love in the books of the genre, keeping it short but at the same time not rushed even during the highs and lows of the story.

The Negatives-
1. The line-editing of the story could have been done better. Why? Because half of the dialogues didn't sound like that of 15 year olds.
2. Editing and typesetting errors at some places where I found typos.
3. Twists; didn't hit the notes they should have.
4. Lastly, being a first person narrative, the story had certain limitations in terms of the actions happening around the central character.

...and that'll be all.

Now, the ratings...
Cover - 4/5
Premise - 4/5
Presentation - 3/5
Blurb - 3.5/5
Characterization - 3.8/5

Hence, overall, it's a 4.3/5 from me.

Final verdict-
Fans of YA and Teen Romance, go for it.

[Nidhi Author · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you read a book and it reminds you of your old memories, trust me;you can’t stop yourself from saying that the book is super awesome. Yes, “Blemishing The Odds” was one such book. I got so engrossed while reading the book that could not stop myself from completing it in one go. The book for many times made me forget that Raghav & Trisha are the characters in the book. I felt as if I was living in those characters. The book all over revolved around Raghav’s life. A spoilt boy who never cared for studies, but had a crush on Trisha, who was studious in studies. It is rightly said no human understand few things by scolding but understand only when life teaches them the same lesson. The same was with Raghav. He never cared about studies but suddenly he was serious regarding his studies and marks. Trisha’s entry in Raghav life was a turning point in his life. He became a responsible boy now. The story goes through various mixed emotions. At some parts it made me laugh a lot, at some made me emotions and at most of the parts reminded me of mg school times, my crush and my friend circle. Harish wrote the book in a very uniques style. I loved the way he presented each and every character in the book. It was a well constructed plot. Among the books, I read this month; ” Blemishing The Odds” became my favourite one. I completely enjoyed reading the whole book. A suggestion to the people reading this review, ” No matter to which ever age group you belong to, do read this book. It will surely take you down the memory lane.”

[Divya Ramnath Bandodkar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review:
I remember telling my grandmother to narrate to me the stories of her childhood. I was always to hear them from her. 'Blemishing the odds' is one such tale. It will make you nostalgic in the case if you are a parent and excited in the case you are a child. The story will make you visit your school days.
The story is centered around the protagonist, Raghav. He is a spoilt brat. He doesn't study and is never in good books with his teachers. A new girl, Trisha, enters his school and his life. This proves to be a turning point. There will be many of you who will relate to both the characters. The story is an inspiring one. The pace of the story is average. There are many instances in the story where you'll laugh and a few where you'll shed a tear. The story is a tapestry of varied emotions. It will make you believe that not everything in life is permanent. And that destiny is pre-written.
There are a few things which this story teaches you.
Never give up.
Jealousy is part and parcel of relationships.
Merits:
The innocence.
Demerits:
(These are my thoughts.)
The story dates back to the times of Kuch Kuch Hota Hain i.e. 1990s. I wonder whether PG owners during those times allowed accommodations to guys and girls to stay together. Secondly, I wonder whether love couple during those times indulged in PDA.
I rate:
Cover: 2.5/5
Characters: 3/5
Story: 3/5
I rate 'Blemishing the odds' with 3/5 stars.