I've been a Novoneel Chakraborty reader since 2013 and I've no qualms in admitting that I've read ALL of his works (yes, even the ones he had written before I got introduced to him). Having said that, I'm not biased towards him. It's just that he has been an extremely dependable and consistent writer for all these years. As if you know, no matter where you're in life and what you're up to, each year, there will be one Novoneel book release and you'll get to touch base with your roots. His 18th, The Heartbreak Club: One Girl Vs One Twisted Legacy is no different in 2024!
About the book: A DARK ROMANCE IN WHICH A GIRL’S SEARCH FOR HER SISTER LEADS TO REVELATIONS ABOUT A SINISTER LEGACY.
Kisha Sen arrives in Fairmont High International School, Noida, from London as part of a student exchange programme. An achiever and all-rounder, she immediately catches everyone’s eye, including that of the school’s rugby star, Tavish Mathur. But unbeknownst to those around her, Kisha is on a mission of her own. Her elder sister, Anara, went missing from the school a few months ago, and Kisha has a tip that the notorious Heartbreak Club may have something to do with it.
The sinister club is all-powerful yet shrouded in secrecy. All Kisha knows is that they can make your life hell if they decide to. And no one appears to know how to contact them. But Kisha must make her way into the club, however impossible that may seem, if she is to find out what happened to Anara. The more she discovers, the murkier it all gets—but Kisha is not afraid to flirt with danger. Or risk her own life.
In this dark romantic thriller, Novoneel Chakraborty creates a world of passion, lies and revenge where no legacy, however strong, can stand up to a sister’s steely determination.
Let's start by addressing the two elephants in the room - his change of publishing houses after what seemed like AGES with Penguin and his shift to a fictional world he hadn't tried before - high school thrill! To say that this changed a lot would be wrong because after wrapping this book up in a few hours, I can say that the Chakraborty magic hasn't changed even a wee bit.
Now, the cover. While it might look unassuming to say the least upfront, when you try capturing it on camera, you see the glow from the smartphones staring right back at you, making you feel like they're actually lit up with notifications in real life - a job well done by the designer and the team.
This book starts off at Fairmont High and ends at Fairmont High and everything is a part of Fairmont High. Kisha, Tavish, and THC seemed like characters we've known forever since they've been around us for a very long time and this familiarity is what kept me going for the 160'ish pages that were written surrounding them. Well-written characters have always been a selling point for Chakraborty and this book goes on to prove his mastery over 'stories,' if I can put it that way.
They say that the journey is sweeter than the destination and rightfully so - the journey of the King, Queen, Bishop, Rook, and Pawn - are at the heart of The Heartbreak Club and you would have no idea what I'm talking about if you don't go along this journey with the characters. The Easter Eggs that I could find in the book, I have no idea if they were intentional or not, but felt like the marks of a writer who has evolved to write for himself & make it for the masses at once - making them worth it. One such easter egg that I'd love to talk about is the use of the red-black colour theme of the cover & the font used for the blurb which reminded me of the 1st ever How about the Sin Tonight cover (if you know, you know!).
When it comes to the cons, well, I missed the now so-familiar Novoneel special quotes in the book, but I know that the target audience for this book wouldn't need those quotes which we long-time readers swear by and that's okay, I think. We all need to move on with time and be happy with what has been given to us and we cannot thank Chakraborty enough for being that rock-solid picture of sanity in all our lives at least once a year through his books. The ending to the book made me go, WTF because the cliffhanger irked me off to another level, but that conversation is for some other day (very soon, I'm sure).
Overall, this book took me on a journey and I loved it. Even though I don't have a favourite character YET, the guessing game is on and I'm hoping against hope that the next book gives me the one I've been looking for.
To, khichdi and biryani!
To, all of us who have lost something precious...