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  • Published: 30 September 2011
  • ISBN: 9781446498859
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 272

(Un)arranged Marriage




A very contemporary and humorous novel about the kind of cross-cultural conflicts felt by many young people today.

MANNY WANTS TO BE A FOOTBALLER. OR A POP STAR. OR WRITE A BESTSELLER. HE DOESN'T WANT TO GET MARRIED...

'Harry and Ranjit were waiting for me - waiting to take me to Derby, to a wedding. My wedding. A wedding that I hadn't asked for, that I didn't want. To a girl who I didn't know... If they had bothered to open their eyes, they would have seen me: seventeen, angry, upset but determined - determined to do my own thing, to choose my own path in life...'

Set partly in the UK and partly in the Punjab region of India, this is a fresh, bitingly perceptive and totally up-to-the-minute look at one young man's fight to free himself from family expectations and to be himself, free to dance to his own tune.

  • Published: 30 September 2011
  • ISBN: 9781446498859
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 272

About the author

Bali Rai

Bali Rai's first novel for young adults, (un)arranged marriage, created a huge amount of interest and won many awards, including the Angus Book Award and the Leicester Book of the Year. It was also shortlisted for the prestigious Branford Boase first novel award. Rani and Sukh and The Whisper were both shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize. Bali is also the author of the hugely popular Soccer Squad series for younger readers.
Bali was born in Leicester where he still lives, writing full-time and visiting schools to talk about his books. You can visit him at www.balirai.co.uk

Also by Bali Rai

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Praise for (Un)arranged Marriage

This is a highly readable debut from Bali Rai that teenagers of any culture will identify with.

The Guardian

'Rai has an unselfconscious style, and a dry sense of the ridiculous... an appealing subervise edge'

Times Educational Supplement

Absorbing and engaging... a highly readable debut from Bali Rai that teenagers of any culture will identify with

Observer

'Energetically and pacily written.... There is a vitality and freshness about Rai's writing that engages the reader.... An intriguing debut that promises well for the future' Books for Keeps

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A feature about teenage fiction to coincide with the EIBF.

Stephen Russell, The Big Issue In Scotland

Brilliant Anglo-Asian writer exploring alienation in Leicester's Punjabi culture.

Amanda Craig, The Times

This smashing book is a moving story of alienation and identity...This great book fulfilled my expectations...gripping and very interesting.

Albane Descas (British Section, College des Hauts Grillets), Teen Titles

'Any teenager under pressure from his or her parents to conform will enjoy this novel'

Guardian