Books To Read if You Love Never Have I Ever

Fatimah Asghar’s beautiful debut is a heartwrenching look at faith, queerness, and community in the face of incredible grief. The narrator Kausar shares Devi’s defiant nature and intelligence though they each wield it in a different way. The book explores sisterhood and echoes the struggle of the intergenerational, female household of the Vishwakumars to connect with each other amidst crushing grief.

Gold Diggers has plenty to offer Never Have I Ever fans, including a coming-of-age story with a magical realism twist. Anita and Neil have been neighbors for their entire lives and while Neil flounders, Anita flourishes, much like Devi. But, when Neil discovers her secret, their plot threatens to tear their community apart. Much like Devi, Anita is ambitious and driven to succeed at almost all costs and like Devi, she can sometimes miscalculate with huge consequences. The book is also being adapted by Kaling for Hulu.

Simran, Nandini, and Mimi are mother, daughter, and grandmother trying to navigate the space between who they are and who they want the other person to be, much like Devi, Nalini, and Nirmala. They find it difficult to come to terms with their differences despite the immense love they have for each other. As they shed their ideals of what they are “supposed” to be, they find their way back to each other.

This coming-of-age book explores the story of TJ Powar. Powar has it all, as the popular, pretty girl in school. But when a harmful meme featuring her and her cousin circulates throughout school, TJ decides to stop removing her facial hair to subvert high school expectations. She starts to feel alienated by everyone except her irritating rival in debate, Charlie. He’s a know-it-all and she’s a smart alec, much like Ben and Devi in Model UN, but there’s something lurking beneath each verbal jab.

Erika L. Sánchez’s beautifully told story of grief, sisterhood, and expectations is breathtaking. Julia is highly imperfect, she doesn’t fit the mold of what daughters of Mexican immigrants are supposed to be. She’s emotional and sharp-tongued like Devi and trying to live up to an ideal standard that her sister Olga set. Julia soon finds herself navigating the death of her sister, Olga, and has to come to grips with the space between her perception and the reality of her sister’s life. Much like the moment that Devi found out that Kamala isn’t so perfect, this book explores the idealism that families place on each other and how to accept that none of us can indefinitely bear the weight of those expectations. Julia sets out to find who her sister really was, with help from Olga’s best friend and boyfriend, and rediscovers herself in the process.

Sara Desai’s latest novel introduces us to pop-culture-obsessed Zara Patel, who is determined to build herself back after a devastating breakup. Zara is focused on her healing era and matchmaking her friends and acquaintances alike until she meets Jay Donovan. He’s a nut she just can’t crack but eventually, he agrees to be set up on a date in exchange for introductions to celebrities that he knows. Their witty repartee is reminiscent of Ben and Devi’s digs, and similarly, Zara and Jay’s relationship crackles with chemistry. How long can they deny the obvious?

Hani Khan is in a pickle, after trying to prove to her friends that she really is bisexual she blurts out that she’s dating a girl from their school, actually. There’s just one problem — it’s all fake and Ishu Dey is the last person she wants to date. Ishu’s overachieving nature is reminiscent of our fav Hindu girl from the Valley and despite Hani and Ishu’s pact, starting as a way to benefit them both, it quickly develops into something far more than either of them expected.

Navdeep Singh Dillon’s debut book about navigating grief and teen romance is as heartbreaking as it is fun, a balance that Never Have I Ever strikes perfectly as well. Sunny G has just lost his brother, who left him only one thing:  a notebook which Sunny is determined to fill up with his rash decisions. But, when a classmate steals his notebook on prom night, he is sent on a raucous, surprising and fun-filled night he won’t soon forget.

Kavya Joshi and Ian Jun are lifelong enemies, the driven and ambitious teens compete over everything with Kavya sometimes going overboard like Devi. Their friends, exasperated by their constant bickering, suggest a competition over the summer to end the feud which Kavya intends to win. But as they complete more challenges Kavya and Ian find they have more in common than they initially thought and sparks fly.