The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi!!!

            There are some books that need no introduction. They are just already declared EPIC and no one needs a review to purchase and read them. These books are just meant for discussion as no one tries to pull it down as its almost everyone's favorite. And an amazing scenario happens when its by an author who's the First Timer. A debutante getting such success and acclaim assures that even if the book will not be an EPIC kind of a tale, it will at least end up being an averagely written book. After Chetan Bhagat, people kept on talking about who's the next. Many authors came, turned Bestsellers but no one bought the kind of revolution that Chetan Bhagat bought with his first book following other 5. And finally, 2 years back, we witnessed another Revolution through the first book of SHIVA TRILOGY written by AMISH TRIPATHI. Being a debut book of his, it got into Bestsellers in its first week itself. The mystery is yet to be solved that who told Indian audience that this first timer has written a tale that will touch hearts. :-) But whatever, Kudos to you Mr. Amish.

              Synopsis: Shiva, one of the chief Hindu deities, is portrayed in an entirely different light in Amish Tripathi's debut novel, The Immortals of Meluha. The first book of The Shiva Trilogy, The Immortals of Meluha charts Shiva's journey from the mountains with his Tibetan tribesmen to the kingdom of Meluha, which is occupied by the Suryavanshis, a race of people who are descendants of Lord Ram and live along the banks of the River Saraswati.

      When an episode involving the preserving drug somras leaves his throat blue, Shiva is hailed as the 'Mahadev' according to an ancient prophecy, the man who'll lead the Suryavanshis to victory against the Chandravanshis. Caught in the middle of a tense conflict, Shiva must now make some quick decisions to save Meluha from the wrath of the evil Chandravanshis and their twisted and disfigured assassins, The Nagas.

        Will Shiva be able to rise to the occasion and save the clan of the Suryavanshis?

        Why does the Princess Sati shy away from speaking to him every single time?

        Who are the Nagas, and why are they assisting the Chandravanshis?

        Set in 1990 B.C., the book takes readers on an imaginative and exciting journey through Amish's world. 

           Amish Tripathi does have the flick of writing. He knows how to build a story using the mythological characters and how to merge two stories together. It is not that he has just tried it for the sake of doing something that is uncommon in the writing industry. Few months ago, I read Ashwin Sanghi's The Krishna Key. This book has the same smell. The way Amish Tripathi has brought- Mythology, philosophy, history and Geography together is what most writers can only dream of. He made his protagonist so huge that its hard to believe that its a fiction story. You want to believe each and every sentence of the book.

           All the characters in the book are beautifully described. Not one of the major characters can be said to be left incomplete or un-happening. Everyone has their role pretty good in the story. Shiva is someone whom I have become so fond of that I am happy this book has come as a Trilogy that I will get to read more about him in The Secret of The Nagas and The Oath of the Vayuputras. Parvateshwar and Nandi are my favorite characters after the Shiva. Then imagining Sati is another good part about the book. It's always lovely to imagine love interest of the protagonist while reading a book. :-) Then, Daksha is wonderfully described. Anandmayi is one character I am still unsure about. I didn't enjoy her part in the pre-climax. It could have been skipped.

          The first action scenarios in the initial pages of the book is wonderful to start with. Then the way he migrates to Meluha. Later the Somras part and its explanation is interesting. Then the entrance of Sati and description of Shiva's dance and then their marriage, later on, is a treat. Once when people start calling Shiva their God and savoir, and the way Shiva react to them by smiling to himself, are laughable moments in the book. Even you get an urge to see the blue-colored neck of this Neelkanth. Then Parvateshwar's hatred for him is beautifully portrayed. I liked all the contradictions that were shown between the two. Later on, just before the war when Shiva tells everyone that there's a Mahadev in all and asks them to exclaim,"Har Har Mahadev", it is another good-to-imagine part. 

        These are very few parts about which I have talked otherwise I would say that the book is a good One time read. Actually, it can be read many a times but I ask all to read it at least one. Missing this one would be a mistake. And as Karan Johar has already purchased the rights of this book and Hrithik is been said to play Shiva, I must really say that do read it before the movie comes. Because this book is too grand to even imagine. I don't know how can someone build a set that can look as huge as what is being defined in the book. I don't want to speak any negative points about the book because I didn't feel irritated while reading any part. I just didn't want the Climax to be incomplete in such a way even though it is to be continued later in the 2nd book. I was enjoying the tale of warriors, their laws, values, morale, evilness etc. I want all of you to read the Trilogy in a sequence by giving yourself time of 7-10 days. :-) The SHIVA TRILOGY 1 is 400 pages of POWER.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank!!!

            I am done reading Anne Frank's "The Diary of a Young Girl". This book has been published with various titles and in almost 60 different languages in all over the world. Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who hid herself with her family during the World War II wrote a diary which was found later on from the spot and handed over to her father. Later it was decided that the book should get published as people need to know what Jewish suffered. Unfortunately, Anne Frank wasn't alive when her book got released and the world read her words which she wrote in her moments of privacy. This is the first time when I have read something that is related to World War II hence I had great expectations from the book. But unfortunately, all the hopes of reading something that is epic has been shattered as I didn't find the book interesting. Many of you might say that I am heartless as I am unable to understand the plight of the girl and her likes who hid themselves for month just to save themselves but then, I wasn't reading this book to sympathize with someone. I was reading it to learn about some accounts and events during World War II and what I got to read is a diary of an average teen girl who talked much about her emotions than the situation her country went through during 1942-44. 

            During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Anne Frank received a diary as one of her presents on her 13th birthday. She began to write in it on June 14, 1942, two days later, and twenty two days before going into hiding with her father Otto, mother Edith, older sister Margot, and another family, Hermann van Pels, his wife Auguste, and their teenage son Peter. The group went into hiding in the sealed-off upper rooms of the annex of her father's office building in Amsterdam. The rooms were concealed behind a hidden door. Mrs. van Pels' dentist, Fritz Pfeffer, joined them four months later. In the published version, names were changed: the van Pels are known as the Van Daans and Fritz Pfeffer as Mr. Dussel. With the assistance of a group of Otto Frank's trusted colleagues, they remained hidden for two years and one month.

             Anne described to "Kitty", as she addressed her diary, her close relationship with her father, her lack of daughterly love for her mother, with whom she felt she had nothing in common, and her admiration for her sister's intelligence and sweet nature. She did not much like the others initially, particularly Auguste van Pels and Fritz Pfeffer (the latter shared her room). She was at first unimpressed by the quiet Peter; she herself was something of a chatterbox (a source of irritation to some of the others). As time went on, however, she and Peter became very close, though she remained uncertain in what direction their relationship would develop.

They were betrayed in August 1944, which resulted in their deportation to Nazi concentration camps. Of the group of eight, only Otto Frank survived the war. Anne died in Bergen-Belsen from typhus in early March, about two weeks before the prisoners were liberated by British troops in April 1945.

               Coming to my take, I would say that if you really want to read something related to the same event, try some other book but definitely not this one. I am still surprised as to how this book is seen as one of the bests of 20th century. Whatever, what I found in the book was nothing but a normal teen girl writing her experiences on daily, weekly and sometimes on monthly basis. It has almost everything that we feel when we our teenagers- the avoidance by one of our parents, the less understanding with parents, little jealousy with siblings, a crush on guy-next-door and a doubt whether we are straight, bisexual or homosexual. Then, after talking about all these experiences, the diary-writer also tells some of her experiences related to the World War but seriously speaking, its not a bit interesting or something that can hold you back to complete this book in a sitting. It took me 3 days to complete because every time I picked it up, I wanted to keep it back in the half way as there's nothing that attracted me towards it. 

 That's all.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU 

Someone Like You by Durjoy Datta and Nikita Singh!!!

            It has been a long time since I have read a book. A week or two. Even when I have my Unit Test exams tomorrow, I read Durjoy Datta/Nikita Singh's "Someone Like You". There's something interesting about these writers. The way Akshay Kumar lines up his movies at the period of 3-4 months consistently, Durjoy Datta and Nikita Singh do not fail to publish a new book every 4-5 months. Their fans would be the most satisfying fans in this country as they get to read their favorite author every time they just start missing them. :-) There's something interesting about this book too. It is not the way all the books of Durjoy Datta has published. First of all, this book is not by his own venture- Grapevine Publication but by Penguin India. He has just made his brand name more bigger. This book does not have a very shiny cover page like every book of his. This book is also missing a tag line that every title of his book carries. And the way both the authors have promoted this book is different than the way they do. And as I am done reading this book, they have also changed their writing style by leaps and bounds. 

            Someone Like You is the story of Niharika Singh. A girl who never thought that she is beautiful until she was in school. She didn't exist for boys and other entities whom every girls want to get an attention from. Then her sister- Simran does a whole make-over which helps Niharika to realize that she is as beautiful as every another girl whom she feels is beautiful than her. She goes to a totally new city for her college. There she meets 3 different boys- Tanmay, Karthik and Akshat. Tanmay ends up being her best friend. Karthik ends up being a mysterious guy in her life about whom she always remain confused. Akshat turns out to be her sister- Simran's ex because of which she finds weird to date him. Pia turns out to be her room-mate and lately, she also becomes her only friend in this new campus. Tanmay starts falling for Pia. Pia also starts liking him in spite of being in a long-distance relationship with Vishal. But, does the book ends with love sagas of all these characters? No!!! It has much more in it. At least 10 times more than what I have described above. I can not talk about them as I don't want any spoilers in this review. Do read the book to enjoy one of the best works in this genre of fiction.

               Coming to both the authors first, I must say that Durjoy Datta is finally changing his writing style with every book and delivering something which I always wanted from him rather than the same sex saga that he used to write. His last book "Till the Last Breath" turned out to be one of my favorites and with this one, he has just matured enough. I am just excited for his next book now. As I, myself, blamed him for over-excessive use of sex in his books, his last book didn't have much of it and this one does not have the word itself, as per my memory. I am too happy to witness this change. And as usual the selection and choice of words that the writer implements in his writing is magical. Just for that, he remains to be my favorite. Coming to Nikita Singh, I didn't like her previous works much but with this one, I can easily say that she has learned quite sooner. I hope she keeps this magic alive and write such character-based stories than sex-related ones. Both of you have already given that kind of book in bulk to us (:-)), now its time to give us such soulful books like "Someone Like You".

              I, generally, write the best scenes that I fall in love with while reading a book. But with this book, it's hard for me to categorize some events than others and term only them as my favorites. Right from the first word till the last, I was intrigued in the story like anything. It's good that people trusted this book and just on the pre-ordering basis, it entered the Bestseller's chart at No. 3 below Amish's Shiva Trilogy. Initially, the way Niharika gives her introduction is lovely. Even Simran is described lovingly. I fell in love with both the sisters initially itself. :-) Then the entrance of boys in Niharika's life is shown neatly without any illogical quotients as it normally happens with love stories. But this book is not just a love story. It is a purely character-based story where each person has a totally new personality, background, thoughts and approach towards life. How they end up being in a single plot is what makes a reader like me excited to turn pages. 

              Later, the hospital scene gave me thousands of goosebumps. The climax is as beautiful and balanced as the whole book is. The entrance of Pia in the book gives a push to the story in the first half. I.. I... I.... actually can't point such incidents anymore. The whole book is perfect. The second half is something I never guessed that the intense level would be such. Someone has said it right- Don't judge a book by its cover page. I would ask all of you to purchase it and keep it with yourself. Whenever you feel low, just pick this book up and you would lose all your tension and frustration. But this book also sends a message across that not everyone can be trusted without much experience and reason nor we should blame someone without knowing all the facts-hidden and obvious. We may never know the gray shades of some, blacks of some and whites of some. I don't know if I should even rate this book but undoubtedly, this is better than most of the book that I have read. I give it 4.75/5. Yes. Believe me. Purchase it right now. And yes, the only drawback that I can point is, no humor-filled one liners. :-(

 Thanks.

  ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU 

The 3 Mistakes of my Life by Chetan Bhagat!!!

             It's a good way to start the new series of Blog with something that I love doing the most. Reviewing books. And more when I have read a Chetan Bhagat's novel. :-) I have already read all the novels of Chetan Bhagat's but the first 4 were read when I was not into this reviewing thing. I have read "The 3 Mistakes of My Life" yesterday as I had to watch Kai Po Che today. And because I don't have a great memory I thought of going through the story once again. And seriously speaking I loved reading the book for the second time too. This is the first time when a novel is been read by me twice. I will never rate Chetan Bhagat's first 4 novels because they bought me into this reading habit which made me read more books and now all of you know what relation I share with books. :-) I am also writing one. Well- 1000s of youth are in our country. Big Deal? Huh! This is what you all would be thinking. But then who cares? Haha! When you are showing attitude even I can. 

              3 Mistakes is a story of three boys where one wants to do big in business while other wants to do great in Cricket and the 3rd one wants to do anything else in life but not being a priest like his father. These 3 friends come together and starts a business by opening a Cricket shop. It does well and they start loving this journey of life. But then certain incidents take place and every thing starts getting difficult. Politics, religion, cricket, love etc enter their life and takes away all the fun and comfort. Book is full of emotional saga and you can not leave it once you start reading it. And when it's book by India's most favorite and entertaining author, you don't need any review to read it, right? So go get it and read. It would be more fun, I think, if you will watch movie- Kai Po Che after reading the book from which it is been adapted. Because I loved watching 3 Idiots as I was done reading Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat yet again a week before that movie released.

              Right from the first page to the last, various distinct ingredients are used to make this book an interesting read. Not a page can be termed as boring. As the book's tag says that it's about Business, Cricket and Religion, all three aspects come in the same order in the book. When it's business, you also love the way they start a business with all the difficulties and grow soon. Then an accident in Gujarat and all goes. The way they try to revamp is again a story. The several events of Gujarat are portrayed very beautifully. Chetan Bhagat have carved them in the book and not just written. Calling the book a Fiction work, he has written all that he had to say about Gujarat. He being a part of the state during his IIM days has shown his experience of it in the book.

           Later, Cricket enters the book and brings more interest. Mention of some real matches generates curiosity. I am sure boys will surely like the parts. Then a character teaching Cricket to a very young boy of 12 years old is another beautiful part of the book. When one fails to achieve something and starts nourishing someone else whom he finds just like himself in the field, the emotion is clearly felt. Kudos, Mr. Author. The entry of one character's relative in the book ruins the perfect life of all. The romantic scene in a parallel world to the main plot is also an interesting read. When Chetan Bhagat writes romance as the secondary topic in his books, no one can even touch him in it. Even his love making scene makes us feel good about young romance while other authors write as if love is all about sex and being physical. 

            The climax yet again a perfect end. It's very hard for an author to scribble real politic that involves religion. The way Chetan Bhagat has shown guts in portraying what views Hindu and Muslims had against each other in Gujarat is scary to read but somewhere everyone of us know that it's truth and it still resides. This is the most gutsy attempt by Mr. CB. I will always admire him for this book if not for any else. This book is also filled with wonderful one-liners and humour elements. Typical Chetan Bhagat stuff, in short. I will be reading his 2 States too for the second time but when the movie based on it would be about to release just as I have done this time. :-) 2 States' adaptation has Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt as lead pair. Let's see what that movie is all about. But for now, I would like all of you to read The 3 Mistakes of my Life if you don't want to miss one of the bests by Chetan Bhagat.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU 

When The Signal Turns Red by Jayanand Ukey!!!

            I finished this quick book in the matter of 3 hours. It is always fun to read a book of less than 200 pages if it has almost every aspect of story included in it that my eyes and mind searches for. Fortunately, this 196-pages book- "When The Signal Turns Red" published by Alchemy Publishers is a good book. The debutante author of this book is Jayanand Ukey who works for an IT company and is also a freelance journalist and blogger. He has a computer engineering degree from VESIT, Mumbai University. In a career spanning a decade, he has kept his hobby alive by writing three books. This book is his first published work. Jayanand lives in Mumbai with his family. As this book is seriously something that stands with other fiction books, I don't understand as to why didn't the author go with a better publisher. This book deserves one. The cover page of the book is beautiful and attractive. And its by none other than my favorite cover designer- Pinaki De. 

              Coming to the story (it's better stated in the synopsis so why use my words? :-))- 

A global ordeal 

A couple in distress 

The struggle to keep afloat 

Prudent thinking in tumultuous times 

Girish and Prajakta are in love. Very soon Girish will be joining the numero uno IT company of the country. He prepares himself by buying expensive clothes and other accessories he had always dreamed of. He and Prajakta have together planned to build on a good bank balance and then meet each others families to talk about marriage, probably after a year or two. Unexpectedly, the families get involved before Girish can join the IT company. Against all odds, the couple manages to convince their family and an engagement date is fixed. But destiny has other things in mind. A global catastrophe mars their plan which leads to the engagement getting annulled. 

Will Girish find a way out of his predicament? Will he ultimately win Prajaktas hand or will he move on in life, learning to live without her? 

            Jayanand Ukey is himself married and hence the way he has described the whole situation on the same topic can be related. He has a good skill of projecting conversations in a story. I, generally, get bored by too much conversation in novels but the way author has written every conversation excited me rather than killing my interest from the novel. He has good narration skills. And the way every twist has been handled is why this book is in my Favorite List at last. Though the topic could have helped the author to dramatize many situations but he kept them realistic so that we can connect the story with ourselves. And he succeeds. 

              Love marriage is shown in a very good light. There is no segment when you would feel that author should have tried some other way to solve a particular mystery or twist. Everything is perfectly written. And the most beautiful thing is that the story is not been stretched or intentionally dragged. Other authors have also talked about the same plot in their books but they have written in 250-pages or more. Here, 196 is all that Jayanand Ukey has used. Yet he has talked about all that is needed to be talked in a book written on this topic. Kudos. Book starts at a high point. And the same zenith is retained till the last page of it. The initial pages itself creates the interest. Later on, when parents of Girish and Prajakta meets for the first time is also kept as a suspense and a heart-beating moment. The meeting itself is wonderful. Then the way Girish and Prajakta feels satisfied with their life is a beautiful segment.

           Later on, the entrance of recession as a twist in the story is something that could happen with anyone's life. Then the marriage being in a danger mode is powerfully described. The role of protagonists' parents is the major reason why one would love reading the book. Specially the role of Mr. Chitre, Prajakta's father. The entrance of Madan in the story creates a fury in us. It is then that I felt the book went little Bollywood-ish else everywhere it's a story of an average Indian family. :-) The climax yet is another beautiful way of how the book has been ended with. I would love to read more stories by Jayanand Ukey in future. And everyone who is excited about their marriage will find heaven in this book. :-)

            The drawback is that the book is been kept away from introducing any of the friends of both the protagonists. It could have added more flavours. The media articles on economy crisis is something I got bored while reading. It should have been avoided. And next problem that I have is with the Publisher. When other fiction books of more pages and popularity are available for just Rs. 100, is 175 a good number at which you are costing the book? Think and revise the cost.

 In all, I give the book- 4/5. Go get it.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

Uff Ye Emotions!!! Book Review!!!

            Finally, I am done reading "Uff Ye Emotions"- An Anthology published by Mahaveer Publishers. This is the first time when I have read an anthology in which various authors have contributed rather than just one. Before this, I have experienced the same while reading Chicken Soup series which has short stories on a basic theme from various different authors. But 206-pages anthology- Uff Ye Emotions has been a totally new concept in which every love story is of 5000 words each by 11 different authors. The good part about the book is that it has the names which are already famous among the category of people who are accustomed with Blogs on Internet portal. The free service by Bloggers are always appreciated as they come up with creative stuffs every week and entertain the masses. No one has to pay to read the stories and articles. They just need to click the blog link.

               Vinit Bansal is the editor of the book who is already a famous author known for his only book "I Am Heartless" which has also been translated into Hindi with the name "Woh Chali Gayi" and recently, work has been started to translate it into Punjabi language too. Talking about Uff Ye Emotions, one thing for which Vinit Bansal should be applauded is the way he has promoted other 10 authors over him. I, being a part of this anthology, can easily say that he worked in the same manner as Aamir Khan worked in Taare Zameen Par. He let the other newbies do the main job and he kept himself as a supporting part of the venture. For this, I would seriously like to salute him. I have never seen such initiative in Fiction Industry of our country by anyone. I would love to work again with you, Vinit sir.

             Coming to the book, I feel that the purity imbibed in each story can be associated with love. None of the story is out of the track or seem to be a wanna-be attempt. Every story has been tried with full passion and interest. Though, with some story it has worked while with some, it didn't. 

      Starting with the first story- Love @ Platform by Vinit Bansal, the main excitement in the story starts when girl contributes in the boy's dream but I didn't want story to end the way it did. 

     The Soulmate by Anjit Sharma again starts from a bus stop in the same way as Vinit sir's story began. The scenario when boy goes to girl's house to ask for her hand is a very terrifying scene. The news articles which state that criminals die one after another is the high point of the story but once again I didn't want climax to be such. 

      Then comes- A Date with Fate by Abhilash Ruhela about which I want to hear from all of you. I can't review myself, right? :-)

       Priyanka Dey's Reminiscences has amazing words at right places which makes every sentence beautiful. I loved reading all the sentences in the story but yet again, I banged my head after the climax. 

       Saurabh Arya's Love in the Times of Turbulence's present part is wonderful but the flashback didn't have the kind of masala that I expect. 

       C. Suresh's A Path of Thorns is the best story for me. It had the ignition that was missing in all the previous stories. :-) Kudos, sir.

       Love Undefined by Pankaj Mittal & Rachna Sheth is a very sweet and unique story. It's very fresh that I have never ever read before. It is another booster in the book. Kudos to both of them.

     Sanhita Baruah's Happily Ever After does well when the surprise scene is been described and how the girl gets snubbed and the after-reaction. 

       Stephen Anthony K's The Intercity Express is initially good but I lost the interest because of almost void interaction between the protagonists. 

       Himanshu Chhabra's I Love You, I love You too is exactly what I expected from him. As he is young in age, he has drafted a story of his age itself. And he has perfectly written what he wanted to. A genuine attempt.

       Drishti Dasgupta's story- And Then...I fell in Love! is a good end to the book. Her language and narration is very good. Book ends on a good note.

             Now, coming to the drawbacks- I have one problem with the selection of the stories. As the stories have been chosen through a contest, all the 10 stories should have been of different types. The first three story itself has the whole process at metro station, local train, bus stop etc. Later on, one story again shares it space at a Railway platform. This repetition of same kind of places and scenes did irritate me. Then, as I have regularly complained above- The climax of many stories has been kept kind of sad or incomplete which does not suit the theme- LOVE STORY. I believe that there are two types of Love Story- Happy and Sad but still....

           Then, I have a personal grudge against the editor of the book. The index itself has the name of Anjit Sharma's story's title incorrect. Soulmate is written "Solulmate". And then, after reading all the stories, I have found the most mistake being made in my story. I have almost found 4-6 mistakes that are done by editor's side. I don't know if the impartiality towards my story is intentional or it is some co-incidence but whatever it is, I am unhappy as my story is not been treated the way I wanted it to. I don't know why I wasn't sent the story for a proof-read after it was been edited for the last time. I recheck my Blog Post twice before posting it. It is obvious that I would react this way when my published work gets spoiled for the reason that I am most sensitive towards. 

          In the end, I would say that after completing the book you will surely feel that you were lost in a world full of love. I will give the attempt of this anthology 3.5/5 stars. You will remember some sentences in the book for all your life.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

        

I Caught Her Young by Major Upendra Dwivedi!!!

             Completed yet another book this month but I am still unhappy. This is not how I usually work when it comes to reading books. My speed has slowed down. I am sure that someone is working Black Magic over me. :-) Whatever, let's talk about the book now. The name of the 222-pages book is "I caught her young" which also has the tagline of "Tale of a Chocolate Cream Soldier". It is written by the debutante author- Major Upendra Dwivedi who is a serving Indian Army Officer. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Sainik School Rewa (Madhya Pradesh). He got trained at one of its kind military academies; the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He has been a bright student and qualified for National Talent Search Examination, Mathematics Olympiad and numerous other competitive Exams. He continues his track-record by achieving podium finishes in all the Army courses he has undergone till date. He is an extensively travelled, a keen observer of life around and believes in cherishing each and every moment of life. He is an avid reader and has penchant for writing as well. He has written many short stories which got published in various Newspapers and magazines.

               The SYNOPSIS of the book says: MANU, a teenager, grows to be a dashing Indian Army Officer, CAPTAIN ABHIMANYU. Each day at Sainik School Rewa (a renowned boarding school), National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun infuse in him a full of life attitude and amazing wit. But, was he equally confident and flamboyant as a child? To overcome his childhood fear of dealing with the fairer sex, he develops a science, CHICKOLOGY, with a set of well defined rules. "Chickology is a science that deals with all aspects of Chick behaviour, ways of attaining their propinquity leading to intimacy and also to drift apart, if need be." 

And ......... his heart skips a beat..many a times. 

LAILA, a popular party chick of Goa.

DIMPLE, a 17 years old Girl Next Door.

AARAGYA, a high headed alumni of Air Hostess Academy, Dehradun. 

Is he a confident flirt or a passionate lover? 

Are Army cadets any different from other youngsters? 

Are they stone hearted or humane? 

Can you hold yourself back from falling in love with defiantly close to real life story of the chocolate cream soldier called CAPTAIN ABHIMANYU? 

              "I caught her young" could have been many times better than the way it has been written. I just didn't get the exact concept of the book. The kind of biography and narration skills the author has, I was expecting a magic from him but unfortunately, I am been let down. I was expecting to know about the life of a soldier and how he struggles at the border yet has a heart of gold and love. I wanted to know how he meets his girl and treats her in a very different way as he has a big heart which is ready to give heart even to the nation. I wanted to know how he sacrifices one of his two lives for love. But what I got to read was the tale of a yet-another-college-boy kind of love story that I keep reading in every chick-lit that releases now and then. Even with chick-lit, magic can be written as I have reviewed in some of my previous book reviews but this one is just another romance fiction novel including Chickology. 

            Though there are some good parts that I would like to point out here- The initial pages is wonderful as author started on a good note by telling about a life of a soldier. Later, when Manu meets Dimple, that's another sweet part of the book. Then both of them getting caught by their parents later on is another part that made me worry yet laugh the way they get caught. The climax is another sweet part which thankfully has not been ended by giving a sad ending and thus ruining the book more. 

            To my dismay, even the cover page of the book is not perfectly made. The structure of the soldier and the shadow of the girl coming out of his body is stretched because of bad pixels. Something has not worked for this book correctly. As per my knowledge, Mahaveer Publisher never let any of their book look such under-ordinary but I don't know what happened with this one. Either it is been published in hurry or there has been some distortion in communication. I will give the book 2.5/5. It is for the target audience- 16-22 age group. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU