Born Confused by Indian singer/lyricist Tanuja Desai Hidier is not the most well-known novel of our time, but it is a beautiful work of art that should be given the credit it deserves. The book features American-born Dimple Lala, the child of Indian parents who firmly believe in the customs and traditions of their father-land. Dimple is not your typical heroine; she is slightly overweight and battling low self-esteem stemming from her perfect best friend Gwyn.

The plot thickens as Dimple's parents pick a “suitable boy” for her. At first the boy, Karsh, seems boring and she is resigned not to like him. As she gets to know him, though, Dimple likes him more and views him as the artistic person he is. Right on cue, Gwyn swoops in and tries to win Karsh, making Dimple feel used and friendless.

What makes this story so profoundly meaningful is that throughout, Dimple learns more about herself and how special she is. Reading this I felt I was learning about myself and how bad things can be fixed.

The novel also has a steady influence of Indian culture which I, who am not Indian, found extremely interesting. Reading it, I learned a lot about life in India and its culture.

Hidier's style also plays a big part in this novel's magic. Sparkling, colorful descriptions give life to New York's cultural clubs and you can almost hear the music playing.

Reading Born Confused, I learned about friendships, relationships and how to be happy with myself. If you can learn all this from a novel, then the author is clearly very talented. I definitely recommend this book to anyone, but mostly girls because it hits close to home.