Book Review : Wild Card 3 by Asfiya Rahman @doonwriter @HalfBakedBeans

Title : Wild Card 3

Author : Asfiya Rahman

Genre : Sports Fiction ; Novella

Pages : 137

I received this Review Copy from Half Baked Beans in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Half Baked Beans and Book Marketing Consultant Tanvi Jain!!

Blurb

Being a teenager on the threshold of adulthood can be a very confusing time. Add to that a wheelchair, an overprotective father and a judgmental society and you get a peek into Roshni’s world.

Wild Card 3 is the story of Roshni Mehrotra, daughter of tennis champion Karan Mehrotra. As she starts college she is looking forward to living life on her own terms. Roshni has been in a wheelchair since the day she was born and she accepts it as a part of her life but as she steps out into the real world will people be able to see beyond her wheelchair? She thinks she knows what she wants but is her dream within her reach or is she grasping for the stars?

Karan has always tried to support her but has his love ended up smothering her dreams or giving them wings? Find out how Roshni discovers herself and her true destiny and how the people we love are always there for us even when it may seem they aren’t.

Review

Wild Card 3 is the third book in the Wild Card series by Asfiya Rahman. Despite it being a series, Wild Card 3 can also be read as a standalone novel, there was a quick summary in the beginning of the book which summarized the first two in the series. So the readers wouldn’t really be encountering any problem regarding the back stories if they are starting the series with this book.

Wild Card 3 is a sport fiction, it talks about the journey of a wheelchair Tennis player towards the grand Wimbledon. If you are someone who doesn’t know anything about Wheelchair Tennis then this book will throw some light on it. And this sport actually seemed pretty interesting. The plot was tad basic and plain. The story revolves around four people and their connection with tennis and Wimbledon. The story was narrated from the perspective of all these people and the narrative switch the author took from one character to another was very smooth and cool, and not at all confusing.

The language and vocabulary used in the book was simple and modest which made it easier to read. Even kids, young readers and beginners can read it without much difficulty. As far as parental guides are concerned this book is highly decent and good. It was a quick read. This book will give the readers the audacity to dream and to fight and work for it. The character of Roshni was really motivating. And her self-doubts on her ability, her insecurities as a teenager in new environment and all was very akin and relatable. The changes that occurs in the closely knitted relationship of a father and daughter as the child grew older was portrayed fantastically through Karan and Roshni. The feelings and emotions a parent undergoes when their child becomes distant in their quest to become their very own person was said very subtly.

There were only two slight disappointments in this book, the first one was, there wasn’t many characters in the book, there were hardly six characters and only five of them played a major role. It would’ve been really nice if the author had given space for these characters to grow, flourish and develop. The second issue was that, there weren’t really many dialogues in the book, it kind of felt like a monologues which made the book mildly distant from the readers, and so connecting with the book at an emotional level felt pretty difficult. These are the two drawbacks of this book but to be very frank even the handful of dialogues in the book was very humorous and engaging.

The moral support gained by Roshni and Karan from Vikram and Tahira was extremely beautiful and fulfilling to read. The witty comments from Vikram and Little Aman’s presence and his curious questions made it ultimately adorable and laughable. They all together looked like a happy family and they had a very nice vibe and rapport throughout the book.

The best thing about this book is the tennis match sequences in the book was written down amazingly spectacular, it was pretty much nail-biting and almost felt like watching a match. It would have been even more if the author included more such match sequences. The process of going and participating in a tournament like Wimbledon has been told way too hastily on the go, that felt very odd. And also the ending felt quite abrupt. The author could’ve been bit more elaborate.

My Views

Wild Card 3 actually taught me a lot of things, for example like how to approach a person, how to try things your heart craves for, how to stop assumptions, how to support and be there for someone et cetera. I also learn a few things about Wheelchair tennis, I don’t why this sport never occur to my mind before. By the way the author had described the match sequences it felt like it was much more interesting than the normal tennis. And I should thank the author for writing about it, if it’s not for her, I wouldn’t aware of it right now.

Though the book was very simple and short I still liked the characters and the way the author had formulated the plot and went ahead with it. This made me want to read the first two books as well. So let’s hope I get a chance to read them one day, very soon.

On the whole, it was a nice book, it had a good motivational factor and had something solid to convey to the readers.

My rating for this book would be 3.5 out of 5 stars

I recommend this book to beginners who are trying or struggling to start making reading as a habit. I would also recommend this book to sports lovers precisely tennis lovers and to people who wanted to have a short and quick read. This book would be perfect for you guys.

So here’s the link to buy this book!!

Do read this book and tell me how you feel about it!!

Happy Reading Folks!!

~ Meenu

Book Review of “Wild Card 3” by Asfiya Rahman. It is a nice quick read which revolves around Tennis!!

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