When you Want to Save the Planet but Lack Attendance: A Quasi-Autobiography by Niranjana Balram
In Indian colleges today, attendance is the only motivation to attend classes. Niranjana Balram rejected a four-year-long dream to attend university in the United States even after being accepted by top universities because the cost exceeded the worth.
In her journey to look for more affordable solutions, she decides to apply to universities that best suited her and somehow ends up having to attend one year at an Indian college. However, she hates it and drops out.
If you’ve struggled with maintaining the bare minimum attendance percentage, were dissatisfied with the college education you’re receiving or found it difficult to find the right college for you, this book is a humorously narrated personal journey of one girl’s dream of finding her perfect college. (Blurb taken from Goodreads)
Sagarika Says: In this quasi-autobiography, “When you want to save the planet but lack attendance” by Niranjana Balram, she is making her way to her dream college, and along the way, gets to experiment with the Indian college system. But, the Indian college system doesn’t meet up to her standard of education, and Niranjana soon finds herself in a predicament that will change the course of her life forever. The novel definitely deserves a 4-star rating. An eloquently written novel is an understatement for this book. The author had a bold word choice when writing the story and added sarcasm when it’s most needed. I loved the intense, emotional dialogue, and the vivid scenery that was painted for me. For instance, I could really sense the feelings that Niranjana had when her mother experienced the traumatic seizure and I felt warmer just at the thought of the stifling, hot solar lab. The book was also quite humorous at times, and some events in the novel were very much relatable to my very own day-to-day experiences. I absolutely loved playing “Bluff” with Niranjana, because I understood the irritation in not be able to find the perfect level of difficulty in my education.