Book Review - The Disappointing 5: When Failures Turn Into Heroes by BOBANGA

My Rating - 4 out of 5 stars

Publisher - Self-Published
Genre - Fiction
Publishing year - 2020
Language - English
ISBN - 978-9353967246
Pages - 239

My Review - 

The Disappointing 5 is a debut book written by Bhim Bobanga (pen name BOBANGA). It is based on the lives of five teenagers who just entered 12th grade. These five people were divided into two groups: in the first, we have Dhruv, Akash, and Sunayna, and in the second group, Robin and Bindya. 

Dhruv is short-tempered and athletic. He beats the crap out of everyone, but his ways start to change when someone comes into his life. The same happened with Akash; when he and Sunayna start spending time together, things turn out pretty well for both of them. It left Sunayna and Robin; they also have lovey-dovey feelings for someone else in their school. 

Sunayna is the teacher's pet and considered smart and hardworking by her friends, Dhruv and Akash. They were one of the popular groups in the school because they were all known for different traits. Akash was known for his introverted and sociopathic behaviour; everyone wondered why someone like Dhruv was a best friend with someone like Akash.

Bindya comes from a wealthy family, but her mother's lack of attentiveness made her feel disappointed. She always tried to be the best at everything to grab her mother's notice and love. But she was still absent from Bindya's life. Robin is the only friend he can rely upon, but she finds her knight in shining armour one day. 

Robin is as studious and intelligent as Sunayna and Bindya, but he lacks the strength to stand up against his tormentor. At home, he feels alone because of his father's oblivious nature and stern stepmother. Bindya and his step-brother were the only two people that means a lot to him. 

Things were going okay for these five, but they all have their little secrets hiding from each other. Sometimes, they feel guilty, but soon overcome it and enjoy the present moment. They all have family dramas to deal with that make them feel more alone and vulnerable. Adults hide their secrets very well, and their children do the same thing. 

Do you remember your teenage days? When you fell in love and didn't share it with your best friends? Things only came out when you got in some kind of trouble. The same thing happened with Sunayna; she fell in love with the right person at the wrong time, and things took a drastic turn when she met a homeless boy named Suraj. These two incidents changed the lives of these five forever. 

The first half is all about school romance and nonsense rivalries, while the second one is about the thrill of chasing the goons and helping the helpless. I like high school drama novels, and there are not so many Indian authors who have developed a plot around it. While reading four books by Zachary Ryan, I expected to find some backstabbing and sassy dramatisation in this book too. Still, Bhim Bobanga surprised me by painting a friendly, kind, and lifelong bonding anecdote. 

It has some formatting and syntax glitches that hinder the reading rate. I observe that the narrative is predictable and cliché in a few places. The author has put effort into showcasing some of the social problems, and I appreciate his efforts. 

The writing style is cogent. I'm a massive enthusiast of high school romances; it's a guilty pleasure of mine. So, I do enjoy reading it, and I recommend it to newbies only. 

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