The Other Girl – A Little Romance From a Book Reviewer
Since the writer is engaged in a story about a boy named Khalid, it is only fitting that the love interest is calling Abdullah. The story follows a young boy named Khalid’s story. On his birthday, he is introduced to his new schoolmates and is surprised to discover they are all girls.
Kamal is happy to make friends, but not until he has been accepted into the school. But Kamal’s other new friend, Hapu, tells him that he is not as lucky as others, so he begins to try to do things on his own. Kamal decides that he will help his mother with the housework and cook for her instead of going out with his friends. After a few weeks, Kamal starts to realize that his mother does not like his new style of life. She starts to complain to her friends about how Kamal is spending too much time playing video games and staying up late.
Kamal runs off to his friend, Hapu, who tells him to stay away from his mother. Kamal tries to talk to his mother about the way he has been spending so much time with his friends. He tells her that if she ever discovers that he has been spending too much time away from home, he would rather die than live with a “dead” mother. When Kamal and Hapu return home, Kamal overhears his mother telling her friends about how Kamal is spending too much time alone.
Hapu convinces his friends to come after Kamal. Hapu’s father gets word of this and intercepts them. He and Kamal’s mother chase after Kamal and ask him where he has been.
However, Kamal finally tells them where he has been, only to find that they have already returned home. Kamal then tells his mother that he cannot stay with her because hehas left his brothers and sisters. As Hapu points out, the boys and sisters are dead. Kamal decides that he needs to find a way to get home before his brothers and sisters are taken away.
As the friends try to keep up with Kamal in pursuit of their car, Hapu decides to take Kamal on a high speed chase through the desert. But Kamal is too scared to try something that might lead to his death. In fact, he follows Hapu and eventually arrives at his grandparents’ home.
However, once he is there, the chase ends when Sis and her boyfriend break in. Sis is caught on tape, and Kamal decides that he must tell her that she needs to leave him and live with her boyfriend. As Sis is being led away by her boyfriend, Kamal still refuses to go. His grandmother has gotten word that Sis was trying to find a baby sitter for her and puts her daughter in a psychiatric facility.
So, Kamal finds himself in a new sort of reclusive situation, wondering what could have happened to cause him to suddenly become so withdrawn. It is also revealed that Kamal’s grandmother suffers from a mental illness and wants to become “normal”. Kamal is driven by the thought that he must save his grandmother.
