Jas falls in love with an Indian Muslim girl and gets involved with criminals. Jas is a teenager who has to re-take his exams in order to graduate from high school but whose friends influence him to put more energy into running a scam than into studying. He lives in Hounslow Heath, the part of London near Heathrow airport, where most of the people are of South Asian descent, and most of his friends have graduated from high school, but he and three friends have to repeat their final year. Their teachers criticize them for not being serious enough about school, but the boys have plenty of other worries outside of school, such as tension among different South Asian ethnic and religious groups, and especially parents who have very high expectations of them and strict rules about dating and marriage. Jas has a crush on Samira, who is a Muslim. Even though their families would disapprove of the relationship because of their different religions. Jas goes to his rich friend Sanjay for help, and when Jas finally asks Samira out, Sanjay lets Jas borrow his car and gives him advice on how to impress Samira, such as what to wear, which songs to play in the car, and where to eat. Meanwhile, Jas gets involved in selling cell phones by illegal means, and even though he is scared of getting in trouble, he goes along with his friends' illegal activities. Arun, a friend of Jas, is engaged to a girl named Veena, and Arun's mother causes lots of trouble about the engagement and marriage. Jas tries to help Arun, but Arun's mother makes more and more demands. When Veena buys wedding jewelry that Arun's mother doesn't like, the mother yells at Arun and his brother in front of Jas. Shortly after that, Arun commits suicide by taking an overdose of medicine. At the end of the book, Jas and Samira break up because Jas is jealous of Samira's behavior toward her other male friends and especially because Samira makes an insensitive comment about Arun's death. Jas has a physical and emotional breakdown, and the book ends when he is in the hospital.
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Best part of story, including ending:
I liked this story because it showed friendships among the children of immigrant parents.
Best scene in story:
My favorite scene was Jas and Samira's first date, because Jas and Sanjay had gone into so much detail planning it, from the mash-up CD to dinner at the Lebanese restaurant.
Opinion about the main character:
I liked Jas because he always tried to be helpful and respectful toward everyone, even when he was in very difficult social situations.
