You Only Live Once? : One for Passion. Two for Love. Three for Friendship by Stuti Changle
Pages: 165
Price: Rs. 49 INR(Kindle Edition)
ASIN: B084VQHJPM
Buy here: https://amzn.to/2y2Wtf1
Warm, funny, and life-affirming!’ — Anshu Mor, Stand-up Comedian.
Imagine you disappear.
Twenty years later, three people are looking for you.
One is dying to meet you again.
The other wishes you had never met them.
The third wishes to have met you at least once.
You are one person. Aren’t you? But you are not the same for each one of them.
Find answers about your own life in this inspiring story reflective of the youth in India. You will join a broken but rising YouTube star Alara, a struggling but hopeful stand-up comedian Aarav, and a psycho but zen beach-shack owner Ricky. Together, take the journey to seek the truth behind the famous singer Elisha’s disappearance somewhere by the deep sea in Goa.
Will you be able to find Elisha? Or will you end up finding yourself?
Read yet another gripping tale from the bestselling author of On The Open Road — three lives five cities one startup!
About the author:
Stuti Changle is the popular author of the much-loved book On The Open Road — Three Lives. Five Cities. One Startup who is on a mission to inspire the youth to pursue their dreams with courage. Her book rose to Amazon Bestseller charts in a month of its release and won Notable Mentions in Amazon Kindle’s Pen to Publish competition.
A post-graduate in management from the prestigious B-school IMI, New Delhi and a graduate in Computer Science and Technology, Stuti has worked with corporates like HSBC and Coffee Day Beverages before testing the entrepreneurial waters.
Know more about Stuti by visiting www.stutichangle.com
She loves to connect with her readers on –
Instagram — www.instagram.com/stutichangle
Facebook — www.facebook.com/stutichangle1
Twitter — www.twitter.com/stutichangle
Linkedin — https://www.linkedin.com/in/stutichan…
Quora — www.quora.com/stutichangle
My take on the book:
Elisha, pop sensation and queen of hearts from Goa, married a rich businessman from Czech and suddenly disappears after few years. Alara who believes Elisha is her mother goes back to Goa to search for her mother, as she still hopes she is alive somewhere, albeit under a hidden identity. Aarav, a young student from Goa who interns with bank to support his family financially and an aspiring standup comedian, hopes to meet Elisha at least once in his life after hearing about her in Goa. Ricky the old and crazy guy who is owner of Ricky’s Shack in Goa, friend of Elisha from childhood, wishes he never ever met her. What is the secret behind Elisha and who among these three will find her and how this search will change their lives forever forms the rest of the story.
The story is about Alara searching for Elisha and in the process meeting Aarav and Ricky among others in Goa, but at the end, each of them realize they are searching for something more than a missing person. And that is exactly what the title translates into — You live only once. Alara and Ricky steal the show with their strong characterizations and while Aarav starts off well, his character does not grow even though he is one of the three protagonists. Aarav lacks the layers that the other two have, may be since his life does not have as much pain and heart break as the other two go through.
Goa is the next major character is this story, as Goa and majorly Palolem beach are more than a backdrop and location; they are the soul of the book. The author has done an amazing job in vividly describing the locations to transport reader to a different world. This is the second outing of the author Stuti after her highly successful debut OTOR and I personally found her writing has grown exponentially. While the first half is perfect with unique characters, their struggles, in the middle of the picturesque Goa, the actual intent of finding Elisha slowly takes a backseat in the second half, as the characters and their internal turmoil take up the story.
The author weaves magic with her words, as the thoughts of Alara and Ricky are pure bliss; their thoughts and emotions are compelling. The quotes at the start of each chapter are interesting; Aarva’s standup acts though impressive could have been better presented. Pick this one for an enigmatic story that is coming-of-age filled with music, fun, love and much more. You live only once is an experience that every reader should drown in at least once.
My rating:
4/5.