Book Review: Hot Chocolate Is Thicker Than Blood

Relationships can be a tricky topic to handle especially where adolescents are involved. And if you throw in adoption as a plot twist, you would expect a lot of tears and drama. Luckily, Hot Chocolate Is Thicker Than Blood gives you none of that. It’s not like the seriousness of the situation is lost but the humour helps you fight back the tears and keeps you riveted wanting to know how things will be fixed. You wait for that happy ending. The sarcastic and witty observations made by Anu sees the family through a very difficult ordeal and keeps the humour alive for readers experiencing the emotional upheaval the family is going through. The book touches on human relationships, but does not encourage you to weep, instead uses a light hearted tone throughout that keeps the smile on your face even when things are so unsettled and up in the air.  We caught up with author Rupa Gulab to find out more.

Why did you go with the title Hot Chocolate Is Thicker Than blood’?

Because the sisters bonded over mugs of hot chocolate.

Are these characters solely drawn from your imagination or your experiences and interactions?

Mainly imagination. A few character quirks were pinched from my family members who truly are extremely odd!

What according to you is the USP of this book?

You don’t have to be born into a family to feel like one. I firmly believe this. Sometimes friends are closer than family members — as the rather wry saying goes, ‘You can choose your friends but not your family.’

Who is your target audience?

Children and adults. Men and women. Anyone and everyone!

Your focus has been relationships. Any particular reason why you choose to write about them? Would you consider it your forte?

I love writing about different kinds of relationships for different age groups. Girl Alone and I Kissed a Frog are about single working women who are completely irreverent. The Great Depression of the 40s takes a look at relationships between middle-aged couples and the hideousness and hilarity of growing older. Then there’s Simi’s Mum’s Diary which is a wicked look at the relationship between a mum who thinks she’s super cool and her 20-year-old sulky, sassy daughter who accuses her of being a mean khap panchayat mum.  Daddy Come Lately is about a 13-year-old who has been brought up by her mum — and all hell breaks loose when her dad re-enters her happy, cosy life. While my latest book, Hot Chocolate is Thicker than Blood, is about adoption, the main focus is on the relationship between the two sisters. Perhaps the only thing my heroines across all six books have in common is that they’re bad tempered!

Are you planning to continue with Anu and Diya’s story? Will there be another book about them?

I don’t think I will, but I may write more books for young adults. I get bored rather easily and it’s much more fun creating different characters in different situations.