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The Worlds Within You
The Worlds Within You tells the story of Ami Shekar, who has decided to take a break from her first year of university in the UK and return to her home in Chennai. Ami is stuck, and finds herself fretting, overthinking and retreating into her own head. But she knows that whatever it is that makes her feel 'weird' all the time must have a name to it. And so, Ami is back home, to come to terms with many her mental health, her own identity, memories of her grandfather and, finally, herself.
Set over the course of seven writing classes, this an unconventional and melancholic take on what it means to be alive and finding your own emotional support system-no matter how flawed the people within your system might be.
Set over the course of seven writing classes, this an unconventional and melancholic take on what it means to be alive and finding your own emotional support system-no matter how flawed the people within your system might be.
- GenresIndiaContemporary
224 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2022
2 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 23, 2022
this was so quiet and empathetic. admittedly i haven't read much fiction set in my hometown, so part of my fascination might be coming from that kind of very recognizable nostalgia, but parts of this were so vivid and real it really made me stop and go, "oh, okay, so some of my experiences are not unique!" which is a friendly thing to find in a book, i think!
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May 31, 2022Sam tells her sister, Ami, the narrator of ‘The Worlds Within You’, that everything Ami writes is sad. She is quick to add that it is good-sad. Shreya Ramachandran’s debut is good-sad, too. And it is gentle, so quiet that sometimes you need to pause and listen to what it says, quite like Ami who is filled with anxiety, who begins to live with depression, but she says so much in the silence that punctuates the story when she is ambushed by her mental health challenges and by her half-and-elusive-memories about her grandfather.
The book is a tribute to sisters everywhere. Even when their own worlds are crumbling, sisters find it in them to hold space for each other, to wear the deceptive cloak of normalcy to protect their parents from their suffering, and to make their own grief and struggles the foundation to build a refuge for their sisters. The unconditional love shared by Sam and Ami reminds me of Kyo Maclear and Isabelle Arsenault’s children’s book Virginia Wolf, which explores mental health challenges faced by young people and imagines the conversation Virgina Woolf and her sister, Vanessa, would have had when Virginia woke up feeling wolfish one morning.
As one who has shared many cups of tea with many forms of anxiety and depression, I nodded as Ami lashed at herself for being obsessed with her own battles, apologised to the family when they gave her a hand, and listened to her own heart being blown into smithereens when she realised even the seemingly got-it-all-together ones, despite the wisdom and perceptiveness, could feel unheard. We are isolated and connected by this thing that tries to steal our breath. But it becomes harder when we separate the thing from our being, our existence. It can be a part of us. And we can go on in our own ways.
The book is a tribute to sisters everywhere. Even when their own worlds are crumbling, sisters find it in them to hold space for each other, to wear the deceptive cloak of normalcy to protect their parents from their suffering, and to make their own grief and struggles the foundation to build a refuge for their sisters. The unconditional love shared by Sam and Ami reminds me of Kyo Maclear and Isabelle Arsenault’s children’s book Virginia Wolf, which explores mental health challenges faced by young people and imagines the conversation Virgina Woolf and her sister, Vanessa, would have had when Virginia woke up feeling wolfish one morning.
As one who has shared many cups of tea with many forms of anxiety and depression, I nodded as Ami lashed at herself for being obsessed with her own battles, apologised to the family when they gave her a hand, and listened to her own heart being blown into smithereens when she realised even the seemingly got-it-all-together ones, despite the wisdom and perceptiveness, could feel unheard. We are isolated and connected by this thing that tries to steal our breath. But it becomes harder when we separate the thing from our being, our existence. It can be a part of us. And we can go on in our own ways.
June 19, 2023
“I have a sharp, perky answer all ready in my head and then the words get lodged, like seeds, in my throat.”
- Shreya Ramachandran, The Worlds Within You
Ami was aghast to witness how indifferent people were during her Thatha’s (Grandfather) funeral. Cut to the present, she has taken a gap year at her grad school and has undertaken the task of teaching creative writing to students at KG Mathias Secondary School.
There’s a different world threatening to evolve in Ami after Thatha’s demise that sucks her from within. Her thoughts predominately centre around her grandfather’s memories and pause and reflect on his final moments. She organises her muddled thoughts in a journal. Ami’s self-deprecating humour makes way for relief and shrouds the melancholic feeling.
The prose is rich, and elegant even numbing you at times. The lyrical style of presenting Ami’s inner turmoil works like a charm. The characters are given their rightful space to grow. The story in itself can be a great lesson in creative writing. I really liked the idea of documenting fragments of memories in the form of poems as discussed in Ami’s creative writing classes. The delicate ways of nature come alive through well-thought-out descriptions that mirror human emotions.
- Shreya Ramachandran, The Worlds Within You
Ami was aghast to witness how indifferent people were during her Thatha’s (Grandfather) funeral. Cut to the present, she has taken a gap year at her grad school and has undertaken the task of teaching creative writing to students at KG Mathias Secondary School.
There’s a different world threatening to evolve in Ami after Thatha’s demise that sucks her from within. Her thoughts predominately centre around her grandfather’s memories and pause and reflect on his final moments. She organises her muddled thoughts in a journal. Ami’s self-deprecating humour makes way for relief and shrouds the melancholic feeling.
The prose is rich, and elegant even numbing you at times. The lyrical style of presenting Ami’s inner turmoil works like a charm. The characters are given their rightful space to grow. The story in itself can be a great lesson in creative writing. I really liked the idea of documenting fragments of memories in the form of poems as discussed in Ami’s creative writing classes. The delicate ways of nature come alive through well-thought-out descriptions that mirror human emotions.
June 2, 2022
It's a good book for a debut author and I enjoyed reading it. However, wish there were more sub plots instead of a singular plot.
June 11, 2023
May 2023 Wrap Up
Review coming up when life gets back to normal.
Review coming up when life gets back to normal.
May 21, 2022
oh i found this so sweet and quietly moving, like if sarah dessen wrote about chennai
June 18, 2022
We are made of many worlds. Many worlds thrive within, constituting us. It is strange to identify which world we inhabit when we find ourselves at loss, which world surrounds us when we get brimmed by affection that makes it seem unreal. So, although we have many worlds—we do not know which is when.
Shreya’s book left me with these thoughts. The journey of the protagonist Ami made me revisit some of my own personal dilemmas, which could have surfaced anytime and left me unsettled. But through Ami’s story, I found an unnamed peace within that turmoil, and it held a specialty rarely to be found. In a tale so silent and quiet in its telling, Ami’s story had undertones that aren’t so frivolous. There’s a tussle between the devils of your past, risking to snatch away your comfort at present. There is familial harmony often making you feel dual, but embracing you tight at the end of the day, and the loss of a dear one rooted deeply in your memories. There is a relentless sense of individual dissatisfaction in regard to your melancholic stance. And so, the story rises not only through the voice of the protagonist, but at once through the multitude of voices of our generation.
However, incoherence did creep up in the path of the plot where I least expected it. So did an uncanny sort of detachment that I wanted rigorously to believe was a reflection of Ami’s self, but often couldn’t. The girth of the story suffered without much unique substance to propel the story forward at places, and although I admired the meandering pace, I longed for some accumulated tension. The mind’s paradoxes are captured with expertise, as is the role of family in bringing you back to the shared spaces you belong. Ami could however have been constructed with more diverse layers, to suit the uniqueness of the story. Shreya’s originality in her writing made this book quite an emboldened work!
Thanks Penguin India for the copy.
Shreya’s book left me with these thoughts. The journey of the protagonist Ami made me revisit some of my own personal dilemmas, which could have surfaced anytime and left me unsettled. But through Ami’s story, I found an unnamed peace within that turmoil, and it held a specialty rarely to be found. In a tale so silent and quiet in its telling, Ami’s story had undertones that aren’t so frivolous. There’s a tussle between the devils of your past, risking to snatch away your comfort at present. There is familial harmony often making you feel dual, but embracing you tight at the end of the day, and the loss of a dear one rooted deeply in your memories. There is a relentless sense of individual dissatisfaction in regard to your melancholic stance. And so, the story rises not only through the voice of the protagonist, but at once through the multitude of voices of our generation.
However, incoherence did creep up in the path of the plot where I least expected it. So did an uncanny sort of detachment that I wanted rigorously to believe was a reflection of Ami’s self, but often couldn’t. The girth of the story suffered without much unique substance to propel the story forward at places, and although I admired the meandering pace, I longed for some accumulated tension. The mind’s paradoxes are captured with expertise, as is the role of family in bringing you back to the shared spaces you belong. Ami could however have been constructed with more diverse layers, to suit the uniqueness of the story. Shreya’s originality in her writing made this book quite an emboldened work!
Thanks Penguin India for the copy.
April 25, 2022
I came across this book in the strangest way. For some reason, Google or Amazon or any of these amazing cookie-trackers that follow me around, showed me this book while I was doing some research on mental health books by Indian authors. I bought the book because it was endorsed by my darling Siddharth Shangvi, the reclusive author of The Last Song of Dusk.
The day the book arrived, the author sent me a LinkedIn connect request. By sheer chance. Yes, this world moves in strange synchronicities. We connected and spoke and then I picked up this book.
Shreya is a masterful depictor of both the inner and outer worlds. This book reminded me in its poignancy of Nina la Cour’s ‘We Are Okay.’ But I couldn’t quite connect with the protagonist, Ami, because there was insufficient context. Yes, she seems to be grieving her grandfather’s death a decade or so earlier. But was she close to him? I couldn’t figure it out - without that layered background, I could only glimpse a woman in pain. It ends rather abruptly with some pills prescribed for the depression, and then we are told, voila! Solved. If only. But this is a brave attempt to venture away from writing about poverty and slums and religion - for that, Shreya fully deserves our loyalty.
The day the book arrived, the author sent me a LinkedIn connect request. By sheer chance. Yes, this world moves in strange synchronicities. We connected and spoke and then I picked up this book.
Shreya is a masterful depictor of both the inner and outer worlds. This book reminded me in its poignancy of Nina la Cour’s ‘We Are Okay.’ But I couldn’t quite connect with the protagonist, Ami, because there was insufficient context. Yes, she seems to be grieving her grandfather’s death a decade or so earlier. But was she close to him? I couldn’t figure it out - without that layered background, I could only glimpse a woman in pain. It ends rather abruptly with some pills prescribed for the depression, and then we are told, voila! Solved. If only. But this is a brave attempt to venture away from writing about poverty and slums and religion - for that, Shreya fully deserves our loyalty.
May 1, 2022
The Worlds Within You by @currentpass ✨
In many ways, this novel felt quite personal to me. There's a young lady who is mourning the death of her grandfather. Thatha, as she dearly calls him, was a sweet man who showered her with love. His death opens a deep well within her, pausing her world for days, not knowing what to do without him. Having lost my own grandfather a year ago, it felt like I was seeing bits of myself in the protagonist.
Ami Shekar takes a gap year from her University and comes back home to Chennai to collect her thoughts. Ever since her dear thatha passed away, her emotions are somewhere hanging between grief and pain and before she knows it, she slips into depression. When she decides to organise a writing class even though for a mere four students, she finally manages to give words to her emotions. As Ami wades through gloomy days, she constantly thinks back to the memories she shared with her thatha. Memories are tricky. One can never know in what way it'll trigger a person. For Ami, the world just didn't make sense anymore and so she clung to her past.
With the help of her parents and sister, Ami tries to stay afloat. This book stresses on mental health and how important a family's role is in helping those who aren't doing so well. Set in Chennai, Shreya paints a vivid picture of all the things that I witnessed while growing up as a South Indian.
Although this book tackles an important issue, I did feel that something was missing from the story. Certain characters felt unnecessary and the story wouldn't have changed much if they were excluded. However, this does make a good read about mental health. I breezed through the book and I most certainly will read what Shreya writes next.
Thank you for the copy @penguinindia ✨
In many ways, this novel felt quite personal to me. There's a young lady who is mourning the death of her grandfather. Thatha, as she dearly calls him, was a sweet man who showered her with love. His death opens a deep well within her, pausing her world for days, not knowing what to do without him. Having lost my own grandfather a year ago, it felt like I was seeing bits of myself in the protagonist.
Ami Shekar takes a gap year from her University and comes back home to Chennai to collect her thoughts. Ever since her dear thatha passed away, her emotions are somewhere hanging between grief and pain and before she knows it, she slips into depression. When she decides to organise a writing class even though for a mere four students, she finally manages to give words to her emotions. As Ami wades through gloomy days, she constantly thinks back to the memories she shared with her thatha. Memories are tricky. One can never know in what way it'll trigger a person. For Ami, the world just didn't make sense anymore and so she clung to her past.
With the help of her parents and sister, Ami tries to stay afloat. This book stresses on mental health and how important a family's role is in helping those who aren't doing so well. Set in Chennai, Shreya paints a vivid picture of all the things that I witnessed while growing up as a South Indian.
Although this book tackles an important issue, I did feel that something was missing from the story. Certain characters felt unnecessary and the story wouldn't have changed much if they were excluded. However, this does make a good read about mental health. I breezed through the book and I most certainly will read what Shreya writes next.
Thank you for the copy @penguinindia ✨
June 19, 2022
i know that when i miss home i will pick up this book
August 24, 2022
Those worlds within you by Shreya Ramachandran📚
Those worlds within you was a lyrical, poetic book about mental health. It made me think a lot about the topics that were covered in the book such as grief, anxiety and depression. When you don't physically what is wrong with you, it's hard to accept and come to terms with a diagnosis. The crippling doubt and self depreciation is a huge part of mental health problems.
Especially when one of the family members is not entirely supportive of it. Till date, I see people everywhere who have strong stigma against mental health. They don't believe it's a "thing". It boils my blood. It's books like these that reach out to the masses. Some things are better understood as fiction and story telling is one of the best ways to educate people.
This book was set in Chennai, which is my home. I was screaming internally at all the South Indian representation and I recognised all the places in the book; that warmed my heart. The sisterhood in the book also really touched me, it reminded me of my bond with my own sister. Sometimes, the elder sister bears the burden to hold it together for the whole family, what happens when they break? The little sister worries, tries to patch all the cracks with humour and love. But it isn't always enough.
Greif is a vicious thing, Abi's grandfather died 7 years ago, but she never healed. She feels the everyone else has moved on except her and I feel for her. I loved the way writing classes was used in the book to explore all the themes.
I would recommend this book to everyone for a heart aching and beautiful experience.
Rating- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Afreen Khalil
Those worlds within you was a lyrical, poetic book about mental health. It made me think a lot about the topics that were covered in the book such as grief, anxiety and depression. When you don't physically what is wrong with you, it's hard to accept and come to terms with a diagnosis. The crippling doubt and self depreciation is a huge part of mental health problems.
Especially when one of the family members is not entirely supportive of it. Till date, I see people everywhere who have strong stigma against mental health. They don't believe it's a "thing". It boils my blood. It's books like these that reach out to the masses. Some things are better understood as fiction and story telling is one of the best ways to educate people.
This book was set in Chennai, which is my home. I was screaming internally at all the South Indian representation and I recognised all the places in the book; that warmed my heart. The sisterhood in the book also really touched me, it reminded me of my bond with my own sister. Sometimes, the elder sister bears the burden to hold it together for the whole family, what happens when they break? The little sister worries, tries to patch all the cracks with humour and love. But it isn't always enough.
Greif is a vicious thing, Abi's grandfather died 7 years ago, but she never healed. She feels the everyone else has moved on except her and I feel for her. I loved the way writing classes was used in the book to explore all the themes.
I would recommend this book to everyone for a heart aching and beautiful experience.
Rating- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Afreen Khalil
August 13, 2022
Read it in 3 days, a solid 2.5 but I'll give 3 since it's a debut novel. Great subject/central theme but the writing is mediocre, drab and amateurish.
October 6, 2022
Death as a concept might be difficult to cope with but also it’s a topic we as humans face, we mourn and deal with the void with time. The protagonist, a young lady, mourns the death of her Thatha, her grandfather who like any grandparent showered love and adores the girl. The loss and coping mechanism of dealing with the death of a loved one have always been fast-paced wherein I didn’t have the time to process but now I feel their void spaces, the missing blanks in my life.
Ami Shekar takes a year gap from her University back to her hometown Chennai. A year has passed since Thatha’s death and Ami still feels her thoughts are puzzled. She can't track her emotions amidst the grief and pain. Trauma and tragedy are killers of one's mental peace and that being said they should be tackled immediately with utmost seriousness. When Ami falls under the clutches of depression added to the already increasing grief, her family her parents, and sister support her in her difficult times. With everything, good or bad, Ami’s family sticks by her through all the good and bad days. To divert her thoughts, Ami starts taking up writing classes for her sister’s friends- a group of merely four girls and in that process Ami recollects her memories with Thatha and that triggers the young girl leaving her anxious and messed about where she stands, what matters and to search for a purpose of life.
‘The World Within You' is a tactful attempt by Shreya Ramchandran to throw her readers about life in South India. It is specifically concerned about mental health and how one's environment impacts one's mental health. It sheds light on the role of the family, specifically parents to understand their child’s condition. I loved how the Shekar family stood like a backbone during these sensitive times.
‘The World Within You' is a delicate, lyrical, and vivid book that must be read and understood.
Ami Shekar takes a year gap from her University back to her hometown Chennai. A year has passed since Thatha’s death and Ami still feels her thoughts are puzzled. She can't track her emotions amidst the grief and pain. Trauma and tragedy are killers of one's mental peace and that being said they should be tackled immediately with utmost seriousness. When Ami falls under the clutches of depression added to the already increasing grief, her family her parents, and sister support her in her difficult times. With everything, good or bad, Ami’s family sticks by her through all the good and bad days. To divert her thoughts, Ami starts taking up writing classes for her sister’s friends- a group of merely four girls and in that process Ami recollects her memories with Thatha and that triggers the young girl leaving her anxious and messed about where she stands, what matters and to search for a purpose of life.
‘The World Within You' is a tactful attempt by Shreya Ramchandran to throw her readers about life in South India. It is specifically concerned about mental health and how one's environment impacts one's mental health. It sheds light on the role of the family, specifically parents to understand their child’s condition. I loved how the Shekar family stood like a backbone during these sensitive times.
‘The World Within You' is a delicate, lyrical, and vivid book that must be read and understood.
May 8, 2025
The Worlds Within You by Shreya Ramachandran is an introspective novel set in Chennai, following the story of Ami Shekar who takes a gap year from her university abroad and returns to her home in Chennai, trying to collect her thoughts after the loss of her beloved grandfather. Her emotions hang somewhere between grief and numbness, slowly pulling her into depression. In an attempt to cope, she starts a small creative writing class where she finally finds a way to give words to her emotions. Through these sessions, the story quietly explores themes of grief, mental health struggles, and self-discovery,
What I liked about this book is its sensitive portrayal of grief and emotional struggles. The use of creative writing classes as a tool for Ami’s self-exploration was thoughtful and added a meaningful layer to the story. Some moments, especially where Ami's numbness and loneliness are described, felt very real and relatable. I also liked the warm, grounded setting of Chennai, which brought a cozy familiarity to the backdrop of Ami’s emotional journey.
However, what didn’t work for me was the extremely slow pacing and the flat emotional arc. While the book started with promise, the narrative felt repetitive, and Ami’s journey remained too quiet for me to stay fully invested. Though written with sensitivity, it missed the emotional pull I personally needed, especially when Ami reflects on her grandfather. I found myself wishing for stronger character development and a deeper emotional connection throughout the story.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy slow, reflective, character-driven novels. If you love stories that focus more on the internal world of the characters rather than external plot twists or dramatic turns, you might find this book meaningful and moving. Maybe this book was not for me.
What I liked about this book is its sensitive portrayal of grief and emotional struggles. The use of creative writing classes as a tool for Ami’s self-exploration was thoughtful and added a meaningful layer to the story. Some moments, especially where Ami's numbness and loneliness are described, felt very real and relatable. I also liked the warm, grounded setting of Chennai, which brought a cozy familiarity to the backdrop of Ami’s emotional journey.
However, what didn’t work for me was the extremely slow pacing and the flat emotional arc. While the book started with promise, the narrative felt repetitive, and Ami’s journey remained too quiet for me to stay fully invested. Though written with sensitivity, it missed the emotional pull I personally needed, especially when Ami reflects on her grandfather. I found myself wishing for stronger character development and a deeper emotional connection throughout the story.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy slow, reflective, character-driven novels. If you love stories that focus more on the internal world of the characters rather than external plot twists or dramatic turns, you might find this book meaningful and moving. Maybe this book was not for me.
August 9, 2022
Creativity comes the best when in the heart and inner self is in a whirlwind. Greatest of the creators have delivered priceless creativities in their most low points.
It is easy to fight an outer force but when it comes to an inner force it becomes a great challenge to stand up against it. Brilliance is how you survive the turbulence. But, sometimes turbulence comes from the least expected place. And it is exactly the what we can find in Shreya Ramachandran’s debut offering “The World within you.”
The young protagonist Ami, has taken a break from the university and came back to find a piece of peace in her “should be” comfort zone “home”. Ami if fighting the invisible demons from past and their shadows still casts over her present. Ami’s story resonates the individual who fails to follow the nature’s law, accept and move forward keeping the harmony. It is very different how an individual manages a trauma, a tragedy. Shreya hits the right chord with the different shades of the emotions around the same event giving a sense of inclusion and acceptance.
While the story and the individual hurt moves forward beautifully somewhere I felt Ami got lost in that turmoil of hers. Shreya’s depiction of the mental health develops in the right direction making it believable but Ami’s character development takes a back seat. It would be a more enjoyable “coming of age” novel if Ami’s character got the due courageous development she deserved.
Overall, with a young girl fighting her inner demons, a memory that has deep roots at heart, the story will hit the right chord with the readers irrespective of ages.
It is easy to fight an outer force but when it comes to an inner force it becomes a great challenge to stand up against it. Brilliance is how you survive the turbulence. But, sometimes turbulence comes from the least expected place. And it is exactly the what we can find in Shreya Ramachandran’s debut offering “The World within you.”
The young protagonist Ami, has taken a break from the university and came back to find a piece of peace in her “should be” comfort zone “home”. Ami if fighting the invisible demons from past and their shadows still casts over her present. Ami’s story resonates the individual who fails to follow the nature’s law, accept and move forward keeping the harmony. It is very different how an individual manages a trauma, a tragedy. Shreya hits the right chord with the different shades of the emotions around the same event giving a sense of inclusion and acceptance.
While the story and the individual hurt moves forward beautifully somewhere I felt Ami got lost in that turmoil of hers. Shreya’s depiction of the mental health develops in the right direction making it believable but Ami’s character development takes a back seat. It would be a more enjoyable “coming of age” novel if Ami’s character got the due courageous development she deserved.
Overall, with a young girl fighting her inner demons, a memory that has deep roots at heart, the story will hit the right chord with the readers irrespective of ages.
August 28, 2022
“I am not normal, I think, talking to an audience that does not exist, […] But it’s fine. I’m fine.”
It’s been a while since I have felt so seen by a book. I had a very similar experience to Ami: going to college far from home, taking a leave of absence and moving back in with my parents, struggling with depression, anxiety, and never feeling like enough. It’s a journey that can be difficult to explain, but this book somehow captures it perfectly. The novel also tackles the very real feelings of inadequacy that often accompany depression, that you are letting people down, and how hard it can be to ask for what you need when you don’t even know what that is.
Additionally, I love the way this book incorporates poetry and song lyrics. It’s a minute detail that also reflects my experience, as I often found it easier to communicate my emotions through someone else’s words during this time in my life. There is a societal narrative, that leads to individual expectations, that college will be the best years of your life and I love the way this book confronts that notion head-on. The writing is straight-forward and honest. It cuts to the core and communicates a message that certainly resonated with me and I think will be meaningful to many other readers as well: “Things don’t add up perfectly; they are left incomplete. The truth is not beautiful; it is just true.”
This novel is a solid 4.5 star read. Absolutely beautiful.
It’s been a while since I have felt so seen by a book. I had a very similar experience to Ami: going to college far from home, taking a leave of absence and moving back in with my parents, struggling with depression, anxiety, and never feeling like enough. It’s a journey that can be difficult to explain, but this book somehow captures it perfectly. The novel also tackles the very real feelings of inadequacy that often accompany depression, that you are letting people down, and how hard it can be to ask for what you need when you don’t even know what that is.
Additionally, I love the way this book incorporates poetry and song lyrics. It’s a minute detail that also reflects my experience, as I often found it easier to communicate my emotions through someone else’s words during this time in my life. There is a societal narrative, that leads to individual expectations, that college will be the best years of your life and I love the way this book confronts that notion head-on. The writing is straight-forward and honest. It cuts to the core and communicates a message that certainly resonated with me and I think will be meaningful to many other readers as well: “Things don’t add up perfectly; they are left incomplete. The truth is not beautiful; it is just true.”
This novel is a solid 4.5 star read. Absolutely beautiful.
September 4, 2022
Ami Shekar decides to take a break from her first year of University in the UK and returns to her home in Chennai. She feels 'weird' all the time, that is, she's stuck, finds herself overthinking and fretting and getting too much into her own head.
The Worlds Within You is a very amazing book that talks about the mental health of a young individual and how certain things and life events affect her.
It's an important debut novel from Shreya, a young author, an easy and engaging to read, and it does its job nicely. It's set over the course of seven writing classes, and how Ami finds herself a support system, coming to terms with her mental health and the memories of her late grandfather, and with herself. It's a short read of around 200 pages but it's packed with depth and not exactly an easy read. I admire literature with the writing element so i absolutely adore this book. A sensitive and important topic that needs all the discussion possible and this book does it brilliantly along with the perfectly suitable title to it.
The Worlds Within You is a very amazing book that talks about the mental health of a young individual and how certain things and life events affect her.
It's an important debut novel from Shreya, a young author, an easy and engaging to read, and it does its job nicely. It's set over the course of seven writing classes, and how Ami finds herself a support system, coming to terms with her mental health and the memories of her late grandfather, and with herself. It's a short read of around 200 pages but it's packed with depth and not exactly an easy read. I admire literature with the writing element so i absolutely adore this book. A sensitive and important topic that needs all the discussion possible and this book does it brilliantly along with the perfectly suitable title to it.
August 24, 2023
This is a melancholy, feel-good , short book .
Those want to enjoy a quick short , feel good story can hop on and read this one . Also people who feel melancholy in their life and those people who have a bit of anxiety can also check out this book . I am not saying all your anxiety will be gone but most probably it will help you find something within itself . It also helps us to realise it's okay to feel the way we feel and sometimes we can't control everything that we feel .
PS : ITS ALWAYS IMPORTANT TO EXPRESS OUR FEELINGS AND TRY TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF OURSELVES.
JOURNALING IS THE BEST WAY .
Those want to enjoy a quick short , feel good story can hop on and read this one . Also people who feel melancholy in their life and those people who have a bit of anxiety can also check out this book . I am not saying all your anxiety will be gone but most probably it will help you find something within itself . It also helps us to realise it's okay to feel the way we feel and sometimes we can't control everything that we feel .
PS : ITS ALWAYS IMPORTANT TO EXPRESS OUR FEELINGS AND TRY TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF OURSELVES.
JOURNALING IS THE BEST WAY .
March 26, 2022
Deeply touching novel with characters that are very relatable. The author takes you on a very personal journey that emphasizes the importance of mental health and well-being. It also brings awareness of how difficult it may be for family and friends to cope with their loved ones facing mental health concerns. The grief and loss of losing one’s grandparent was handled very well and made me feel extremely emotional. There are so many aspects of this book that I could connect with and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
October 18, 2022
Ami is a university student who decides to take a break and comes home to Chennai. She constantly feels weird but can't seem to put a finger to it. So she tries to come to terms with her feelings and some memories of her deceased grandfather. She also starts taking a writing class. This story is narrated over those seven classes which she takes.
As the blurb promised that this book is melancholic but real, it surely is. Teenagers are often depressed or anxious, but rarely people come to terms with them. Society fails to recognise mental health as an important aspect. This book's approach of depicting depression in a student is so profound and real. The story didn't seem to represent a fictional character, I felt I know Ami personally. Plus the author's literary references were just so good.
I feel this is an important book especially for young teens. It is a great intro for them to come to terms with the whole mental health scenerio.
As the blurb promised that this book is melancholic but real, it surely is. Teenagers are often depressed or anxious, but rarely people come to terms with them. Society fails to recognise mental health as an important aspect. This book's approach of depicting depression in a student is so profound and real. The story didn't seem to represent a fictional character, I felt I know Ami personally. Plus the author's literary references were just so good.
I feel this is an important book especially for young teens. It is a great intro for them to come to terms with the whole mental health scenerio.
January 11, 2023
This book is basically about mental health. I could relate to it at so many levels. I could actually imagine myself zoned out while reading Ami's thoughts wander. Anxiety and depression is such a complex concept and it was portrayed so well by Shreya Ramachandran. Overall, it was a beautiful, pleasant, calming and nostalgic read.
June 22, 2025
I wouldn't say this is a plot-heavy book, but it's the only Indian perspective of a person with mental illness that I've read. I enjoyed reading it. I give a 4 because some parts of the plot felt unresolved and also because I feel like it ended too soon. But I think it's worth a read.
March 20, 2022
Such a cosy, touching book. The simple prose flows. Reading this gave me that warm nostalgic feel. And what a gorgeous cover!
October 10, 2022
An absolutely wonderful book. A lot was said in Ami's silence - and there was a sense of a quiet gentleness to the story. I loved the references made in the story- it took me back to our school days! The author is an absolute star 🌟
December 12, 2023
This was a very quiet book, and very perceptive. I liked the protagonist Ami, who was very thoughtful and like an old soul. I think it gave a different perspective on mental health, which I liked.
March 16, 2024
While this book tackled with the theme of depression, it felt quite a boring read to me. I struggled to finish it as the novel just seemed to drag on with no ultimate ending.
March 19, 2022
Beautiful written, moving in its depth and simplicity. My favourite book. ❤️
August 7, 2023
What a quiet gem of a book. It has this nostalgic feel that all at once seems both very specific [to anybody who grew up in (or spent any time in) Chennai], and more general ( to just being 19 and dealing with the messiness that's life) that I absolutely loved. I wish the ending was a little more conclusive- it felt a little abrupt.
Bonus points for this book being set in Chennai which never happens!
Bonus points for this book being set in Chennai which never happens!
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