You Came Like Hope by Jyoti Arora

You came like hope is about hope. Hope is just a possibility, not a certainty. The book tells us about the situations in which the chances of possibility turning into certainty are highest and the situations in which chances are least, especially in the context of love.  

About the Author

You came like hope is the third book of Lemon Girl fame author, Jyoti Arora. It is my second book of hers. The author is a Post Graduate in English Literature and Applied Psychology. If you want to understand the psychology of love, then it’s a book for you. Her grip on expressing emotions is superb.

The author, Jyoti Arora, herself is an icon of hope. Her zest to overcome her medical problems and zeal to achieve success & make her dreams come true has made her an inspiration for many. She was a special invitee to attend Indian Republic Day parade, 2016, among 100 Women Achievers of India.

There is also a character in the book by the name Mani, who seems to be influenced from author’s own childhood because the child is suffering from Thalassemia and needed blood transfusions every month, injections 4 nights a week, and lots of medicines. Jyoti is also a patient of Thalassemia Major, which forced her to stop going to school after class seventh, but she didn’t give up her hope. She continued her studies on her own through correspondence courses.

Plot and Characters of the Book

The plot is rich. There’s a girl Peehu who hates her sister for being lucky and at the same time, hates herself for hating her sister. She always wants to be in her sister’s shoes and once gets the opportunity but to know what she makes out of it, you have to read the novel.

There’s a guy Adih who has trust issues with girls because of his past experience. Somehow, he starts liking the tutor of his niece. He wants her to be in his life but doesn’t want to have this want.

There’s another guy Uday who is trying to find his lost love in the lookalike of his dead girlfriend.

There’s another girl Pooja who doesn’t want to fall in love with anybody but wants everyone to fall for her. She’s a cockteaser.

Style of Narration in You Came Like Hope

The author writes in an easy to understand language. The narration is tight. The pace of the book is also good. It’s neither fast nor slow.

Just saying that someone is resting one’s head on another person’s shoulder is only the half information. It’s only the physical description of what’s happening it doesn’t tell what’s going in their mind while doing so or remaining in that state. The author takes care of it that whenever she gives any information, she gives complete information.

I rested my head on his shoulder and willed my presence to give his heart some comfort. Neither of us said anything. He fought to control his grief. I let mine flow on his shoulder.

The only drawback I felt is that the end came too fast.

Author’s Understanding of Love

The author has an excellent understanding of love, especially the romance.

I don’t know whether that was my heart aching for him or his heart raising an echo of its pain in mine.

If you aren’t sure about your feelings towards your best friend whether it’s love or just friendship, the book will surely help in identifying those.

Jyoti beautifully showed the visible and invisible signs of love through the characters in the book. She tried her best to encompass every minutest thing that one feels when in love.

Sometimes, even his lips showed attention by tiny smiles. Adih himself was probably not aware of those smiles. I was.

I had my back to him so I could not see him. But he could see me, and the tingling sensation at the back of my neck told me he did it often enough.

Author’s Grip on Expressing Emotions

The author is good at expressing emotions. Her words are evocative. It’s easy to show different ways a person can look at somebody through the lens of a camera, by focusing on one’s eyes, but it’s difficult to do the same with words. The author is adept at it.

As he looked at me, I saw his anger turn into complaint. Then even the complaint vanished from his eyes and left behind only a wretched resignation. I didn’t realize then that at that very moment, he gave up the hope that I had ignited in his heart. He gave up…me.

Here’s another example in which the author distinguishes one smile from the other:

I remembered the way my cheeks had warmed up when I had caught him smiling at me. I kept on looking back at his face when he had said goodbye to me for the last time. He had smiled at me. I could still feel the sting of that smile. I could still feel the burn of the coldness that had glinted at me from his eyes then.

The Book is Rich in Psychological Aspects

The book beautifully presents the psychological aspects of a person whenever gets the opportunity. There’s a dialogue in the book:

‘Did you, by any chance, come on a pink and white scooter?’ Adih asked, also standing up.
‘Magenta and white. Why?’ I asked.

It depicts the fact that boys don’t have much idea about the names of the colours and, they aren’t good in recognizing them either.

Scope for Aspiring Author

There’s a lot of scope for aspiring authors. The author didn’t describe the backstory of Adih in detail but in snippets. This gives an ample opportunity for aspiring authors to convert each snippet into a full-fledged chapter of a novel or a novella. The author has given a solid framework to develop a story out of the snippets. Plot is ready. Character sketch is complete. One only needs to add details to make it own.

Some Quotes from the Book

• We should be careful what we wish for. Because sometimes, a wish fulfilled becomes worse than a curse.
• Sometimes, a responsibility can be the only glue that keeps a person from falling apart.
• Anger is a mighty force. It can hold you up even when you are ready to sink yourself in the ground.
• We want to consider our pain permanent. Any hint of forgetfulness of it seems like a treachery against one’s own injury.
• A tear may not weigh much on a scale, but it is heavy enough to crush a heart under its load.