Born Confused

Tanuja Desai Hidier’s debut novel, Born Confused, is the first South Asian American young adult contemporary novel. Published in 2002, it tells the story of a young girl who resists her family’s traditions and must decide who she wants to be. The first book in the Born Confused duology, it received an honorary nomination for the 2003 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Children and Young Adults. Hidier is an award-winning author and songwriter, and her short stories feature in popular anthologies.

The protagonist, Dimple Lala, a sixteen-year-old Indian-American, is about to turn seventeen. She split up with her long-term boyfriend a year ago, and she’s still not over it. Now, obsessed about her weight, she thinks that if she were thinner, she wouldn’t have lost her boyfriend. To make matters worse, her best friend, Gwen, has new friends now, and she’s not around as much as she used to be. Dimple feels lonely and confused; she doesn’t know where she fits in. She loves photography and one day hopes to make money from it.

Her parents are traditional, and they want her to marry an Indian boy. They keep a very close eye on her, expecting her to follow the path they’ve mapped out for her. Dimple, however, doesn’t know if she can. She deliberately avoids showing an interest in anything they want her to care about because this is the only way she can stand up for herself.



One day, Dimple’s mother tires of Dimple’s moping over this ex-boyfriend. She’s convinced the boy wasn’t right for Dimple, anyway. Instead, it’s time Dimple gets serious about finding a suitable partner, and her family has the perfect boy in mind. A family friend has a son, Karsh Kapoor, who is around Dimple’s age. He is attractive and nice, and he’s attending NYU to study computer engineering.

Dimple, however, refuses to show an interest in him. She’s decided her parents must stop dictating how her life should be and that no one understands her. She rebels against her parents by, for example, getting drunk with Gwen on her seventeenth birthday. Her parents refuse to speak to her for a while after this because it’s shameful to them. Dimple is, in many ways, a “model” child, but her family doesn’t see this. All they can see is her disregard for traditional Indian culture. They can’t appreciate that Dimple wants to be an “All-American” girl.

One night, Dimple goes out with Gwen to a local club. She’s excited to put her problems behind her and forget about her parents. However, she sees Karsh at the club. He’s the DJ, and Dimple thinks he looks very cool and mysterious. She wonders if her parents know that Karsh works at a club; she’s sure they’d disapprove. This makes Karsh more attractive to her, and she decides she might be interested in him after all.



Meanwhile, Dimple’s friendship with Gwen isn’t what it used to be. Dimple feels that Gwen only hangs out with her when she needs something. Gwen likes to borrow Dimple’s clothes and jewelry, and she only ever wants to talk about her problems. Dimple can’t see why Gwen has problems—she’s blonde, and thin, and supposedly everything that American boys want. Gwen, however, is lonely because her parents are always out of town. She’s looking for attention, and she doesn’t realize that her methods are pushing Dimple away.

Things only get worse when Gwen is attracted to Karsh. Gwen, assuming that Dimple isn’t interested in him because he’s “chosen” by her parents, she doesn’t think it’s a problem. When Gwen finds out that Dimple is interested in Karsh, she doesn’t back down. Their affection for Karsh drives a wedge between them, and Dimple is more confused now than ever.

Karsh is attracted to Dimple, and he’s very sweet to her. He fosters her love of photography, and he tries to help her play music. Dimple can’t help falling in love with him, and she’s willing to give up her friend for it. However, Karsh is also drawn to Gwen. He wants to show her that “not all men” are like her absent father, and he’s always looking out for her. When Dimple thinks that Karsh prefers Gwen, she accuses Gwen of taking everything from her, and they have a falling out.



By the end of the novel, Karsh realizes he loves Dimple most of all, and they end up together. Dimple and Gwen seek each other out, and they try to repair their friendship. They’re honest about how they feel—Gwen feels abandoned, and Dimple feels like Gwen uses her to make herself feel better. They reconcile, realize they’re better friends than they once thought. Dimple appreciates her parents more, and they all realize they’re lucky to have each other.