Midwest Book Review
"Finding a new home can lead to many unusual situations. "The Hometown" is a novel following Mala Thomas as she embraces a new spin of life in Houston, Texas and facing life as an Indian-American in the south. A story of career life and finding love, "The Hometown" is worth considering for general fiction collections."
Independent Publisher Magazine
"What would happen if you were a discontented, twentysomething Indian-American girl, living in a boring Midwestern city and working a dead-end job, still a virgin, living at home with parents you think should divorce, and suddenly decide to pack up and move to Houston, Texas? Read "The Hometown" and find out! Along the way you'll be entertained and enlightened by this smart and witty coming-of-age novel that gets to the heart of 'growing up multicultural' and making your way as a minority woman in America today." -Jim Barnes, Editor
India West
"Author Leena Ceraveeni’s debut novel, “The Hometown,” examines the journey of a 23-year-old Indian American woman and her search for love, success, and something beyond the ordinary. The novel provides a witty and colorful illustration of what it’s like for an Indian American woman to beat the odds and embrace the unexpected."
Writer's Digest, 20th Annual Book Awards, Judges Commentary
"The writing sparkles with this author’s passion for understanding the ways of the heart, and displays a real compassion for the human experience. She deftly paints a vivid portrait of an independent young woman exercising her independence and then dealing with the risks and responsibilities that come with freedom. The author will inspire readers with Mala’s persistence and vision as well as her personal growth. The cast of characters encountered during physical and spiritual journey are, individually and collectively, certainly strong enough to carry the narrative, which consistently prompts the reader’s interest in wanting to know what will happen next.”