Book review : Chasing 33%

Chasing 33% is a book which will warm your heart. Jitendra Jain, for a first time author does a wonderful job of describing the harrowing experience which we have all gone through and survived - Board exams. Set in a place less travelled, Golaghat in Assam, this book comes as a timely and entertaining reminder, that grades and marks are no benchmark to label success or failure.
The idea is simplistic, it will remind you of your own carefree school days, best friends, the boring teachers, first crushes, of boundless imagination and burning curiosity to know everything ahead of its time.
Except, our protagonist here is more unconventional than most of us. His ideas and views are unorthodox and not limited to just hatred for math and science, but also for dowry and the paranoia surrounding the education system. His best friend is also a bit queer but the pair of them are a winsome lot. Their wit and banter, their great dislike for exams, set standards, science teachers, the love for watching movies in the middle of exams will have you in splits. With no special talent to balance chemical equations, their formulas to balance life will instantly make you love them, and reminiscence the days gone by.
Because after all, who will NOT relate to the bane and disdain of board exams? The tiresome hours and utter misery, Chasing 33% will remind you of those days but with a twist. The protagonist has the most entertaining encounters with mating street dogs, his school teachers and principal. This book is a laugh riot with the funniest and unthinkable (but real!) movie titles, while also explaining why mosquitoes and Dogs live better lives than humans, the innocence of young love and the mischievous musings of a teenage mind.
This book tries to break through the glass ceiling of set norms of the society, the ‘pressure cooker environment’ of scoring marks which is taking away from the more important aspect of studying, which is learning. Exams are not the final word, and should never be, a definition of anyone who takes them.

The nostalgia of school days, the pains of growing up, the thrill of adventure with unabashed abandon, this book is an absolute delight to read and perfect to recommend to someone who needs a good break in life!

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