Happy Book Birthday to Madi Sinha whose debut, The White Coat Diaries, hit shelves today!
Norah Kapadia has always dreamed of following in her father's footsteps to become a doctor. And now she's finally made it. For the next year, she'll be an intern, learning under the best at Philadelphia General Hospital. But to get through the year, she'll have to stay on her toes while working grueling hours, doing scut for higher ups, and putting up with everyone from nurses to residents and even the very doctors who are supposed to be teaching her treating her like something they scraped off the bottom of her shoe.
At the end of her first day, Norah is more than ready to pack it in. Only her drive to continue her father's legacy, and her charming resident who may or may not be flirting with her, keeps her motivated. But with her home life becoming more and more complicated with each day, Norah finds it harder and harder to keep that bright eyed motivation going. And when Norah's own ethics are challenged, she isn't at all certain she has it in her to continue.
I consider myself a pretty die hard fan of Grey's Anatomy, so of course a book comped to that is going to make it on my radar. Though so far Grey's has yet to introduce a character quite like Norah.
Norah comes from a traditional Indian family, which means she doesn't drink and she's had very little (read, none) dating experience at all. She's been too focused on her career! But all that seems to matter to her mother is settling down with a nice Indian man and popping out a few grandchildren. Things that Norah hasn't been interested in at all.
Norah is driven and smart, she's a good friend, she's a good daughter, she reads real, which I appreciated so much! I mean, the book starts with her accidentally sticking herself with a needle and immediately freaking out in exactly the way you'd expect any normal person to freak out.
And Norah's got stress in addition to the needle stick. Her mother has been suffering from depression ever since Norah's father died (well over a decade ago). Caring for their mother has fallen to Norah's brother, who still lives close enough to check in multiple times a day, but with a new baby of his own, he's recently started lobbying for Norah's help.
The bright spot in all of this is that Norah seems to be building some sort of relationship with her resident. He's newly-ish single and charming, willing to come in on his day off to help Norah with a patient no one else seems willing to spend time on. Oh, and he keeps asking her on sort of, could be dates that leave Norah incredibly confused.
Are you getting the Grey's vibes? It probably helps that Sinha is an actual physician. And like the show, the medical stuff that's mentioned throughout the book is all at once fascinating and entertaining. One thing I think Sinha really shines at, that we never get in the show (TV vs books, y'all) is the internal turmoil that Norah suffers. When her friend points out that her way of talking about a patient, for example, is cold, Norah feels guilty. There's more, but I definitely don't want to give it away. After all, the drama is where the great reading is!
The White Coat Diaries is an excellent debut and Madi Sinha is officially on my must read list from here on out!
Order a copy from your favorite indie via Bookshop!
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