How Opal Mehta got Her Book Yanked Off the Shelves

Dear Little, Brown (Or do you prefer Hachette?):

Please allow me to jump on the bandwagon for just a moment and point out the amazing similarities in Ms. Viswanathan’s text How Opal Mehta Tot Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life and my blog: an obvious and blatant act of plagiarism worthy of several million little dollars worth of redress.

The main plot element of the book is that of parents trying to help their daughter gain Harvard admission after being told she needed well-rounded real life adventures, not just a stellar GPA. They devise a plan dubbed How Opal Will Get A Life, or HOWGAL, that involves her attending teen parties and finding a boyfriend.

1) The title. Do we even need a number two here, your honor? I thought not.
2) If I must persist, the theme of the book and my blog are the same. Female outsider seeks approval and acceptance, realizing popularity and designer clothes are a must. I didn’t see much about sports cars, but her love interest has a 72 Mercedes he considers one of the three most important figures in his life.
3) My parents just hoped I’d move out and not come back.
Ok, that isn’t much of a parallel here.
4) The letter “E” is used more than any other in both her book and my blog!Coincidence? I think not.
5) “Dedicated to TK” I know a TK!!

Well, if you had any question over who has the best lawyers, score one for Random House. Copies of Kaavya Viswanathan’s new book have been recalled. No word yet on who she will be ‘inspired’ by for book two.

Read some great debate on the subject here.