Click to play videoNew York: Something unpleasant has cropped up to mar first-time author Kaavya Vishwanathan's excitement of being the youngest author to wrangle a two-book deal worth half-a-million dollars.
Certain paragraphs contain language that seems to have been borrowed directly from author Megan F McCafferty's books Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings.
Excerpts of similar passages in How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life, published in March, and Sloppy Firsts, published in 2001.
McCafferty's book, page 7: "Bridget is my age and lives across the street. For the first twelve years of my life, these qualifications were all I needed in a best friend. But that was before Bridget's braces came off and her boyfriend Burke got on, before Hope and I met in our seventh grade Honors classes."
Viswanathan's novel, page 14: "Priscilla was my age and lived two blocks away. For the first fifteen years of my life, those were the only qualifications I needed in a best friend. We had bonded over our mutual fascination with the abacus in a playgroup for gifted kids. But that was before freshman year, when Priscilla's glasses came off, and the first in a long string of boyfriends came on."
McCafferty's book, page 6: "Sabrina was the brainy Angel. Yet another example of how every girl had to be one or the other: Pretty or smart."
Viswanathan's novel, page 39: "Moneypenny was the brainy female character. Yet another example of how every girl had to be one or the other: smart or pretty."
Tale of the two authors |
 Indian author Kaavya Vishwanathan recently shot to fame with a How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life. |
| Kaavya is a 17-year-old Harvard sophomore who was all set to become an investment banker when she graduated. However, a call from London-based publisher Little Brown changed everything. |
| Kaavya's Opal Mehta is a desi Bridget Jones and hers is a tale of a young girl whose only occupation is to cram brain-twisting physics like there's no tomorrow. |
| However, something has cropped up that may just mar Kaavya's excitement of striking gold with her debut novel. |
| Her novel has shades of author Megan McCafferty's writing. |
| McCafferty's first novel Sloppy Firsts is about Jessica Darling, a cynical 16-year-old girl trying to find her place in life. |
| When her best friend Hope moves away, Jessica is upset and finds herself alone to deal with a family that doesn't understand her, friends who she doesn't like, and the attentions of the school "bad boy". |
McCafferty's novel, page 23: "Though I used to see him sometimes at Hope's house, Marcus and I had never, ever acknowledged each other's existence before. So I froze, not knowing whether I should (a) laugh (b) say something (c) ignore him and keep on walking."
Viswanathan's novel, page 49: "Though I had been to school with him for the last three years, Sean Whalen and I had never acknowledged each other's existence before. I froze, unsure of (a) what he was talking about and (b) what I was supposed to do about it."
McCafferty's novel, page 68: "Tanning was the closest that Sara came to having a hobby, other than gossiping, that is. Even the webbing between her fingers was the color of coffee without cream. Even for someone with her Italian heritage and dark coloring, it was unnatural and alienlike."
Viswanathan's novel, page 48: "It was obvious that next to casual hookups, tanning was her extracurricular activity of choice. Every visible inch of skin matched the color and texture of her Louis Vuitton backpack. Even combined with her dark hair and Italian heritage, she looked deep-fried."
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