[1] The novel, set in rural Bihar, New Delhi, Patna, and New York, is the story of a Bihari boy on a quest of winning over the girl he loves.

[6] Dedicated to "non English-types", as Chetan Bhagat wrote, the book divulges the sentiments and linguistic struggles of a backward, rural Bhojpuri-laced Hindi-speaking boy from Bihar as he enrolls himself at the prestigious English-medium St. Stephen’s College in New Delhi, and falls in love with a "high class English-speaking rich Delhi girl" schooled at the Modern School in the same city.

[7] Chetan Bhagat commented, "'half-girlfriend', to me, is a unique Indian phenomenon where boys and girls are not clear about their relationship status with each other.

"[7] Madhav Jha, a rural boy from Dumraon, a village in Bihar, comes to meet the author, who is actually Chetan Bhagat, and leaves behind a few journals from his half-girlfriend, who he believes has died.

Finding Delhi unbearable on the grounds of losing Riya, Madhav decides to settle in his hometown Dumraon and helps his mother, Rani Sahiba, who runs her school.

The two are successful in their fundraising, but after the speech, Riya leaves a letter for him which states that she is in the last stage of lung cancer and has only 3 months left to survive.

[9] Pranav Joshi of Daily News and Analysis called it "old wine in new glass" with a rehashed storyline that promotes negative stereotypes.

[15] Initially the film based on the novel starred Kriti Sanon who inaugurated the book, but was replaced by Shraddha Kapoor.