Kaavya Viswanathan got a two-book deal worth half a million dollars from American publisher Little, Brown when she was 17. The Indian-born Harvard student’s first book, 'How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life', made headlines and quickly climbed up bestseller lists after being released in late March. Now, it’s making headlines again due to charges of plagiarism against the young author.

The campus newspaper of this Ivy League school, the Harvard Crimson, broke the story about the similarities between Harvard sophomore Kaavya Viswanathan’s book 'How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life', and two novels by Megan F. McCafferty, the 2001 book 'Sloppy Firsts' and the 2003 novel 'Second Helpings'.

Several similar passages were quoted, including this one from 'Sloppy Firsts': “Sabrina was the brainy Angel. Yet another example of how every girl had to be one or the other: Pretty or smart.” In Viswanathan’s book, the similar passage reads: “Moneypenny was the brainy female character. Yet another example of how every girl had to be one or the other: smart or pretty.”

McCafferty, whose third novel, 'Charmed Thirds', was just published has said in an email to this correspondent: “This matter was first brought to our attention from my fans two weeks ago. After reading the book in question, and finding passages, characters, and plot points in common, I hope this can be resolved in a timely manner, that is fair to all of the parties involved.” A spokesman for her publisher, Random House, said they were in touch with the legal department for Viswanathan’s publisher, Little, Brown.

Little, Brown did not respond to our query, but its publisher was quoted as saying: “I can't believe that these are anything but unintentional. She is a wonderful young woman.”  Viswanathan’s book is already at number 32 on the New York Times best-sellers list.

Kaavya Viswanathan became a sensation as a published author at 19. Now, her book is creating a sensation for the wrong reasons. Allegations of plagiarism are something a first-time author could do without.

Anirudh Bhattacharyya