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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating follows Hani who is one of the popular girls in school and does what it takes to fit in. On the other hand, Ishu is an academic overachiever and not social. When Hani comes out as bisexual to her friends, they invalidate her identity by saying she cannot be bisexual if she has only dated guys. Hani then blurts out she is in a relationship with Ishu. Ishu agrees to fake date Hani in hopes of being more popular and elected as head girl.
I like the fake dating trope, and the book also has the grumpy and sunshine trope as Hani and Ishu are opposites. I liked both Hani and Ishu as characters and seeing their relationship grow along with the growth they experienced as their individual selves. However, I did not like Hani’s friends, but I like her parents because they are supportive of her. I also loved Ishu’s sister Nik who helps Ishu throughout the story. The story also deals with real issues including racism and biphobia, and I thought it was a good book.
I like the fake dating trope, and the book also has the grumpy and sunshine trope as Hani and Ishu are opposites. I liked both Hani and Ishu as characters and seeing their relationship grow along with the growth they experienced as their individual selves. However, I did not like Hani’s friends, but I like her parents because they are supportive of her. I also loved Ishu’s sister Nik who helps Ishu throughout the story. The story also deals with real issues including racism and biphobia, and I thought it was a good book.
The homophobic parents hit a little too close to home, and it’s not very fast-paced.
Hani's two best friends since childhood don't believe her when she says she's bisexual. Ishu wants to become head girl, despite her unpopularity, to prove her worth to her strict parents. The two decide to fake date each other in order to achieve both their goals, but end up finding a safe space with each other in their shared identity as queer brown girls in a very white Irish community.
I haven't read a lot of YA contemporary books in a while, but I gave this a shot as it was available on audio from my library, and I'm very glad I did. A lot of this book is these two girls trying to fit themselves into a mold that has been presented to them - for Hani, it's being palatable to her intolerant friends; to Ishu, that's being the perfect daughter now that her sister has finally messed up. I loved that these two end up being the opposite that the other needs to show them that their current way of life doesn't need to be that way. The fake dating element was fun and didn't get annoying when they started realizing they had feelings for each other. The part that I was the most invested in was trying to get Hani out of her toxic "friendships" - the girls are actively biphobic/islamophobic/xenophobic and it is so saddening to watch Hani just put up with it. The ending was also realistic, with not everything turning out sunshine and rainbows (intolerant people are going to stay intolerant).
Overall, I'm so glad that books like this are available to teen readers, to show more underrepresented identities and show readers that everyone deserves to be their authentic selves. I'm so glad I took a chance on this book.
I haven't read a lot of YA contemporary books in a while, but I gave this a shot as it was available on audio from my library, and I'm very glad I did. A lot of this book is these two girls trying to fit themselves into a mold that has been presented to them - for Hani, it's being palatable to her intolerant friends; to Ishu, that's being the perfect daughter now that her sister has finally messed up. I loved that these two end up being the opposite that the other needs to show them that their current way of life doesn't need to be that way. The fake dating element was fun and didn't get annoying when they started realizing they had feelings for each other. The part that I was the most invested in was trying to get Hani out of her toxic "friendships" - the girls are actively biphobic/islamophobic/xenophobic and it is so saddening to watch Hani just put up with it. The ending was also realistic, with not everything turning out sunshine and rainbows (intolerant people are going to stay intolerant).
Overall, I'm so glad that books like this are available to teen readers, to show more underrepresented identities and show readers that everyone deserves to be their authentic selves. I'm so glad I took a chance on this book.
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’d read this book if you want a fun, lighthearted yet serious read at the same time. Funny combination but it totally works.
Genuinely love every book this author write, which is rare with books for this age group, there's always a character that majorly pisses me off but the main character doesn't react according too.
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Cuties
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a cute read and I liked that the main characters were Bengali and that the romance was between a lesbian and a bisexual. I like that my students will either be able to feel represented or to experience what life can be like for others by reading this book.
Whilst the romance was cute the rest of the book wasn't as enjoyable for me. Hani's friends were truly awful to her, but she also had unrealistic expectations of them (e.g that they would persuade their parents to vote in an election for her father). The set-up that Ishu wants to be Head Girl but needs Hani's help for that didn't ring true. For all the blurb sets Hani up as really popular we only see her interacting with those two friends. The sub-plot about one of the friends accusing Ishu of cheating didn't feel realistic to me either. Ishu is one of the top students in her year, as was her sister before her. She wouldn't be flying under the teacher's radar and they wouldn't think she was the one who had copied or that that was how she had achieved high results previously because a student with lower grades accused her. The book felt unbalanced because everyone outside of Hani and Ishu's community was against them. I worry that my own experiences shape my view here but I didn't find it believable in a story set in the present day that a whole school would be racist and that no one, staff or student, would stand against it.
That said, I would still recommend this book because of the diversity of the characters and the depiction of the teenage angst about crushes that will appeal to some of my students. I will also look out for more books by this author.
Whilst the romance was cute the rest of the book wasn't as enjoyable for me. Hani's friends were truly awful to her, but she also had unrealistic expectations of them (e.g that they would persuade their parents to vote in an election for her father). The set-up that Ishu wants to be Head Girl but needs Hani's help for that didn't ring true. For all the blurb sets Hani up as really popular we only see her interacting with those two friends. The sub-plot about one of the friends accusing Ishu of cheating didn't feel realistic to me either. Ishu is one of the top students in her year, as was her sister before her. She wouldn't be flying under the teacher's radar and they wouldn't think she was the one who had copied or that that was how she had achieved high results previously because a student with lower grades accused her. The book felt unbalanced because everyone outside of Hani and Ishu's community was against them. I worry that my own experiences shape my view here but I didn't find it believable in a story set in the present day that a whole school would be racist and that no one, staff or student, would stand against it.
That said, I would still recommend this book because of the diversity of the characters and the depiction of the teenage angst about crushes that will appeal to some of my students. I will also look out for more books by this author.