Reviews - Hani And Ishu's Guide To Fake Dating

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6.81k reviews for:

Hani And Ishu's Guide To Fake Dating

Adiba Jaigirdar

4.12 AVERAGE

isla_te_one's review against another edition

4.75

emotional funny 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: No

ellaeperkins's review against another edition

5.0

What a fabulous YA coming of age sapphic romance

sestra's review

4.0

mimi j’adore ishita

smsmith384's review against another edition

4.0

AAAAAAAA SOOO CUTE
I have been making a point to read more and more books starring non-white characters, and I am so so glad that my local library's website recommended this one. It was a pretty light and easy read (finished in 4 sessions over 3 days), but so adorable and cozy. It had some of the stereotypical tropes (fake dating [duh], sunshine and grumpy, in general just very opposite characters) but I thought that it was very well done and still really original anyways.

jessicalily09's review against another edition

4.0

it was so so good and cute

zuzanna's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 very cute

geerothvoss's review against another edition

4.0

"I bet they feel satisfaction seeing us as a couple now. Like they always expected it. We are culturally similar and, therefore, must be meant for each other. Never mind the vast differences in our language or our religious beliefs. To most white people, just having brown skin is going to mean we're one and the same."

In "Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating", the bestselling author of "The Henna Wars" tells the story of two different girls from different worlds. Although both of them are Bengali, and despite what the white people around them think more often than not, Hani and Ishu aren't even similar: Hani is a Muslim Bangladeshi girl who loves going to the mosque to pray, and spending time with her Ammu and Abbu, whereas Ishu is an Indian atheist girl whose main goal is excelling at school to prove herself to her parents, and to finally be better at something than her older sister. Hani is popular and has friends as fancy as Aisling and Dee, the high school queen bees, while Ishu doesn't have the time to become close friends with anyone and is feared by many. Hani doesn't ever curse, but Ishu makes swearing an art. If there's a thing they can agree on, though, is that they aren't friends.

But one day Hani DMs Ishu with an unbelievable petition: she needs Ishu to pass as her girlfriend so that Aisling and Dee will finally believe her when she says she's bisexual. In exchange, Hani will use her good graces to help Ishu become Head Girl, a big honour that would mean the world to Ishu's parents. But nobody can know they're faking it; which is why Hani decides to write a guide where they can keep track of all the details of their "relationship". Even though at first things couldn't feel more forced, Hani and Ishu start growing closer as time goes by; but when things don't go as planned, they'll have to decide whether they do something about their growing feelings for each other, or let it all crash and burn.

"Friends can talk about things. They can figure things sout. Get past things. Do you want a friend in your life who you can never disagree with? A friend you can't grow with?"

There are so many things I loved about this book! It's a really sweet read, but it also deals with serious topics such as islamophobia, biphobia, and subtle (not-so-subtle, really) racism. This is particularly true when it comes to Hani. She's got two white friends, Aisling and Dee, who aren't anywhere near good friends. Both of them invalidate her sexuality repeatedly, gaslight Hani, and guilt-trip her constantly. They also couldn't be bothered to even learn how to pronounce Hani's name, Humaira, or to understand that Bengali cultural events aren't open for them as Irish girls who don't have anything to do with Bengali culture. Through these two horrible people, Adiba Jaigirdar shows the kind of things immigrant and second-gen people have to put up with whenever they're around someone who doesn't really care enough to try to understand their cultural differences, or to try to see them as individuals beyond their being BIPOC. She also paints a painfully accurate picture of how people keep thinking that bisexuals are just closeted gays, and how much it hurts to have to prove your identity to others. In this sense, one of my issues with the book is how a lot of slurs and hurtful comments aren't really addressed. Ishu knows that they're so and tries to explain it to Hani, but aside from Ishu and Nik, nobody else gets too upset about it. I was really frustrated that no non-BIPOC person could be bothered to at least try to stand up for the girls.

"Sometimes I think that maybe I like guys more as a concept than a reality. And girls more as a reality than a concept."

The bi* rep was excellent. Hani is a really sweet, gentle girl who just wants to feel safe and help her family out; she's nice to everyone, and she's quite a people-pleaser. I loved her character development a lot, and how she starts standing up for herself after Ishu helps her see that she deserves much better than Aisling and Dee. She also voices, via her inner monologue, many insecurities and self-doubts that come with being a Muslim brown girl like Ishu, and thus being compared to her because "both girls are Bengali". Overall, she was an endearing character. As for Ishu, she's the best. Like. Period. She's got big family issues, and although she doesn't give it away too often, she's really lonely. But she's also adamant that nobody is going to step on her just because she's Bengali, and is there to make Hani understand she doesn't have to put up with a lot of problematic stuff. She's bold, and witty, and deep down she's also very insecure. I could relate to her in several things, and I learned from her a lot.

"I have resting bitch face, I can't help it."

My only other big complaint about the book is that there are a few loose threads. For instance, Ishu's family. They feel very disconnected from their daughter and the rest of the story; it almost felt like they were around to explain why Ishu is as competitive and overachieving as she is, and to provide some drama regarding Nik. I would've liked to hear more about them, and to learn whether Ishu ever talks with them about Hani. We never know how they react to a lot of things, and they fell pretty flat in comparison to the rest of the characters in the book.

All in all, HIGTFD is one of the sweetest books I've read this year, and I really can't wait to pick up "The Henna Wars" ASAP!

***
CWs: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Guilt, Islamophobia, Manipulation, Parental abandonment, Toxic friendship.

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