Reviews

Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

krystal_bythebook's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional

4.0

3.29.2024 - A sweet romance with grumpy/sunshine characters who are trying to find how they fit in their worlds. Q

earth2alaysia's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

stories_of_the_soul27's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective 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? No

5.0

I really really liked this book. I loved Hani & Ishu A LOT. But so much of the cuteness of their friendship was sucked out because of how awful the other characters were. So no it is not a lighthearted book. It was quite heavy with themes that are so important for us to know and I am so glad that Adiba had written this book. This book also shows why YA shouldn’t be discarded as just books for young adults. YA books act as a mirror to the society. 

So read this book to know who Bengalis are and how they are so many variations of them that you just cannot bottle us into one stereotype. Read it to know how you can be empathetic towards your Muslim friends. Read it to know bisexuality is a very real thing. Read it to know the struggle of immigrants in a different (white) country and how much that affects the first generation children in a multitude of ways. Read it to know that friendship doesn’t mean that you would trample over your friends and bend them according to your will. 

Read it also to join in the journey of two adorable girls who are at an important juncture of their life of exploring their likes & dislikes and their relationship with people around them. 

Being an Indian Bengali myself, the talks of biriyani, food, inclusion of bengali dialogues in the story warmed my heart beyond anything. This book was a love letter to Bengali culture. 

Another part I loved most was that Hani is a Muslim girl and while Ishu’s religion was not revealed from her name and surname I am sure she is Hindu. India, Bangladesh and Pakistan’s history is tainted by Hindu vs Muslim animosity in the past and even now (sadly). Most at fault for this are the British Colonisers. So a Hindu-Muslim relationship is a cause of much discomfort and trouble in this society. But watching Hani & Ishu’s love and friendship blossom without that taint was a calming balm to my heart. 

tellasdantes's review against another edition

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5.0

this book was one of my most anticipated sapphics books of 2021 and it did not disappoint one bit. it has genuinely pushed its way up into being one of my favourites, and a big comfort read.

not a single moment was boring or annoying (apart from you aisling and dee i hate you both), but god i cannot stress enough how REFRESHING it was reading hani's relationship with her parents, and how open and accepting they were of her— even when they did not understand her bisexuality at first, they adapted and changed their pov and did not bring hani into it, which was just .. amazing. brought tears to my eyes.

i found myself sobbing uncontrollably multiple times throughout this, mostly with hani and ishu such as their "breakup" and their first kiss in the rain, but also with family moments. two that REALLY stood out to me was when ishu's sister, nik, came all the way to ireland from london to defend her from the cheating accusations. and the other was with hani's father, or abba, when he wins the election and decides to expand on their local mosque to give room for women to also do their prayers there.

overall such an enjoyable, well written book. i'm definitely going to be telling my friends to read this one.

marsbookreviews's review against another edition

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4.0

this book was so cute i loved every minute, well except for the parts where i threw the book across my room multiple times because Aisling & Dee suck, ESPECIALLY AISLING

sweetrosegirl76's review against another edition

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4.0

I thought this book was so cute! I love how BROWN these girls are, I would have loved this book as a kid. About minority culture, Brown culture, sexuality, dealing with bad friends, I think it would have been the perfect book for middle school me, I related to so many aspects in the book. 4.5/5! Not one I'd reread again but I did enjoy it and it's a quick read.

eli_b0204's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

tudorache_a21's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

aurelia2's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a really fun YA. Interesting intersection of Irish/Muslim/Bengali/LGBTQ+ themes amongst the lighthearted fake-dating/finding yourself. Easy to root for the two main characters, and decent growth from both.

captainshane's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Very cute well written story. Lots of cultures and slang that I'm not familiar with but very enjoyable! I loved that as the main characters grew they were developing relationships with other people as well as each other.