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onlyvitro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Biphobia, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Islamophobia
bookswithlauren's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
frogyberries's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Toxic friendship
jadeandherbunny's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
I loved that Hani and Ishu, in their own way, are so close to my personality.
I loved the sisterly dynamic between Nik and Ishu because of the maturity of Nik and Parent-pleaser Ishu.
Hani is just the sweetest girl, I was/am kind of like her because of her not setting boundaries with her friends.
It is kind of slow-burn ?
I learned a lot about Desi people and liked it wayyy more than when I read Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma.
I'm just a bit sad that Ishu couldn't come out to her parents. But it is pleasing to know that a lot of queer teenagers felt seen reading about it since it is a harsh reality.
It did not get a higher rating because we didn't really know any character outside of Nik and Aisling. (And don't tell there's Dee we only know she's a doormat)
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic friendship, Biphobia, Gaslighting, Bullying, and Islamophobia
Minor: Mental illness and Alcohol
jennireadsmaybe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The romance between Hani and Ishu was the best kind of slow burn, because we got to see them become each other's person and struggle with what it means to fall in love with someone. Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and this is a new favorite addition to the list. Do you love sapphic romance? Fake dating? Teens being teens? Pick this one up.
Hani's friends are going to get what's coming to them for all their crimes. We ride at dawn people.
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Bullying, Islamophobia, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Abandonment and Gaslighting
cats33's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Racism, and Outing
Minor: Classism and Colonisation
lugotthecinema's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Homophobia and Islamophobia
moondaisyy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Racism, Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Religious bigotry
ellagant's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
In other news, it took me until about half way through this book to figure out that it was set in Ireland😂
Moderate: Biphobia and Homophobia
wardenred's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“You know you’re going to have to pretend to like me, right?” I ask. “And… if you want to be Head Girl, you’ll also have to pretend that you like other people.”
This reminded me of She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott & Alyson Derrick. The characters are younger and overall pretty different, the premise is almost the polar opposite, but something about the execution of the "opposites attract" trope and the overall vibe makes me want to put the books on the same shelf. I think if you (dis)liked one of these books, you are super likely to feel the same way about the other.
Speaking of tropes, I'm kind of surprised I've often seen this mentioned as "enemies to lovers," because like... I didn't notice a trace of that? Hani and Ishu are neither enemies nor rivals, they're simply not friends (until they are). They show up at the same Bengali gatherings and go to the same school, but they don't really know each other. Until, of course, roughly at the same time, each of them tells a spur-of-the-moment lie that snowballs into more lies in the form of a tenuous fake dating plan. It's slightly ridiculous from the get-go, but with the way it's presented, I found it weirdly relatable in that "teens meandering through life dramatically as teens do" way. I really liked watching these two get closer and catch genuine feelings, and I loved learning more about the Bengali culture along the way. The book actually prompted me to go look up a bunch of things for better understanding.
I also really liked the way the plotlines that prompted the girls to come up with that plan play out: Hani's relationship with her friends, Ishu's with her parents.
There were things that took a bit from my enjoyment, though. Such as the weird accidentally shared google doc plotline (how was that even supposed to happen?). Or how it was never quite explained why Hani kept clinging to her toxic friends for so long. Around absolutely everyone else, she doesn't seem like such a complete people-pleaser, but with those girls, she just let them stomp all over the things that were important to her—her culture, her religion, her family, her values—and constantly justified it with "but they're my friends, but we have fun together." Whereas never once in the entire book were Aisling and Dee shown as someone acting non-maliciously friendly or being fun to be around. Perhaps it's their portrayal that's the issue, actually. If there was more nuance to their behavior around Hani, this entire plotline would be more complex and interesting.
Graphic: Islamophobia, Biphobia, Bullying, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism