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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
isabelvegga'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
3.75
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Biphobia, Islamophobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Abandonment, Racism, Gaslighting, and Bullying
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
lunep'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
2.5
Some of the positive things I got from the book: I liked the characters, I thought Hani and Ishu's relationship was cute, and I liked how they grew as characters. I also liked Hani's relationship with her mom, it was really nice to see how accepting and understanding she was with Hani, and I liked that it was mentioned that they did have to readjust their expectations a little when Hani came out, but it was a Them Problem, not a Hani-Being-Bisexual Problem, it made me feel really warm to read all their interactions. And I also liked the relationship that Ishu and her sister developed, I'm a big enjoyer of sibling and sibling-like relationships where the siblings know they can count on each other even if they sometimes argue or disagree. I also really liked learning more about bangladeshi culture and Islam through the book.
However, the book itself had some things (I don't wanna call them problems bc they might be subjective) that made me not love it. I went into the book thinking it was a stand-alone, then when I had finished it I saw on here it was part of a series, so I thought "oh ok, maybe some of my grievances come from the fact that I had some expectations that shouldn't have been there, and will be addressed in coming book(s)" but I looked it up and there's no sequel, just a novella, so I'm back to my grievances.
The book deals with some heavy topics (it even has a Content Warnings page, which I liked) mostly racism, biphobia and lesbophobia, islamophobia, toxic friendships, and parental abandonement. But I'm not sure if it's because I've read about these topics before (I'm not trying to say I'm an expert on them, but I'm acquainted with them) or what, but I felt it was...kind of on the nose? Or like, too obvious? I'm not sure how to explain it correctly, I'm not trying to say these things don't happen irl, but while reading Hani deal with her friends, for example, Aisling and Dee's actions felt a little weird to me, like over-simplified, in spanish there's this expression "dar masticado" which translates literally to "to be given [something] chewed", which means simplifying a hard topic for easier understanding. To me the friends characters and the principal felt very 2D, with little nuance, kind of like their only purpose was to show "what these characters do is bad", so maybe this was better suited for someone who is just starting to foray into racism and biphobia? (It is a YA book, tbf, and I'm 24)
I also had some trouble with the ending of the book, and this is where the "oh, it makes sense if this is going to have a sequel" thing comes in. Because Hani and Ishu start fake dating so Hani's friends will take her seriously about being bisexual, and so Ishu can become Head Girl and thus prove to her parents that she's not going to "screw up" like her sister, whose shadow Ishu has felt she's been in her entire life, but towards the end something happens between Ishu and her parents, making her relationship with them more strained, and making her closer to her sister, and that plot-line, specially with the parents, doesn't get closed satisfactorily (I LOVED how Ishu and Nik's relationship grew tho); and the explanation we get for how Aisling acts since Hani tells them she's "dating" Ishu felt like BS quite honestly (which isn't to bash the author, because her intent might very well have been for it to sound like BS, because it also doesn't explain the biphobia and racism from before Ishu came into the picture), and Dee never grows as a character. So things seem to have been left open, and if it was intentional to make it open-ending, for me it didn't feel that way when I was reading. If you want the full explanation it's in the spoiler tag
And on Hani's side: After the cheating fiasco with Aisling, Hani is not sure who to believe, but ends up realizing it doesn't make sense that Ishu would copy off of Aisling, as Ishu always get stellar grades and Aisling doesn't, and confronts Aisling for being manipulative and a liar, and Aisling's only response is "ok I'm sorry I did that, are we friends again?", because apparently the whole reason she was a pos was that "she was jealous of Ishu because Hani has been friends with her and Dee all her life and she was changing", and when Hani tells her she needs time, Aisling throws a fit, Dee tries to defend her (saying "it was a mistake"), and finally Aisling tells Hani "Forgive me, don't forgive me. I'm definitely not apologizing to Ishita Dey" and leaves, and so does Dee. And while I don't expect a picture perfect ending where Aisling realizes she's a shitty friend, and gets over her biphobia and racism, we were shown a couple of times that Dee seemed to not always agree with Aisling, and sometimes go against her wishes in small ways, but like I said before, she doesn't get any development and she stays Aisling's follower until the end.
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Biphobia, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol, Misogyny, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
luxxltyd'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
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Islamophobia, Toxic friendship, Biphobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Gaslighting
nineinchnails'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
3.75
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Racism, Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Bullying
Moderate: Abandonment and Gaslighting
bubbles_ishere'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
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Biphobia, Gaslighting, and Racism