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

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

After reading The Henna Wars earlier this month I was super excited to dig into Adiba Jaigirdar’s second book, and it was just as poignant and heartwarming as its predecessor. 

Hani and Ishu have always tried to keep their distance from each other. As two of the only Bangladeshi students in their Irish high school, they don’t want to be forced into a friendship just because they are from the same community. Besides, Hani already has a close group of friends and Ishu prefers her own company and would rather study than be social. Then, Hani comes out as bi to her friends and is faced with skepticism and Ishu finds herself in need of a popularity boost. The two girls decide to trick their classmates into thinking they’re dating via an elaborate plan involving google docs, fake dates and social media. The experiment becomes more complicated with Hani and Ishu beginning to question not only how they feel about each other, but how far they are willing to go to be the friends, daughters, and sisters that their community expects of them. 

From the outset, Hani and Ishu’s relationship is engaging and multilayered and their developing chemistry is fun to read. Overall, the relationships in this novel, whether familial, romantic or plutonic, are the most interesting element. Hani’s battle with toxic and unsupportive friends is very relatable and concludes in a particularly satisfying way. Another thing I really enjoyed was how this story manages to avoid some of the more overused tropes in queer coming-of-age stories, which makes it feel fresh and exciting to read. As with The Henna Wars, there are some very important insights into how culture, race and religion intersect to form our identities. It is clear that Jaigardar speaks from her own lived experience and this authenticity highlights why #ownvoices work is

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