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A review by marsapril
Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.75
this was the cutest thing i’ve ever read. if you want a YA wlw novel with a heartstopper vibe, this is the book you need.
what i liked about the characters :
- well-built and written : no flat or dull persons. as my previous reads were boring main characters, i really appreciated it.
- accuracy : occasionally, in ya books, when the characters are teenagers, they’re NOT written like it : too wise, cringey dialogues (i do love heartstopper, but sometimes i had to pause the episode because that was too much 💀), not mature enough, etc. not anything like that in this novel. perfect.
- accurate poc representation : i know the author is from Bengladesh and lives in Ireland, like the characters, but it was really pleasant to hear her elaborate on the subject (not only saying that i ishu and hani are persons of colour, and then move on.)
i’ve learned a lot on muslim traditions reading this, and even though it wasn’t the main subject, that was interesting.
- toxic friends representation : i don’t know if it’s really a thing, but i feel like there’s not a lot of representation of toxic friends in books. reading about hani’s ones was kinda comforting.
i had the same kind of friends as her in middle school, and they didn’t really made me feel good about my sexuality. i didn’t had a girlfriend back then, but i’m pretty sure that if i had, the same thing as in the book would’ve happened.
i won’t spoil anything — you can guess it quite well — but the message at the end of the book is pretty clear : if your friends don’t accept you for what you are, they don’t deserve you. i wish i could go back and tell myself that.
what i liked about the characters :
- well-built and written : no flat or dull persons. as my previous reads were boring main characters, i really appreciated it.
- accuracy : occasionally, in ya books, when the characters are teenagers, they’re NOT written like it : too wise, cringey dialogues (i do love heartstopper, but sometimes i had to pause the episode because that was too much 💀), not mature enough, etc. not anything like that in this novel. perfect.
- accurate poc representation : i know the author is from Bengladesh and lives in Ireland, like the characters, but it was really pleasant to hear her elaborate on the subject (not only saying that i ishu and hani are persons of colour, and then move on.)
i’ve learned a lot on muslim traditions reading this, and even though it wasn’t the main subject, that was interesting.
- toxic friends representation : i don’t know if it’s really a thing, but i feel like there’s not a lot of representation of toxic friends in books. reading about hani’s ones was kinda comforting.
i had the same kind of friends as her in middle school, and they didn’t really made me feel good about my sexuality. i didn’t had a girlfriend back then, but i’m pretty sure that if i had, the same thing as in the book would’ve happened.
i won’t spoil anything — you can guess it quite well — but the message at the end of the book is pretty clear : if your friends don’t accept you for what you are, they don’t deserve you. i wish i could go back and tell myself that.